Fans of the iconic soap opera “General Hospital” are in mourning this week after the actress Robyn Bernard, who was best known for playing Terry Brock on the popular soap opera from 1984 until 1990, was shockingly found dead in an open field on Tuesday. She was 64 years-old.
Bernard’s Death
A press release from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office stated that Bernard’s body was discovered in an “open field behind [a] business” in San Jacinto, California on Tuesday at 4:08 a.m. While the cause and manner of death are unknown at this time, police do not suspect foul play.
An autopsy is set to be performed, but it will likely take several weeks for the toxicology reports to come back, according to TMZ. The Riverside County Coroner said that Bernard’s body was identified through her fingerprints.
Born in Gladewater, Texas in 1959 as the daughter of a preacher, Bernard got her start as a child gospel singer with her younger sister Crystal Bernard, who would go on to star in the sitcom “Wings” in the 1990s, according to NBC News. Bernard initially attended Baylor University, but she dropped out after being disturbed by the wild partying at the school.
“I was bitter about all the pressure that had been put upon me,” she said of her strict religious upbringing in a 1985 interview. “So I walked the other side. I have to admit it didn’t do much for my grades. So after a couple semesters I quit and went to Nashville.”
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Bernard’s Acting Career
Bernard made her acting debut in the 1981 movie Diva, and she would go on to have small roles in television shows like “The Facts of Life,” “Simon & Simon,” “Tour of Duty” and “Betty Blue.”
Bernard had lived in Nashville for three years before she headed to Hollywood with the goal of getting cast on “General Hospital.” It didn’t take her long to get on the show. In 1984, her big break came when she was cast in the recurring role of Terry Brock on “General Hospital, appearing in a total of 145 episodes from that year until 1990.
Bernard’s character “was depicted as an aspiring singer who develops a drinking problem, marries and then accidentally kills her husband in self-defense, is framed for two murders, and eventually leaves town when she gets a record deal,” according to Entertainment Weekly.
“One of the nice things about doing General Hospital is they let me sing on the show,” she said in a 1986 interview, according to The Daily Beast. “And they tied in my background as a gospel singer into the background of my character.”
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Bernard Leaves ‘General Hospital’
Bernard left “General Hospital” in March of 1990 after Terry landed a recording deal and left the town of Port Charles.
Bernard had just three more acting credits to her name after her time on “General Hospital” came to an end, appearing on the French mystery series “Maigret” in 1992 and the 1997 Gallic feature film Kings for a Day. TV Insider reported that she also appeared as herself in episodes of “The New Hollywood Squares,” “Hour Magazine,” and “Win, Lose or Draw.”
Bernard’s final role was that of a psychologist in the 2002 straight-to-video movie Voices From High School. She remained out of the spotlight from there, and appears to have lived a private life in San Jacinto until her death.
Bernard is survived by her father, Jerry Wayne Bernard, and two sisters, Crystal and Scarlett Bernard. Please join us in saying a prayer for them during this difficult time.
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