Linda Honore, Ritchie's longtime friend and bookkeeper said that Ritchie "had been sick for awhile. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family."
Ritchie is best known for his work on One Life to Live, where he played Clint Buchanan for more than 20 years. He joined the cast of the ABC soap in 1979 and remained with the show through 1998. He made occasional guest appearances in Llanview over the next six years.
"We are deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend Clint Ritchie. He will always have a special place in our hearts and One Life to Live's legacy," Frank Valentini, One Life to Live's executive producer, said in a statement. " With his creation of the role of Clint Buchanan, he helped to bring to life one of the most memorable families in the show's history. The OLTL family will always hold dear the memories of the man we fondly referred to as 'Bucky.' Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends."
Clint made his television acting debut as a cavalry lieutenant on horseback in the pilot of the series, Wild Wild West. His other television credits include roles in three of the segments of The Centennial miniseries, an episode of Dallas and the children's program, Thunder. In one of his first, though lesser-known roles, Ritchie appeared in the Batman television series, playing one of the Joker's clobbered henchman, Boff.
Ritchie, who never married or had children, lived on the 60-acre Happy Horse Ranch in Grass Valley, California, near Sacramento.