Veteran TV actor James Van Der Beek died on Wednesday morning, nearly two-and-a-half years after announcing his colorectal cancer diagnosis. He was 48.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning,” his wife Kimberly shared on Instagram. “He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”
After kicking off his acting career with episodes of Clarissa Explains It All and As the World Turns, Van Der Beek broke big as the titular star of The WB’s Dawson’s Creek, which ran for six seasons.
One year after his Dawson’s debut, and with Varsity Blues hitting theaters, Van Der Beek was tapped to host NBC’s Saturday Night Live. His monologue was a memorable one, intruded upon as it was by the booming voice of an overly fond “Don Pardo” (cast member Darrell Hammond filling in for the show’s longtime announcer, who was out sick).
“Don Pardo” surprised “Dawson” by having an NBC page deliver to him, at home base, a gift-wrapped pair of underwear. “You’re so clean and untainted,” the off-camera voice cooed. “You have that something extra that makes me feel, I don’t know, hot!” (Watch the full monologue above.)
In the days ahead of his SNL debut, Van Der Beek booked his very first appearances as a late night guest—first on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (watch video), followed by a stop at the network’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien (video).
Many years later, Van Der Beek visited TBS’ Conan to reflect on how his “douchiness peaked” during that 1999 Late Night visit, where he’d sported tinted eyeglasses throughout their convo.
His most recent late-night hit was a September 2019 visit to The Late Late Show with James Corden.
Van Der Beek’s post-Dawson’s acting credits included Scary Movie, arcs on Criminal Minds and One Tree Hill, the NBC medical drama Mercy, ABC’s gone-too-soon Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23 (where he played “himself”), CSI: Cyber and, most recently, two 2025 episodes of Prime Video’s Overcompensating.
He also competed in Season 28 of Dancing With the Stars, and Season 13 of The Masked Singer (as the Griffin).
