Not only was Jay Pickett a soap star, making appearances on General Hospital, Port Charles, and Days of Our Lives; he wrote and was producing and starring in a movie called Treasure Valley right here in Idaho, his home state. The film centers around Jack Braun, a cowboy in search of his daughter whom he thought died in a tragic fire. Sadly, the actor passed away while filming a scene on set on Friday, July 30th, 2021.

Jim Heffel, his co-star and fellow producer on the project, took to Facebook to make the somber announcement. “I lost a good friend and the world lost a great person. Jay Pickett decided to ride off into the Heavens. Jay died sitting on a horse ready to rope a steer in the movie Treasure Valley in Idaho. The way of a true cowboy.”

Another producer for the movie, Travis Mills, posted, “there is no official explanation for the cause of his death but it appears to have been a heart attack. Everyone present tried as hard as they could to keep him alive. Our hearts are broken and we grieve for his family who are so devastated by this shocking tragedy. He was doing what he loved: acting, riding horses, making movies. And he was magnificent.”

Some Twitter users cited the death as possibly related to taking the Covid-19 vaccine, though no medical evidence has been released pointing to that as the cause.

The Caldwell native and BSU alumnus is survived by his wife, Elena Marie Bates and his three children. He was just 60 years old.

(TheHollywoodReporter/IMDb/E!News)

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