June 18, 2026Updated June 19, 2026, 12:58 p.m. ET
Paul Avery, an actor credited with roles in “All My Children” and 1978’s “Superman,” died in a house fire alongside his wife, Sheila Garry Avery, in New Jersey.
When firefighters responded to their Blairstown, New Jersey, home just after 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 16, the couple was found in critical condition, the New Jersey State Police told the Ridge View Echo, the local news organization founded by Avery. They reportedly died shortly after they were rescued, and an investigation into the cause is ongoing.
“Upon the troopers’ arrival, the residence was fully engulfed in flames,” New Jersey State Police said in a statement shared with USA TODAY on June 19. “Two individuals were in the residence at the time of the fire, and both succumbed to their injuries. … The fire remains under investigation, and no additional information is available.”
A June 16 Facebook post from Kyle Avery, identified by the Ridge View Echo as the couple’s daughter, shared she was “devastated to share that our parents, Paul and Sheila Garry Avery, passed away early this morning.”
“We loved them so much, and they loved us so much, and nobody ever had to wonder if that was so,” Kyle’s post said, noting funeral service plans were forthcoming.
Paul Avery played a cameraman in Christopher Reeve’s “Superman” and Hughie in “All My Children,” a character introduced in 1981, which he reprised in 1988, according to IMDB.
He also appeared in one-off episodes for “Three’s Company,” “Soap,” “Tales from the Darkside” and “Young People’s Specials.”
Per the Ridge View Echo, Paul Avery was a Vietnam War veteran and pilot who served on the township committee until 2018, when he started providing full-time caregiving to his wife, who was an artist, after she suffered a stroke.
Contributing: Patrick Ryan
