Another World star Mark Mortimer, who spent the final years of the beloved NBC soap playing Nick Hudson, has died following a battle with cancer. He was 59.
Mortimer died Sept. 23 surrounded by loved ones after what his family described as a “fearless journey with cancer,” according to an obituary published by Moss-Norris Funeral Home in his native Illinois.
The actor had been diagnosed with cancer in 2024, but his family said the disease did not come to define the final chapter of his life. Instead, Mortimer and his wife, Christie, turned their experience into an effort to help other families facing similar diagnoses.
For longtime soap fans, Mortimer remains best remembered as Nick Hudson on Another World, a role he took over in 1996 and continued playing until the legendary daytime drama aired its final episode in June 1999.
Mortimer was the third actor to portray Nick, following Kevin McClatchy and future Grey’s Anatomy star Justin Chambers.
Nick was introduced as the son of Michael Hudson, played by Kale Browne, making him the half-brother of twins Vicky Hudson and Marley Love. Mortimer became part of the show during its final years and remained with the cast until NBC brought the soap’s 35-year run to an end.
Another World had been a fixture of American daytime television since its debut in 1964 and became known for pushing the boundaries of traditional soap storytelling.
For Mortimer, the show was more than a breakthrough role. It was essentially his acting school.
In a 1999 interview with Soap Opera Weekly, shortly before Another World left the air, Mortimer spoke about how much he had learned from the veteran performers around him.
“My fondest memory of being on the show was getting an opportunity to work with fine actors like Jensen Buchanan, Eric Morgan Stuart, Anna Stuart — they’ve really been great,” he said.
Mortimer also credited Browne, Thomas Eplin and Tim Gibbs with helping him develop as an actor.
“When I came on the show, I didn’t know much about acting, but they’ve been very helpful to me,” he recalled. “It’s been like one big class for me, which has been really rewarding.”
Mortimer’s life before Hollywood had already taken several turns.
Born April 15, 1967, in St. Charles, Illinois, he served in the U.S. Army before working as a model and eventually pursuing acting.
After Another World ended, Mortimer appeared in an episode of the ABC sitcom Spin City in 1999. His later credits included the 2005 film The Nowhere Man, which would become one of his final screen appearances.
But Mortimer ultimately built a second career far removed from television.
He and Christie, along with business partner Dave Lockhart, launched Inside Out Construction in Illinois in 2003 after Mortimer and his wife discovered a passion for construction work while living in California.
A construction industry profile published years later described the dramatic career transition, noting that Mortimer had gone from modeling and acting to overseeing construction projects in the Chicago area.
The company grew into a long-term family business and became a major part of Mortimer’s life after Hollywood.
His family said Mortimer’s willingness to reinvent himself was one of the qualities that defined him.
“He was an Army veteran, a model, an actor, an entrepreneur and a builder,” his obituary said. “He was a husband, father, son, brother and friend.”
His family remembered him as someone who was willing to take risks, change direction and learn new things throughout his life.
But they said two roles mattered more to Mortimer than all the others: husband and father.
Mortimer met Christie at Hunter Mountain in New York in 2000. The couple went on to spend 25 years together and eventually welcomed their daughter, Hunter, after waiting more than a decade to become parents.
His obituary paints a picture of a devoted father who deliberately organized his work life so he could remain heavily involved in his daughter’s childhood.
That commitment to family became especially important after Mortimer was diagnosed with cancer in 2024.
Rather than focusing solely on his own illness, Mortimer and Christie founded the Integrative Access Foundation, an organization intended to help cancer patients obtain information, support and access to integrative treatment options that may otherwise be financially out of reach.
The foundation says its mission includes helping patients who feel limited by financial or other barriers when exploring additional forms of cancer care.
Mortimer also became involved with Beyond the Diagnosis, a project intended to continue conversations about cancer, caregiving, family, faith and resilience.
His family said Mortimer relied heavily on his Christian faith as his illness progressed and found peace in his beliefs near the end of his life.
“Mark showed those who loved him that courage is not the absence of fear,” his obituary said. “It is choosing to live, love, laugh, hope and trust God even when the road ahead is uncertain.”
Mortimer is survived by Christie and Hunter, as well as his mother, Sharlene Pearson; his father, Emil Mortimer, and stepmother, Belinda; his siblings; extended family members; friends and colleagues.
A visitation was held Sept. 25 at Moss-Norris Funeral Home in St. Charles, Illinois, followed by a funeral service Sept. 26 at Christ Community Church in South Elgin.
His family said he will be laid to rest at St. Charles/Resurrection Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.
Rather than flowers, the family asked that memorial contributions be directed to the Integrative Access Foundation so Mortimer’s work helping other people facing cancer can continue.
While generations of Another World viewers will remember him as Nick Hudson, his family made clear that Mortimer considered his television career only one chapter of a much larger life.
His legacy, they said, will continue through his wife and daughter, the business he helped build and the cancer organization created from one of the most difficult experiences of his life.
