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Subject: | Lynn Herring's husband, Wayne Nothrop has passed away at 77 from Alzheimer's |
From: | CanaryFan98 |
Date: | Sun, 01-Dec-2024 2:17:47 PM PST |
Where: | General Hospital Message Board |
In reply to: | ****Week of November 25th Spoiler HP**** posted by RehvengeIsSweet |
Wayne Northrop, who created the iconic role of Roman Brady on Days of Our Lives and is also known to fans of Dynasty for his portrayal of Michael Culhane, passed away on Friday, November 27 at the age of 77 at the Motion Picture and Television Woodland Hills Home. Since May 9, 1981, the actor was wed to General Hospital star Lynn Herring Northrop (Lucy).
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In a statement, Herring Northrop shared, “Wayne was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s 6 years ago. He took his last breath in the arms of his family. 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.”
Born in Sumner, WA, to Robert and Donna Jean Northrop, the actor received his B.A. in communications from the University of Washington. After graduation, he traveled across Europe for several years, returning home fluent in German. After signing up for Acting 101 at Seattle Community College and falling in love with performing on stage, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a theatrical career.
He met his wife, Herring Northrop, in an acting class, and the couple went on to welcome two sons, Hank (born on January 8, 1991) and Grady (born on July 20, 1993).
In Los Angeles, the actor began his career on the stage, where his work in the Los Angeles Actors Theatre’s production of The Kitchen put him on the radar of Hollywood talent agents and casting agents. Soon, he had booked his first television role, on the NBC crime series Police Story. Episodic work on shows like Eight Is Enough, Baretta and The Waltons followed. In 1981, he was cast as Michael, the mysterious chauffeur to John Forsythe’s Blake Carrington, on the first season of Dynasty.
After he exited Dynasty, the daytime world came calling. Northrop’s original run on DAYS lasted from 1981-84, after which he returned to Dynasty. The late Drake Hogestyn, who also passed away this year, was tapped to succeed him as Roman in 1986, but when Northrop was lured back to DAYS in 1991, the character Hogestyn had been playing was revealed to be an unwitting impostor, John Black. Hogestyn took that in stride, noting to Digest in 2015, “I felt in a sense of fair play, I hadn’t created that character [of Roman]. Wayne did and had great success with it.”
DAYS northrop hall hogestyn
NBC
Northrop with Drake Hogestyn (ex-John) and Deidre Hall (Marlena) in 1991.
Northrop exited DAYS as Roman again in 1994, and in 1997, Josh Taylor assumed the role, which he continues to play to this day. Northrop returned to DAYS again in 2005 to play a new role, Alex North, Marlena’s first husband, and left for the final time in 2006. Outside of DAYS and Dynasty, he appeared opposite Herring on Port Charles as the shady Rex Stanton from 1997-98. Outside of soaps, he appeared on Hotel, LA Law and Cold Case, and in the TV movies Never Say Never: The Deidre Hall Story and The Haunting of Lisa.
The actor’s DAYS career began inauspiciously, when he was was asked to come in to read for a role on the show. The actor recalled to Soap Opera Digest in 2015, “I tested with Dee [Deidre Hall, Marlena], and then they said, ‘We want you!’ They ended up creating a whole family around the character, which was a special thing.”
In addition to that family that fleshed out Northrop’s character (parents Caroline and Shawn, brother Bo and sisters Kayla and Kimberly) and Roman’s growing friendship with his best bud on the Salem police force, Abe Carver (“I just loved working with Jim Reynolds [Abe]. He was like a brother to me,” Northrop told Digest), the actor was kept plenty busy in storyline opposite Hall, with Roman and Marlena becoming one of the show’s most popular duos. As he put it to Digest in 2015, “Dee and I just hit it off and we’re still friends. There was a natural flow between us that just kept going and going. Our characters were diametrically opposed individuals that fell in love and the audience really bought into it. So, kudos to us and to the writers!”
Hall’s Marlena and Northrop’s Roman tied the knot in 1983.
It was Northrop who came up with Roman’s pet name for Marlena, Doc. He recalled to Digest, “One day, I just started calling her Doc. Roman had kind of that Western look going with the cowboy boots and the plaid shirt and it just seemed to me that that’s what he would call her. Then they started writing it into scripts.”
