John Ingle, who played the ruthless* patriarch* Edward Quartermaine for two decades on daytime soap opera “General Hospital,” has died at age 84.

The actor died on Sunday “surrounded by his family in California after a courageous battle with cancer,” according to television network ABC. He filmed his last episode of “General Hospital” on August 24.

Ingle was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1928, and his family moved throughout the Midwest before settling in California when Ingle was a teenager.

He attended Occidental College in Los Angeles and went on to teach drama at Beverly Hills High School and Hollywood High School for a combined 30 years. His students included Richard Dreyfuss, Barbara Hershey, David Schwimmer and Nicolas Cage.

Ingle pursued an acting career after retiring from teaching in 1985. In addition to his longstanding role in “General Hospital,” Ingle’s television credits include “Cheers,” “The Drew Carey Show,” “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Dallas.”(SD-Agencies)