It's been announced that actor Christopher "Chip" Mayer died July 24 in Sherman Oaks, Calif., of natural causes. He was 57.

Born George Charles Mayer, III, he was raised in Ridgewood, New Jersey and attended Colgate University.

He made his TV debut in the 1980 ABC pilot 'Stunts Unlimited,' in which he starred as one of a group of stuntmen recruited for espionage work.

Mayer's first major TV role was in the top-rated CBS series, 'The Dukes of Hazzard.' He and Byron Cherry were brought in as Vance and Coy Duke for the 1982-3 season after stars Tom Wopat and John Schneider walked out in a contract dispute.

Psych is coming back! Starting on July 18th, the comedy starring James Roday and Dule Hill will be returning to USA Network with all new episodes. The third season of this series looks to be a very interesting one, as viewers will finally get to meet Shawn Spencer's long-lost mother as well as get to see a more dramatic side of the character ... something we got a taste of during the last few episodes of last season.

The two stars of Psych got together with the press last week to touch on a number of subjects. Topics included a preview of the upcoming season, a discussion about the duo's "Ebony & Ivory" commercial, Roday's appearance on the NBC anthology Fear Itself, and the never-ending 1980s references that the two spout during each episode.

Shawn Spencer's family is growing. First, there's his mother, Madeline, coming to Santa Barbara for a visit, in the personage of Cybill Shepherd. And now comes news that another major television star is coming on board for a guest role. Steven Weber will be appearing in an episode of Psych as Shawn's Uncle Jack.

Jack is Henry's brother, although I don't see a big resemblance between Corbin Bernsen and Steven Weber. However, if the character is more like Shawn, that will give Weber a chance to play it wild and wacky. Maybe he'll be like his Brian Hackett incarnation on Wings.

According the TV Guide, this Psych episode sounds sort of like a Raiders of the Lost Ark/National Treasure adventure. Uncle Jack comes to town in search of a treasure. He has a map to a hidden Spanish cache of goodies and enlists Shawn and Gus in his search. Now you just know that James Roday will be pulling out a bullwhip and Fedora.

Weber, by the way, is expected back on Brothers and Sisters next season as Sarah's part-time lover. When the show wrapped, their romance was still humming.

Let me start this TV Squad Soap Report by saying that I have a soft spot in my heart for Days of Our Lives. It's the first soap I remember watching as a kid and I've always stuck with it, even when it's gone through some dark times. And if you're a Days fan, you know just what I mean (more on that later).

Right now I'm beginning to see a pattern on Days of Our Lives that's kind of upsetting. The show seems to be stuck in retro mode. They've been bringing back characters by the boat load. This is nothing new. All soaps do it. On All My Children, they just brought Cady McLain back -- and her character Dixie, who's supposedly dead. One Life to Live is resurrecting greatest Tina of all, Andrea Evans. So what's the big deal with what Days doing it? Nothing. It's perfectly legitimate. I support it...to a point. When it reaches a point to where new characters are not taking hold and more and more of the past is becoming the present.
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Usually when you talk about death on soap operas, you have to know that like science fiction, death doesn't mean the end of the story. After all, many characters have come back from the dead thanks to mistaken identity, bizarre abductions, switched coffins, et. al. But when I tell you now that the NBC soap opera Passions is dead, I really mean it. Really.

There is no chance that Passions is coming back to NBC. The soap was yanked from the daytime lineup last year, but in a deal with DirecTV, Passions has remained in production. The satellite provider has been showing episodes of the bizarrely-plotted show for months. However, in a recent development, DirecTV has decided to pull the plug. Universal Media Studios, which produces the one-hours, has been trying to find a new place on the dial for Passions without any luck.