The August 17 edition of the soap ended with a title card featuring a photo of Pickett and the words, “In Loving Memory of Jay Pickett.” This led to tributes to many soap fans who remembered him not just from the medical drama but also from Days Of Our Lives and Port Charles.

The tribute came around three weeks after the actor died suddenly aged 60 on the set of film Treasure Valley on July 30. At the time, the film’s co-producer Travis Mills wrote on the film’s Facebook page: “Jay Pickett, our leading man, writer, producer, and creator of this movie passed away suddenly while we were on location preparing to film a scene.

“There is no official explanation for the cause of his death but it appears to have been a heart attack. Everyone present tried as hard as they could to keep him alive. Our hearts are broken and we grieve for his family who are so devastated by this shocking tragedy.”

A source told Newsweek at the time of the incident that the star collapsed on set and could not be revived.

The tribute to the former General Hospital actor came three days before his funeral, which is scheduled for August 20 at the Nampa Civic Center in Nampa, Idaho. The Nampa Funeral Home website is also set to offer a livestream of the event from 3 p.m. Mountain Time.

Leading the tributes was Pickett’s one-time Port Charles co-star Michael Dietz, who wrote: “My greatest friend has sadly left this world. We met when we were cast as brothers on Port Charles many many years ago. He played my big brother on TV but that carried over into real life and an amazing friendship that was one of a kind.”

His former General Hospital co-star Kin Shriner tweeted: “The sudden passing of my pal Jay Pickett Is very sad. He loved acting and Westerns, and when we got together we laughed a lot.”

Many General Hospital fans found themselves moved by the show’s tribute. One wrote, “aw man I didn’t know Jay Pickett had died. Frank and Julie were my main ship on Port Charles pre-vampires. That’s so sad.” Another tweeted, “aww the In Memory of Jay Pickett hit me hard.”

Last week, the trailer was released for Catch the Bullet, one of the last films Pickett made before his death. In this film, another of the actor’s beloved westerns, he plays a U.S. marshal whose father and son are kidnapped. The film is set to go straight to video-on-demand on September 10.

General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC. Previous episodes are available on Hulu.