Wayne Northrop, an actor who played two roles on the long-running daytime soap opera “Days of Our Lives,” as a good-hearted detective and then as a shadowy doctor, died on Friday. He was 77.
Mr. Northrop, who learned six years ago that he had early onset Alzheimer’s disease, died at the Motion Picture and Television Woodland Hills Home in Woodland Hills, Calif., according to a family statement from his publicist, Cynthia Synder.
He appeared in several television shows throughout his career, including the prime-time legal drama “L.A. Law” in the 1980s. He gained notoriety on ABC’s “Dynasty” as the handsome and mysterious chauffeur Michael Culhane who drove around the Denver business titan Blake Carrington, who was portrayed by the actor John Forsythe. Mr. Northrop appeared in 35 episodes.
Mr. Northrop was probably best known for his roles on “Days of Our Lives.” The show, which premiered in 1965 on NBC, follows various characters in the fictional Midwestern town of Salem.
Mr. Northrop portrayed two characters on the show. He was the tough but loyal detective Roman Brady from 1981-84 and again from 1991-94, according to his publicist.
Beginning in 2005, he played Dr. Alex North, a one-time medical school classmate of Dr. Marlena Evans, a psychiatrist and the town’s matriarch, played by Deidre Hall. The Dr. North character was an amnesia specialist and a shadowy figure who manipulated, blackmailed and even committed murder on the show, according to soaps.com.
Mr. Northrop appeared in more than 1,000 episodes from 1981-2006. The show moved to the network’s Peacock streaming service in 2022.
Wayne Northrop was born on April 12, 1947, in Sumner, Wash. He earned his bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Washington before pursuing acting.
Mr. Northrop’s career began in theater, with his first big break in 1975 when he joined the Los Angeles Actors’ Theater.
He made his television debut with a small part in “Police Story,” an anthology crime drama about the lives of police officers. His other television credits include appearances in “Eight Is Enough,” a show about a newspaper columnist and his eight children; “Baretta,” about a New York City detective; and “The Waltons,” about a Virginia family in the 1930s and ’40s; and “You Are the Jury,” about actual courtroom trials.
He also landed roles in the made-for-television films “Beggarman, Thief,” (1979) about the Jordache family, adapted from the novel by Irwin Shaw; and “Going for Gold: The Bill Johnson Story” (1985) about the first U.S. men’s skiing gold medal winner.
Mr. Northrop also appeared as Rex Stanton in 121 episodes of the “General Hospital” soap opera spinoff, “Port Charles” from 1997-98. That show also starred his wife, Lynn Herring Northrop, who has been an actress on “General Hospital” since 1986.
He is survived by his wife, their sons, Hank Northrop and Grady Northrop, and stepmother, Janet Northrop, according to the family statement.
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