Background
Hendrickson was born in Huntington, New New York
Hendrickson was born in Huntington, New New York
He studied at the prestigious Juilliard School as part of the institution"s first drama division class and was a founding member of John Houseman"s The Acting Company.
Prior to his television appearances, Hendrickson acted in theatre. From 1973 to 1984, he appeared in a host of productions that included The Elephant Manitoba (taking over the title part in 1981 after serving as David Bowie"s understudy), Awake and Sing and Strider. Hendrickson also acted in feature films.
His credits include Dreams Don"t Die (1982), Manhunter (1986), Russkies (1987), Regarding Henry (1991), Consenting Adults (1992) and Spanking the Monkey (1994).
Hendrickson"s body was discovered on July 3, 2006 at his Huntington, New York home. The Suffolk County Police labeled his death a suicide.
His body had been found with a gunshot wound to the head On screen
Since daytime soap operas follow tape-ahead shooting schedules, Hendrickson"s final scenes on As the World Turns were broadcast July 12, 2006, nine days after his death.
The July 12 episode featured a brief dedication at the end alerting viewers to his death.
A July 5, 2006 television Guide article indicated that the role would not be recast. The show addressed the fate of the character onscreen in October 2006, and had Hal Munson die in the line of duty.