Andrea Evans is being remembered by one of her closest One Life to Live costars, on-screen love interest John Loprieno.
Hours after PEOPLE confirmed Monday that Evans, 66, died from cancer on Sunday, her castmate — who played Evans’ character Tina Lord’s on-and-off husband Cord Roberts on the hit soap opera — reflects on his years working with the late actress.
“Working with Andrea Evans was one of the highlights of my acting career,” Loprieno tells PEOPLE exclusively.
The actress’s portrayal of OLTL’s troubled teenager Tina earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for outstanding ingenue in a drama series in 1988. Loprieno praised Evans’ acting abilities, remembering her as someone who created “magic in the room.”
“From the day that she first welcomed me to the set of One Life to Live, through the final reunion episodes that we shot when the show was ending, Andrea continued to be a generous, blissfully comedic and insightful scene partner,” he recalled. “I reference Andrea many times in my classes and often talk about our times on the set.”
When speaking on his favorite memory with Evans, Loprieno reflected on one of his earliest appearances on One Life to Live, which premiered in 1968 and ended in 2013.
“I think my finest memory of performing with Andrea was not standing in our bathing suits in the Iguazu Falls in Brazil but working on the Banner newspaper office set on rolling chairs in a playfully choreographed love scene that was directed by legend David Pressman,” he shared. “It was one of my earliest appearances on the show. The magic in the room was palpable, and it offered promises of the great fun that was to be created and enjoyed in the years that followed. We will all miss Andrea and her mischievous looks toward [the] camera at the end of the scene.”
On Monday, Evans’ death was also confirmed by the actress’s current manager Nick Leicht, who told PEOPLE: “I’ve been working with Andrea for the past seven years. She was such a tremendous talent and an absolute joy to work with.”
Apart from One Life to Live, Evans is also remembered for her role as Patti Williams on The Young and the Restless, Rebecca Hotchkiss on Passions and Patty Walker on The Bay. Her work as Vivian Price in the web series DeVanity landed her another Daytime Emmy Nomination in 2015 for outstanding performer in a new approaches drama series. She also appeared in films such as A Low Down Dirty Shame, Ice Cream Man, and Hit List, as well as several TV movies.
Evans is survived by her husband Stephen Rodriguez, whom she married in 1998, and their daughter Kylie. She was previously married to her One Life to Live costar Wayne Massey from 1981 to 1983.
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