Actor Rif Hutton Dies at 73 After Glioblastoma Battle

Rif Hutton, the veteran television actor best known for his recurring role on Doogie Howser, M.D., died Saturday at his home in Pasadena, California. He was 73.

Hutton's family confirmed to media outlets that he passed away after a more than yearlong battle with glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer. Diagnosed in March 2025, the condition typically carries a prognosis of 12 to 18 months, with a five-year survival rate of just 5 percent, according to medical experts. He was surrounded by loved ones at the time of his death and is survived by his wife, voice actor Bridget Hoffman, whom he married in 2001, and their son, Wolfgang.

Throughout a career spanning four decades, Hutton appeared in nearly 200 television episodes, often portraying authority figures and professionals with quiet intensity. He gained recognition as Dr. Ron Welch, a colleague and friend to the teenage title character played by Neil Patrick Harris, on 17 episodes of the ABC medical dramedy Doogie Howser, M.D. from 1989 to 1993. The series, created by Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley, followed the life of a child prodigy physician at Eastman Medical Center in Los Angeles.