The daytime community is sending love to Susan Lucci (Erica Kane, All My Children), who is grieving the loss of her husband, Helmut Huber. The TV producer, who was also the father of Passions alum Liza Huber (Gwen Hotchkiss), passed away peacefully on Monday at the age of 84.
"Helmut's passing is a tremendous loss for all who knew and loved him. He was an extraordinary husband, father, grandfather, and friend," a statement from Lucci's publicist, Jessica Sciacchitano, said. "The family kindly asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult time."
A representative for the family also revealed to People, "A family man, he was a loyal friend, and loved them deeply. With a roaring sense of humor, larger-than-life personality, and a practical problem-solver, he lived his life to the fullest. Mr. Huber who formerly raced motorcycles in Austria was a first-rate skier, and avid golfer, belonging to the Garden City Golf Club and Westhampton Country Club."
Born in October 1937 in Austria, Huber became a citizen of the US in January 1994. A producer and a writer (known forSeduced and Betrayed, Wievel Liebe braucht der Mensch, and Blood on Her Hands), he wed Lucci in 1969 (one year before she joined AMC) and later became the actress' manager. He also was the CEO of Pine Valley Productions.
Back in 2019, Lucci revealed that she fell in love with Huber while she was engaged to another man. As she shared, Huber was her boss when she started waitressing at New York's Garden City Hotel when she was just 18 years old. They were attracted to one another, but the pair's age difference prevented them from pursuing a romantic relationship. Sometime later, Lucci became engaged to someone else, and her parents threw their daughter an engagement party at the same Long Island hotel. They invited Huber to join the table, which ended up being a life-changing decision.
"I was thinking at the time that he was much more attractive than I even knew, and I shouldn't be feeling like that," Lucci recalled of what was going through her mind while she looked at Huber with her then-fiancé by her side. "[I remember thinking] 'Something is wrong with this picture'. But I didn't know what to do with it."
Huber, however, already knew that it was meant to be and turned to Lucci's mom to say, "She needs a man, not a boy."
Lucci ultimately decided to end her engagement, but she wasn't sure where her relationship with Huber would go -- despite his repeated declarations that he'd like to marry her.
"Sometimes I think there's a reason why I played Erica Kane, why they cast me in that role," the actress joked in reference to the soap-like drama of her own romantic relationship at the time.
In the end, Lucci recalled, it was one small romantic gesture that convinced her that Huber was a man worth keeping.
"One night we were in the sun porch of my parents' home. Helmut realized that I was cold. He took his socks off and put his socks on me," Lucci shared, adding it was that moment when she realized, "This is somebody spectacular."
Huber is survived by Lucci, two sons, two daughters, his brother, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made to the American Stroke Association in support of stroke awareness and research.
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