ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

We're going to take a moment now to remember a man who made a name for himself in daytime television - actually, made two names for himself.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ALL MY CHILDREN")

DAVID CANARY: (As Adam Chandler) Oh, Stuart, Stuart, just the man I wanted to see.

(As Stuart Chandler) I can't do this anymore, Adam. It's gone too far.

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

That's actor David Canary playing twin brothers Adam and Stuart Chandler on the soap opera "All My Children." He died earlier this month at age 77.

SHAPIRO: Adam was the powerful, conniving twin. Stuart was gentle and innocent.

MCEVERS: Canary didn't know it was the plan to play twins. Here he is in an interview with the Archive of American Television from 2004.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

CANARY: I did not know that Stuart existed. They didn't tell me that until after I'd signed the contract. Fine with me - it was a bonus as far as I was concerned. But they didn't tell me about that. So I not only had to figure out who Adam was, I had to figure out who Stuart was.

MCEVERS: He did figure it out and went on to win five Daytime Emmys. But he always remembered his roots.

SHAPIRO: Mel Herncane ran into him now and then as president of the Chamber of Commerce in Massillon, Ohio, where Canary grew up.

MEL HERNCANE: He never forgot us. And when you talked to him, he was like as comfortable as an old shoe. I mean, he was. He was just a genuine, nice fella, even though he was a star.

MCEVERS: Herncane says Canary will also be remembered as a star lineman for the Massillon Tigers football team and later at the University of Cincinnati.

SHAPIRO: In that interview back in 2004, Canary looked back on everything he had done.

CANARY: Being proud of something is a very tricky word and I sometimes think it has a bad connotation. I don't feel proud, I feel grateful. I'm lucky.

SHAPIRO: Actor David Canary died on November 16. He was 77 years old. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.