JOE LaDUE

IN LOVING MEMORY

(Det. Harry Frost, 1983)

December 16, 1943-May 26, 2014

Joe LaDue, who appeared briefly on "Days of Our Lives" as Detective Harry Frost in 1983, has passed away at the age of 70. LaDue, better known to soap fans as Derek Thurston on "The Young and the Restless" (1977-1980, 1984) appeared on the cover of Soap Opera Digest in 1978. His death had gone unreported on the web, but his name is in the current edition of the SAG-AFTRA Magazine, which posts many actor deaths that go unreported elsewhere. In recent years, Mr. LaDue had suffered from Alzheimer's disease. A search on the web shows only this brief obituary: "Joseph 'Smokey Joe' La Due, 70, U.S. Army (ret.), of Las Vegas, passed away May 26, 2014. Services will be at noon Sunday, July 29, at Blue Diamond Foursquare Church, 7 Diamond St., Blue Diamond, NV 89004."

That is sad. I saw some of his Y&R on YT

How sad he and Bern Bennett passed on the same week.....

I wish there was more of Derek especially more of the Suzanne stuff...but he seemed like an interesting male....

RIP!

Wow - and he went just a little over a year after Jeanne. How sad.

With Jeanne at Y&R 30th Anniversary in 1984

And with Quin

Edited September 25, 201411 yr by Paul Raven

I'm sorry to hear this. I've seen so little of his work as Derek. I always wonder how fans felt about him.

I've posted a few things over the years that had photos of him. I thought I'd posted the SOD when he and Brenda Dickson were on the cover, but I can't find it in the thread. If I can't find it I'll post it.

Edited September 25, 201411 yr by Paul Raven

I really loved the show when Derek was on it..those were some of the best days of Y&R...Miss Michael Evans too..Victor's sidekick

I really loved the show when Derek was on it..those were some of the best days of Y&R...Miss Michael Evans too..Victor's sidekick

I laughed at the pic of Melody with Wings Hauser. She kind of looks like a cheap bimbo. Nice to see a pic of the entire Williams family (including the rarely seen Steve). I wonder why they have never brought Steve back to the show ? Steve was going to marry Peggy Brooks, but she broke up with him after sleeping with Jack Abbott. I guess Peggy had a thing for men named Jack.

I never knew that Loyita Chapel (the real life Mrs. Robert S. Woods) was on Y&R. What was her arc?

She was Derek's girl friday, or fellow schemer, or something.

Here's the cover story for that October 1978 issue.

Thanks! I like that last photo of the three of them together.