Patrick Muldoon's 'nightmare' final moments revealed by his family after sudden death at 57

Actor Patrick Muldoon, best known for appearing in Days of Our Lives and Starship Troopers, has died after suffering a heart attack.

The 57-year-old died at the Beverly Hills home he shared with his partner of two years, Miriam Rothbart, his sister Shana Muldoon-Zappa has said.

The Melrose Place star had coffee with Rothbart and then went to take a shower. Rothbart checked on him in the bathroom and found him unconscious on the floor.

“She just thought it seemed [like he'd been in there] a little long - it was probably 10 minutes. So she went in and he was on the floor not breathing,” Shanna told The Mail.

“She called 911 and she was trying to bring him back, then the paramedics got there. My parents were at our house because we're all in LA and we all ran over there. But by the time we got there, he was gone. “

Shanna said that their father injured himself in their scramble to get to Muldoon and is now in hospital.

“My poor dad ran in the house to see him and fell and fractured his shoulder. I mean, it's just so crazy,” she said.

Shanna added that her brother was incredibly fit and healthy, often running, doing martial arts and going to the gym, so his death felt like an “unbelievable nightmare”.

She speculated that the heart attack was down to the high stress of Hollywood,” revealing he led a fast-paced life and was planning to go to Australia next week and St. Barts the week after.

Muldoon found fame playing Austin Reed on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives from 1992 to 1995.

He reprised the role on the soap from 2011 to 2012.

His other roles included the recurring character Jeffrey Hunter in the teen television series Saved by the Bell in 1991 and the villain Richard Hart in the soap opera Melrose Place from 1995 to 1996.

In 1997, Muldoon played the role of Zander Barcalow in the film Starship Troopers, alongside his ex-girlfriend Denise Richards - who is said to be “inconsolable” over his death.

He remained close friends with Richards after dating her on and off for five years during the 1990s.

They reunited in the crime thriller Dirty Hands, which is set to be released later this month.

Muldoon appeared on an episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, when Richards was a cast member, as well as on her reality show Denise Richards & Her Wild Things to film a music video with her.

He also dated Lisa Rinna, Tori Spelling and Juliette Binoche.

Aside from acting, he worked as a producer on films like The Tribes of Palos Verdes, Arkansas, Marlowe, The Card Counter, The Dreadful and Riff Raff through his company, Storyboard Productions.

He was set to produce a film with Chris Hemsworth and Taron Egerton titled Kockroach.

Muldoon posted about the feature, which is currently filming in Australia, on Instagram two days before his death.

He wrote: “So excited to be a part of this amazing project KOCKROACH directed by Matt Ross starring Chris Hemsworth, Taron Egerton, Zazzie Beetz and Alec Baldwin.”

Last year, he teased a possible return to Days of Our Lives, appearing in a video shared on Peacock's official Instagram page.

In the short clip, he could be seen wandering around the set of the show and saying: “Oh my God I'm in Salem! It's good to be back.”

He is survived by his partner Rothbart, parents Deanna and Patrick Muldoon, Sr, sister and brother-in-law Shana and Ahmet Zappa, niece Halo and nephew Arrow Zappa.