All day we were under the assumption his character as Neil on the soap opera Young and The Restless had died, but not him in real life.
There’s shocking news coming out of Hollywood. Kristoff St. John, who starred on the daytime soap opera “Young and the Restless,” was found dead on Sunday, according to a TMZ report.
Law enforcement sources say one of St. John’s friends went to check on him at the actor’s home in San Fernando Valley, and found his body. Police and paramedics were alerted and responded to the house. St. John was pronounced dead on the scene. He was 52.
Here’s more from TMZ:
We’re told there was no sign of foul play, however one source says alcohol might have played a role.
Kristoff has played Neil Winters on ‘Y&R’ since 1991 — a role that earned him 9 Daytime Emmy Award nominations. He also won 10 NAACP Image Awards.
Kristoff has a tragic and troubled history with suicide. He and his ex-wife, boxer Mia St. John, lost their son, Julian, when he took his own life in 2014, while getting treatment at a mental health facility. Mia and Kristoff sued the facility for negligence. The suit was eventually settled.
In 2017, around the anniversary of Julian’s suicide, Kristoff threatened to kill himselfwith a gun. Cops placed him under a 72-hour hold for psychiatric evaluation.
Mia reacted to Kristoff’s death with an emotional post on social media (which she has since deleted), and it’s clear she is connecting his death to Julian’s. She wrote, “THAT HOSPITAL KILLED OUR SON @TheArtofJulian THEN MY HUSBAND @kristoffstjohn1. THATS WHAT HAPPENED! THEY KILLED MY FAMILY”
After their son’s death, Kristoff and Mia founded the El Saber es Poder (Knowledge is Power) Foundation to battle mental illness.