All My Children actor Paul Avery, wife killed in New Jersey fire

A pre-dawn house fire in Blairstown Township killed Paul Avery, the actor best known as bartender Hughie on All My Children, and his wife, Sheila Garry Avery, in a blaze that tore through their Warren County home before daylight. New Jersey State Police said troopers were sent at 12:38 a.m. Tuesday, June 16, 2026, to 88 Mohican Road, where the residence was fully engulfed in flames.

Both people inside the home were later found unresponsive and confirmed dead. Avery was 81. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and officials have not released details about what sparked the blaze or whether any warning systems gave the couple time to get out.

Avery spent 12 years on All My Children, where he became familiar to daytime viewers as Hughie. His screen credits also included the 1978 film Superman and television appearances on Three's Company, Soap and Tales from the Darkside. For many viewers, that career defined him; in Blairstown, he was also known for civic work that stretched far beyond the screen.

He served as a Blairstown township committeeman, was a longtime member of the Rotary Club, founded and edited the Ridge View Echo and worked as a newspaper editor. He had lived in Blairstown for 37 years and was also a Vietnam veteran, a helicopter pilot and an avid glider flyer who spent Sunday mornings at Blairstown Airport. Those parts of his life made him a visible figure in town long before his death drew attention to the fire itself.

Kyle Avery confirmed the deaths in a social media post and said she was devastated to share the news, while thanking the Blairstown Fire Department for its efforts. The loss has sharpened attention on a recurring public-safety reality: when a residential fire breaks out in the middle of the night, smoke, heat and confusion can close off escape routes fast, leaving little margin for residents to react.