Scott Baio paid tribute to his former Charles in Charge co-Star, Jennifer Runyon, following her death at age 65. On March 8, the actor posted to Instagram to share photos of himself posing on the carpet with Runyon as well as fellow Charles in Charge co-stars Willie Aames and Josie Davis at a holiday event in Hollywood five years ago.
Baio, 65, captioned the post to reflect on his time working with Runyon in the mid-1980s.
“I had the extreme pleasure of working with Jennifer Runyon on Charles In Charge,” he wrote. “She was a sweet, kind, and generous actress to work with. Jennifer played my longtime girlfriend on Charles In Charge; however, she was also a wonderful mother and wife. We last saw each other at The Hollywood Christmas Parade in late 2019. I’m sending my deepest condolences, prayers, and sympathy to her family during this difficult time. God bless her and her family. 🙏”
Runyon died on March 6 with her loved ones by her side, TMZ reported. No cause of death was confirmed. Runyon’s longtime friend, Bewitched star Erin Murphy, wrote that the actress had a brief battle with cancer.
On Charles in Charge, Runyon played Baio’s character Charles’s girlfriend, Gwendolyn Pierce, in the show’s first season, from 1984 to 1985. She returned to the CBSsitcom for a Season 2 two-parter.
In a 2014 interview with Retro Ladyland, Runyon said she was thrilled to land the role on Charles in Charge alongside Baio and Aames, who played Charles’ best friend Buddy Lembeck.
“When I got the part, I was so excited,” she shared. “I was nervous because I had always had a little crush on Scott Baio. He was great…he ended up becoming like a brother to me…I learned a lot from working with Scott and Willie Aames.”
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Aames, 65, also paid tribute to Runyon in a social media post following her death. “Jenn was more than a friend. She was my dear dear friend, muse, and encourager,” the actor wrote on Facebook. “We shared family Christmas’s together, vacations, weekends, lunches and dinners together… We did shows together, but most of all- we LAUGHED.”
“From the moment we met on set all those decades ago- I knew you ‘got me,” the Charles in Charge actor wrote of his late co-star.
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