Wayne Alan Northrop (April 12, 1947 – November 29, 2024) was an American actor known for his parts in

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

s such as ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

'' and ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

''. Wayne Northrop died on November 29th, 2024 in Los Angeles, California of complications from Alzheimer’s Disease. He was 77 years old.

Career

Northrop portrayed chauffeur

Michael Culhane Michael Culhane is a fictional character from the ABC television series ''Dynasty'', created by Richard and Esther Shapiro. Portrayed by Wayne Northrop, the character is introduced in the series' 1981 pilot episode as the chauffeur of oil tycoo ...

on ''

'' from the pilot episode, "

Oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

" (1981), until the season one finale, " The Testimony" (1981). He returned in the seventh season premiere " The Victory" (1986), and left again in the 1987 episode " The Sublet". Northrop is best known as

Roman Brady Roman Brady is a fictional character from the NBC/Peacock (streaming service), Peacock soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. The role was originated in 1981 by Wayne Northrop, who played the role until 1984 and from 1991 to 1994, and is currently bein ...

on ''

'', a character he played from 1981–1984, and again from 1991–1994. He next portrayed Rex Stanton on ''

Port Charles ''Port Charles'' (commonly abbreviated as ''PC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from June 1, 1997, to October 3, 2003. It was a spin-off of the series ''General Hospital'', which has been running since 1963 and takes p ...

'' from 1997 to 1998. In August 2005, Northrop returned to ''Days'' as a new character named Dr.

Alex North Alex North (born Isadore Soifer; December 4, 1910 – September 8, 1991) was an American composer best known for his many film scores, including ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (one of the first jazz-based film scores), '' Viva Zapata!'', ''Spartac ...

Personal life and death

Northrop was born in

Sumner, Washington Sumner is a city in northern Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,621 at the 2020 census. Nearby cities include Puyallup to the west, Auburn to the north, and Bonney Lake to the east. History Sumner was founde ...

, and earned a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in communications from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

. He married actress Lynn Herring on May 9, 1981, in

Jennings, Louisiana Jennings is a city in, and the parish seat of, Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Lake Charles. The population was 10,383 at the 2010 census, a small decline from the 2000 tabulation. Jennings is the principal city of the ...

. They had two sons: Hank Wayne, born on January 9, 1991, and Grady Lee, born on July 20, 1993. Northrop died of complications from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

at the

Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement, distance, velocity, acceleration, speed, and frame of reference to an observ ...

, on November 29, 2024, at the age of 77.

Television filmography

* ''

'' as

(1981, 1986–1987) (original cast) * ''

'' as

(1981–1984, 1991–1994) * ''Days of Our Lives'' as

André DiMera André DiMera is a fictional character from the NBC Daytime soap opera, ''Days of Our Lives''. The role was originated in 1983 by Thaao Penghlis when André was introduced as the nephew of Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo). Having undergone plastic ...

(1983) * ''

'' as Rexford "Rex" Stanton (1997–1998) * ''Days of Our Lives'' as Alex North (2005–2006)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Northrop, Wayne 1947 births 2024 deaths American male soap opera actors American male television actors Male actors from Washington (state) People from Sumner, Washington Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in California 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors