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Patrick Muldoon‘s death left his former co-stars, friends, family and fans heartbroken. The late Melrose Place star, 57, died following a heart attack at his Beverly Hills, California, home on April 19, 2026. He was with his girlfriend, Miriam Rothbart, and she called paramedics, but they couldn’t revive the actor. As everyone grappled with the news, several of Patrick’s former colleagues paid tribute to him, including his former girlfriend and longtime friend Denise Richards. The ex-couple, who dated on and off in the late 1990s, worked together on Starship Troopers, then again in their 2026 film, Dirty Hands.
Below, read the tributes for Patrick from his former co-stars and friends.
Denise Richards
“This is so hard for me to put into words,” Denise captioned an emotional Instagram video. “I am deeply heartbroken & devastated losing you. You were my best friend & my family. We met in our first acting class, I was 19 never had an acting job and you were 21 a student at USC doing a recurring role on who’s the boss. And here we are. 36 years later. My whole adult life & I don’t know it without you.”
She went on to note that their “friendship, love, support, respect & loyalty we had was unconditional and rare.”
“You lit up every room you walked into,” Denise went on. “You are larger than life & Everyone was drawn to you. So talented & most underrated actor. And most humble. Everything you did was infectious. Your laugh, your kindness, your wit, your strength, your loyalty, your passion, and your zest for life. We’ve been each other’s rock. Our memories together are endless. You’ve had my back and protected me more than anyone. I don’t know what I’m going to do without you here. You’re my voice of reason & pillar of strength. Especially during this last year of pain & heartache. And now I need you more than ever, for this pain and heartache losing you. Schweetbabe we’ve had those conversations.. We thought we’d live forever or at least into our 90’s.”
At the end of the caption, Denise wrote, “Schweetbabe I will be looking for those signs. I need to know you’re still here with me. I love you so much & miss you dearly schweetbabe.”
Tori Spelling
In her own post, Tori Spelling wrote that it took her a “couple days” to form the words, noting that she “wasn’t ready to write because then it felt real. And, this shouldn’t be real.”
“@thepatrickmuldoon and I met on a blind date. Which thankfully wasn’t a blind date at all because we were both on a tv series,” Tori wrote. “Like every other girl in the world I crushed on his character Austin from Days of Our Lives. Not sure I ever disclosed that to him. What I met and ultimately fell in love w/ was not just a beautiful on the outside creature but the most beautiful soul . He was special and one of a kind. The kindest most caring human w/ raddest weird sense of humor. We got each other! Laughed a lot ! I laughed w/him and at him and he loved it. Was multi talented. Passionate about everything he did. And, he had a knack for making others smile & brought absolute joy to everyone that was blessed to be in his orbit. A true gift.”
Adding that they “shared a love of Broncos, guitars, goofing off, playing tag, and Grease!” Tori added that Patrick was “a huge part of [her] formative 20’s.”
“We went on to be good friends! Still laughing & always caring,” she went on. “Decades later I found him to be such a true friend/hype man when I was going thru my divorce. He would call and check on me and send me the worst jokes to make me laugh. He loved when I rolled my eyes. Now I miss those stupid jokes. I last saw him past summer. Finally met his soulmate @miriamrothbart . He said we would get along & I instantly got it! She was his perfect balance. He was just having his moment. His element. Found true love, acting & producing became his ‘jam’ as he would say. Crushing it! Don’t believe in regrets but regret not setting that dinner w/him & Miriam after that. Life is short.”
Lola Sheen (Denise Richards’ Daughter)
Lola, the daughter of Denise, admitted in her Instagram post that she “always begged [her] mom i’m sure she told you that you guys would end up back together haha, but i guess staying best friends was better anyways.”
