Donald May, The Edge of Night Star, Dies at 92

Donald May, an actor best known for his long-running role on The Edge of Night, has passed away at the age of 92. The news of May’s passing was first confirmed on a Facebook fan page for The Edge of Night, in a post made by family friend Laurie Noyes. May reportedly passed away peacefully while surrounded by his family on Friday, January 28th. The actor was also known for roles on The Roaring 20s, Falcon Crest, and Texas.

“Don May was a kind and wonderful man and a very good friend to me,” the post from Noyes reads. “Just received the sad news from his family that he passed away peacefully on January 28 at home with his wife by his side. Don was [94]. He is survived by his wife, Carla Borelli-May, and two sons, Christopher and Douglas.”

Born in Chicago, Illinois on February 22, 1927, May went on to graduate with a bachelor of arts from the University of Oklahoma. He then served as an ensign and a gunnery officer in the Navy from 1951 to 1955. Just a year later, the actor got his first credited role, hosting the military anthology series The West Point Story. He then joined the fold of the Western TV series Colt .45 from 1959 to 1960, playing Sam Colt Jr., the cousin of the lead character, Christopher Colt.

May continued to pop up throughout television, gaining a prominent role as newspaper reporter Pat Garrison in The Roaring 20s, as well as Thatcher in the Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color three-parter “The Tenderfoot.” On the film side, his work included Kisses for My President and Follow, Me, Boys!. 

May became somewhat of a staple in the soap opera world with The Edge of Night, which he starred in as Adam Drake, the law partner of lead character Mike Karr. May would go on to play that role for a full decade, from 1967 to 1977. His soap opera appearances also included stints in All My Children, Dallas, As The World Turns, Another World, and Texas. May’s most recent onscreen credit was a 1993 episode of L.A. Law.

“I found my opportunities on television were very few,” May explained in a 1984 interview with The Washington Post. “In the movies, there’s only a handful of people who do meaningful roles — the rest is piecework. Doing a soap opera in New York gave me the opportunity to come back to New York, where I really love to live. And there are producing and directing opportunities, which I also do.”

“It was an attractive character, Adam Drake,” May explained elsewhere in the interview. “I found I could say through that character a lot of things I had a lot of thoughts about. If you’re on each day representing the current man — and that’s what the character represented — that was satisfying.”

Our thoughts are with May’s family, friends, and fans at this time.