Kamar De Los Reyes, One Life To Live Actor, Dead At 56
Kamar de los Reyes, best known for playing Detective Antonio Vega on ABC's "One Life to Live," died on December 24, 2023, according to The Hollywood Reporter. A family spokesperson told the outlet that the 56-year-old actor, who also voiced "Call of Duty" bad guy Raul Menendez, had been diagnosed with cancer and died on Christmas Eve in Los Angeles.
Born in Puerto Rico, de los Reyes moved to Los Angeles, where he pursued an acting career. In addition to appearing in almost 300 episodes of "One Life to Live," some of his most notable roles included the "Sleepy Hollow" and "The Rookie" television series. He is survived by his wife, fellow actor and "One Life" alum Sherri Saum, and three sons — Caylen and twins Michael and John — as well as his extended family, according to Deadline.
Per TVLine, Saum's rep noted that de los Reyes finished filming his role in Sterling K. Brown's upcoming Hulu drama, "Washington Black," prior to his death, and he'll also occupy a significant role in Marvel's upcoming series, "Daredevil: Born Again."
Kamar de los Reyes' legacy
Although Kamar de los Reyes will be forever linked to his "One Life to Live" character, Detective Antonio Vega, the actor was especially proud of his work on the "Call of Duty" video game series. According to E! News, de los Reyes provided the voice and motion-captured acting for the franchise's supervillain, Raul Menendeza. He portrayed the drug lord in "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" (2012), "Call of Duty: Strike Team" (2013), "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" (2018), and "Call of Duty: Vanguard" and "Call of Duty: Warzone" (2022).
As de los Reyes told GamerHub in 2012, he was "blown away" and rendered "speechless" by the franchise — "one of the most amazing projects" he ever worked on — and the tributes are proof positive that his contribution to the video game world made a lasting impact. "Horrible to hear this. The voice of my teenage years. Absolutely horrible to hear this ... thank you for making my teenage years the best," a fan posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. "RIP king! You were an icon to the franchise!" someone else added.
But, of course, de los Reyes' greatest legacy remains his three sons: twins Michael and John, whom he welcomed with Saum in 2014, and his eldest, Caylen, from a previous relationship. In fact, de los Reyes honored Caylen upon his U.S. Army Ranger graduation — his last Instagram post. Always knew you'd do great things – never dreamed how great," de los Reyes wrote. "My pride to have you as my son overwhelms me- Soar @caylen.delosreyes Soar. I love you-you are my heart."