It has just been reported that James Houghton, who starred as record producer Kenny Ward on the CBS prime time soap opera “Knots Landing” and later won four Daytime Emmy Awards as a writer for “The Young and the Restless,” died at the age of 75.
Houghton died on August 27, 2024, at his home in Encino, California, from peritoneal mesothelioma, according to his wife, Karen Houghton, who recently shared the news with The Hollywood Reporter. She did not want to discuss his death until now.
Born in Los Angeles, California, on November 7, 1948, Houghton was the son of Buck Houghton, a producer who worked on the first three seasons of CBS’s “The Twilight Zone.” This connection helped launch his acting career, with one of his first on-screen appearances being in the 1962 “Twilight Zone” episode “The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank.”
After attending the Harvard School in Studio City, boarding school at the Institut Le Rosey in Rolle, Switzerland, and UC Berkeley, Houghton began his professional acting career in the early 1970s. He appeared in the ABC series “Alias Smith & Jones” and the film “Sweet Sugar” before landing his breakthrough role on the CBS daytime drama “The Young and the Restless.”
From 1973 to 1976, Houghton originated the role of attorney Greg Foster on “The Young and the Restless,” where he played Nikki Newman’s first husband. He starred alongside William Espy, who portrayed his brother Snapper Foster.
After leaving “The Young and the Restless,” Houghton co-starred with Martin Kove on the CBS action series “Code R,” a show about a rescue team on the Channel Islands. However, the series lasted only 13 episodes in 1977.
Houghton’s career took a significant turn when he joined the original cast of “Knots Landing,” a spin-off of the popular series “Dallas,” in 1979. For four seasons, he played Kenny Ward, a record producer known for his infidelity to his wife, Ginger, portrayed by Kim Lankford. The Wards were one of the four original couples living on the show’s iconic cul-de-sac, alongside Gary and Val (Ted Shackelford and Joan Van Ark), Sid and Karen (Don Murray and Michele Lee), and Richard and Laura (John Pleshette and Constance McCashin).
In a 2006 interview, Houghton spoke fondly of his time on “Knots Landing,” saying, “The thing about Knots Landing was, because we were all on a cul-de-sac together and because we interacted with one another, it was still very much a family. Plus, we were putting on a show that — the initial season or two at the very least, a new show — we were in this foxhole mentality of ‘We’re all in this together.'”
Houghton and Lankford appeared in 66 episodes before their characters were written off the show in 1983, with the storyline that Kenny and Ginger moved to Nashville to pursue careers in country music. Although Houghton expressed that he didn’t want to leave the series, he understood the decision, saying, “There comes a time when you’ve got to throw some ballast overboard in order to make room for something else. You know, it’s a pretty surgical process. I didn’t take it personally.”
During his time on “Knots Landing,” Houghton and his on-screen wife Lankford were neighbors in Laurel Canyon. Through Lankford’s romantic involvement with singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, Houghton and his co-star Ted Shackelford were featured on the cover of Zevon’s 1982 album, “The Envoy.”
Following his departure from “Knots Landing,” Houghton continued acting. He appeared in the second season of ABC’s “The Colbys,” a spin-off of “Dynasty,” where he played U.S. Senator Cash Cassidy, a rival of Charlton Heston’s character, oil mogul Jason Colby, from 1986 to 1987.
Houghton’s film credits include “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” (1978), where he portrayed the fiancé of Nancy Allen’s character, as well as “One on One” (1977), “More American Graffiti” (1979), “Superstition” (1982), and “Purple People Eater” (1988). His television work extended to guest roles on shows such as “Fantasy Island,” “Hotel,” “The Love Boat,” and “Remington Steele,” as well as a role in the 1986 ABC miniseries “North and South: Book 2, Love and War.”
In addition to acting, Houghton showed his talent as a writer. He and his younger sister, Mona Houghton, co-wrote three episodes of “Knots Landing” in 1982. In 1991, he returned to “The Young and the Restless,” this time as a writer rather than an actor. His contributions to the writing team helped make the show a dominant force in daytime television ratings.
During his time as a writer for “The Young and the Restless,” Houghton shared four Emmy Awards off 14 nominations as a member of the outstanding drama series writing team through 2007. He later wrote for another CBS soap opera, “The Bold and the Beautiful.” In 2017, he published a crime thriller novel titled “The Hooligan’s Game.”
Throughout his life, Houghton was known for his charitable work, giving his time and money to organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Special Olympics, and School on Wheels.
In addition to his wife Karen, whom he met at a T-ball game and married in November 1994, Houghton is survived by his mother, Wanda; his sister, Mona; his children, Daniel and Alisa; his son-in-law, Jim; and his grandson, Milo.
