Wayne Northrop, the television actor known for roles on Days of Our Lives and Dynasty, had died. He was 77.
Northrop died Friday at the Motion Picture and Television Woodland Hills Home, his publicist Cynthia Snyder told The Hollywood Reporter. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s six years ago.
“He took his last breath in the arms of his family,” Northrop’s wife and fellow soap star, Lynn Herring Northrop, said in a statement. “We wish to thank the most caring and amazing place, The Motion Picture and Television Home for taking such great care of him. Wayne touched so many people with his sense of humor and wit. A husband for 43 years, the best dad ever to his two boys, Hank and Grady, and a rancher who loved his cows and was a friend to many.”
Northrop appeared in over 1,000 episodes of Days of Our Lives, first as Detective Roman Brady and later as Dr. Alex North. In Dynasty, he played Michael Culhane, chauffeur of oil tycoon Blake Carrington. On Port Charles, he played the manipulative Rex Stanton.
Northrop was a well-known face of soap operas of the 1980s and 1990s, also appearing on programs such as L.A. Law, Hotel, You Are the Jury and Cold Case.
Wayne Northrop was born April 12, 1947 to Robert and Donna Jean Northrop in Sumner, Washington. He graduated with a degree in communications from University of Washington before taking an acting class at Seattle Community College and later moving to Las Angeles to pursue an acting career.
He then joined the newly formed Los Angeles Actors’ Theatre headed by Ralph Waite in 1975, which led to his first agent and television role, which was a small part in an episode of Police Story.
He married his wife, Lynn, in May 1981 and the couple later purchased a working cattle ranch in Raymond, California. Passionate about wildlife and conservation, the ranch is still run with Northrop’s environmental beliefs in mind. In 2008, he and his wife purchased the oldest house in Raymond, built in 1886, and converted it into a museum that is now on the registry of historical places.
He is survived by his wife, Lynn, as well as his two sons, Hank and Grady, and his stepmother, Janet Northrop.
Source: Hollywoodreporter
