'Knots Landing' Star James Houghton Dies at 75

James Houghton, the handsome actor who acted on "Knots Landing" and won four Daytime Emmys for his part in writing for "The Young and the Restless," died last year at 75.

His wife, Karen Houghton, belatedly confirmed his August 27, 2024, death to THR, saying she did not want to discuss his death from mesothelioma until now.

Houghton was born November 7, 1948 in L.A., the son of producer-writer Buck Houghton of "The Twilight Zone" fame.

In 1959, he made his professional debut on "Man with a Camera," a Charles Bronson-starring series his dad produced, and also appeared on a 1962 episode of "The Twilight Zone" entitled "The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank."

After several more juvenile appearances, his first adult acting work was on a 1971 episode of "Alias Smith and Jones." He landed his first film with "Sweet Sugar" (1972).

Houghton was an original cast member of the soap "The Young and the Restless," acting on it from 1973-1976 in the role of Greg Foster.

After appearing in the Robby Benson-Annette O'Toole romance "One on One" (1977); "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" (1978), director Robert Zemeckis' tribute to Beatlemania; and "More American Graffiti" (1979), Houghton joined the cast of "Knots Landing" in 1979.

Playing Kenny Ward on the nighttime soap, Houghton was on the show until 1983.

Houghton showed up numerous times on various series, including "Fantasy Island" (1982 & 1983), "Hotel" (1983-1984), "Remington Steele" (1985), and "The Love Boat" (1983-1986), and had a big part in the miniseries "North & South: Book 2, Love & War" (1986).

His other longtime acting gig was as Cash Cassidy on another nighttime soap, "The Colbys," from 1986-1987.

After a role in the film "Purple People Eater" (1988), he left acting to focus on writing full-time.

Having begun as a writer for "Days of Our Lives" in 1981, he contributed to scripts for "Knots Landing" (1982), "Tales from the Darkside" (1984-1986), and "The Bold and the Beautiful" (2006).

He was best known for his work on more than 1,800 episodes of his old show "The Young and the Restless" as a member of its Emmy-winning writing team from 1991-2006.

Houghton is survived by his wife of 30 years, his sister, his mother, two children, and a grandson.