In 2020, Hall mused to Digest about what she thought made Roman and Marlena such a hit couple. “I think it was genius because of the contrast because you would get Marlena Evans, who was this sort of elegant, sophisticated brain trust and you’ve got Roman, who is just nuts and bolts and doing the right thing for the right reasons and keeping the country safe. They all have this high level of integrity, but they’re very different people. Could that be made to work? And as you may recall, they locked horns when they came to protect her and she said, ‘I’m not having any of this.’ And he brought a sleeping bag and there he was.”
Looking back on his DAYS run, Northrop told Digest that his favorite memories included “[Roman] sleeping on Marlena’s floor. Had to keep her safe and protect her! That started off that whole relationship. When the Brady family started growing, with mom and dad and Bo and later, the kids, working with Ali [Sweeney, Sami] when she was young…. It all kind of just kept falling in place.”
Behind the scenes, Northrop was beloved by his castmates, and legendary for the pranks he pulled on them. “I was kind of the class clown,” he admitted to Digest. “I changed names on dressing room doors and that kind of stuff. When I was first on the show, we’d go from 6 in the morning until 6 at night, so every once in a while, I just couldn’t help myself [laughs].” One memorable prank that he shared with Digest took place when Roman was presumed dead at the hands of mortal enemy Stefano DiMera. “When I was falling off the cliff after Stefano shot me, they were taping me falling and I turned around on my stomach and made like I was swimming. That got a laugh! I was doing the dog paddle, I was on my back doing the backstroke, the whole time I’m supposed to be falling down to the beach.”
Summing up his time on the show, Northrop said, “It was an amazing ride. When I started, it was the heyday of soaps — daytime was paying for nighttime! I enjoyed the heck out it and I still think about it today. We had our problems and our shouting matches, but that’s the way it is with families. At the end of the day, you still end up loving each other.”
Northrop’s return to the show as Roman in 1991, five years after Drake Hogestyn assumed the role, kicked off a John/Marlena/Roman triangle that captivated fans. That era was memorable for Hall and Hogestyn, as well. “That was just the most fun time, I think,” Hall told Digest in 2018. Echoed Hogestyn, “You know, Wayne is an amazing man. He’s an amazing buddy. We share a lot, and the more I got to know him, he could be a brother of mine, seriously. He has a great sense of humor. I remember there was one gal they were floating around with me and it wasn’t really working well, but there was a scene where I was going to be in a hotel and she wanted to make love or whatever, but I saw Marlena swimming in a pond! But anyway, John’s supposed to make love to her but he’s thinking about Marlena, and Wayne said, ‘I think you need this,’ and he had some balloons and a six-pack of Heineken outside my door. ‘Good luck today, Partner!’ You know, that type of thing.” Nodded Hall, “He was a constant practical joker. At one point, Wayne tied the dressing room doors together so I couldn’t get out of my dressing room for a set call. I had to call the guard and have him cut me out of my dressing room!”
In 1984, Roman and Marlena welcomed their twins, Sami and Eric.
Hall regaled Digest with more tales of Northrop’s pranks in 2020. “He had bunked in with Robert Clary [ex-Robert] at one point, and you know Robert Clary is quite short. Wayne went to props and got a pretend doorknob and put his name on the regular doorknob and then put Robert Clary’s name a foot and a half below it with a different doorknob. ” Another time, “[Marlena] was at the apartment and he had a trench coat on. At one point the camera was only on me and he untied his trench coat as if to flash me and opened the coat, not seen by anyone on camera, but he’d hung Christmas ornaments all over himself and all over the inside of his coat. He looked like a Christmas tree when he opened his coat.”
Northrop’s on-screen daughter, Christie Clark (ex-Carrie), was another co-star who fondly remembered Northrop’s good humor. In 2006, she told Digest, “Wayne’s another one who’s just hysterical. He’s fabulous. What I love about Wayne is he makes you laugh right up until they say, ‘Five, four, three, two…’ It’s difficult to keep a straight face, but I think I’m gonna have some fun with him now that I’ve been studying and can play that game a little more. Before, it used to freak me out, like, ‘Oh, my God, I’ve got to stop smiling and he’s gonna make me forget my lines!’ ”
Northrop retired from acting to focus full-time on the working ranch he and Herring purchased in 1989 and made their full-time residence in 2003, located over four hours outside of Los Angeles.
Northrop with wife Lynn Herring (Lucy, General Hospital) in 2015.
Digest sends our deepest condolences to Northrop’s family and friends.
- Re: They were married over 40 years .... Very sad for Lynn Herring EOM - kll - 02-Dec-2024 8:33 AM