Tom Ligon Dies: ‘Young and the Restless’ Star Was 85

Michelle Stein June 30, 2026, 10:24 am

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Tom Ligon, best known for playing Lucas Prentiss on The Young and the Restless, has died at age 85.
Ligon was a dedicated SAG-AFTRA member for 60 years.
In addition to his soap opera roles, Ligon had a diverse career in television, film, and Broadway.

Tom Ligon, who starred in The Young and the Restless in the late ’70s and early ’80s, is dead at 85.

On Monday, June 29, SAG-AFTRA New York Local confirmed the actor’s death via Facebook.

“SAG-AFTRA celebrates the memory of former New York Local Board member and a 60-year union member Tom Ligon,” the labor union branch captioned a photo of him. “Ligon was strongly pro-merger and worked fiercely on member education in support of creating one union. Ligon also served as National Seniors Committee Chair and NY Seniors Committee Co-chair, as well as multiple other committees. He will be deeply missed. #SagAftraMember since 1965.”

Ligon is best known for playing Lucas Prentiss on The Young and the Restless from 1978 to 1982. In the soap opera, Lucas was involved in a love quadrangle with his onscreen brother, Lance Pretiss (John McCook and Dennis Cole), and the Brooks sisters, Leslie (Victoria Mallory) and Lori (Jaime Lyn Bauer).

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, Tom Ligon, Jaime Lyn Bauer, John McCook,

‘The Young and the Restless,’ from left: Tom Ligon, Jaime Lyn Bauer, John McCook, 1970s, 1973 (CBS /Courtesy Everett Collection)

Aside from Y&R, Ligon appeared in several other soap operas, such as Santa Barbara, Loving, Another World, Dallas, and All My Children. Other TV roles included Medical Center, Baretta, Charlie’s Angels, Police Woman, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Starsky & Hutch, Law & Order, and The Heart, She Holler, among others.

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Film-wise, his acting credits included Paint Your Wagon (1969), Jump (1971), Bang the Drum Slowly (1973), Doctors in Love (1982), Cutting Class (1989), and more.

In 1963, Ligon appeared in Broadway’s Have I Got a Girl for You!, which closed on opening night. He also appeared in Angela and Love Is a Time of Day on Broadway, as well as many New York stage productions in the ’60s. In 1996, he was an understudy for Broadway’s Tartuffe.

Ligon was preceded in death by his wife, K.C. (Crawford) Ligon, who died at 60 in 2009.

The Young and the Restless, Weekdays, CBS