Getty Philece Sampler
Philece Sampler, a soap opera actress who appeared on Another World and Days of Our Lives, is dead.
“My dear friend Philece Sampler died unexpectedly at her home in L.A. She was an enormously talented actress w/a loving heart & a kind soul,” her friend, Peggy Webb, an author, confirmed on Twitter.
My dear friend Philece Sampler died unexpectedly at her home in L.A. She was an enormously talented actress w/a loving heart & a kind soul
On Facebook, Webb wrote, “My heart is heavy. My dear friend, Philece Sampler, died unexpectedly at her home in Los Angeles. She was an enormously talented actress with a beautiful spirit, a loving heart and a kind soul. We talked everyWednesday evening about everything under the sun, including the projects we planned to do together, and we always ended up laughing uproariously. She has been a bright light in my life for more than twenty years and I will miss her so very much.”
According to Soaps.com, Sampler was only 67 years old.
Here’s what you need to know:
Sampler’s Cause of Death Was a Heart Attack
How did Sampler die? Her cause of death was a heart attack, according to Soap Opera Digest.
Nelson Aspen, a journalist and friend of Sampler’s, also confirmed her death. He wrote on Instagram,
Heartbroken to receive the call today that my dear friend, Philece Sampler, has passed away from a heart attack, just shy of her 68th birthday. That explains why I didn’t hear from her yesterday on my own birthday: we always celebrated as Cancerian siblings. She was an amazingly energetic, loving and loyal friend.
I first met Philece in 1987 when we were both working on ‘Another World.’ She joined the cast after successful runs on ‘Days of Our Lives’ and the primetime serial ‘Rituals.’
When I moved to LA in 1990, she generously let me live in her beautiful Hollywood Hills home and we became even closer. So close, in fact, that we wrote several screenplays together and bred beautiful Abyssinian cats. I think that over the decade of the ‘90s, I spent more time with Philece than anyone else. She was as wickedly funny as she was vivacious. Philece was always A complete original!
She went on to a very successful Voice Over career and was always hopeful that ‘Days of Our Lives’ would invite her back. Shame on them for not doing so. She was a fan favorite and one of the most hard working, diligent people I’ve ever known. She gave 1000% to anything she did. In a fickle business like Entertainment, I’m proud that we stayed so close right up to the very end of her life. Cherish your loved ones every moment, folks.
The last time we saw each other in person was right before the Covid lockdown in February of last year. I was performing my cabaret show in Los Angeles at Rockwell. Always supportive, she was there and I surprised her by singing the “Another World” theme and bringing her on stage with me. We were both in tears by the end of the song!
Philece was convinced she was the reincarnation of Anne Askew, an English writer and poet who had been put to death during the reign of Henry VIII. So I am going to be keeping a sharp eye out in case she comes back as someone new. If anyone can do it, SHE can!
Farewell for now, my funny and fabulous friend and ‘sister from another mister.’ Rest in Peace. #restinpeace #rip #philecesampler #digimon #soapopera #anotherworld #daysoff #rituals #reneedimera #donnalove #anneaskew
Fans Offered Tributes to Sampler, Who Was Also a Voice Over Actress
Fans offered tributes on Facebook. “I loved her on Days, not so much as Donna Love on Another World. May she Rest In Peace, 🙏” wrote one. “Always liked her characters. Great actress. RIP,” wrote another. “So sad! I remember watching her as Renee on DOOL. RIP!” said a third.
“Stefano’s daughter what a shame she was an amazing actress,” chimed in another fan.
She was also well-known in the world of animation. “To Digimon fans, Sampler would be best known as Mimi in Adventure, Adventure 02, and tri. (She didn’t surprise the role for Kizuna, likely due to coronavirus related scheduling issues.) On top of Mimi, she was also Cody in 02, Alice in Tamers, and Nanami in Data Squad. She also played any number of other roles in the series including but not limited to: Jeri in Runaway Locomon, Palmon as a replacement voice, Matt & TK’s Grandma in the movie, and quite a few more,” according to WiththeWill.net.
According to Comicbook.com, she starred in Digimon Adventure and The Legend of Korra. “Sampler most notably provided the voice for Mimi Tachikawa in the English dubbed version of the Digimon Adventure franchise,” the site noted.
Her IMDB profile says, “Philece Sampler was born on July 16, 1953 in San Angelo, Texas, USA as Debra Philece Sampler. She is known for her work on The Legend of Korra (2012), Digimon Adventure tri. Part 2: Determination (2016) and Digimon Adventure tri. Part 1: Reunion (2015). She has been married to Larry Dean since July 10, 1999. She was previously married to Brad Blaisdell.”
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