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Daniel Wolek
One Life to Live character
Michael Palance as Daniel Wolek
Portrayed by
  • Neail Holland (1974–1976)
  • Eddie Moran (1976–1979)
  • Timothy Waldrip (1983, 1985)
  • Steven Culp (1983–1984)
  • Ted Demers (1984)
  • Joshua Cox (1986–1987)
  • Michael Palance (1989–1991)
Duration
  • 1971–1979
  • 1983–1987
  • 1989–1991
First appearanceNovember 17, 1971 (November 17, 1971)
Last appearanceJanuary 16, 1991 (January 16, 1991)
Classification Former, regular
Created by Agnes Nixon
Introduced by

Joshua Cox as Daniel Wolek
In-universe information
Occupation
  • Physician
  • Journalist
Family
Father Larry Wolek
Mother Meredith Lord
SiblingsStillborn twin sister
Grandparents
Aunts and uncles
First cousins

Daniel Wolek is a fictional character on the American soap opera One Life to Live. He is the only son of original characters Larry Wolek and Meredith Lord. [1] [2]

Background and storyline

Daniel, nicknamed "Dan" or "Danny," is born onscreen November 17, 1971. [3] [4] He is the first grandchild of series patriarch Victor Lord ( Ernest Graves) to appear on the serial, and Victor's third-born grandchild in the show's final canon after Megan Gordon and Brian Kendall. His twin sister is born stillborn, which prompts mother Meredith ( Lynn Benesch) to suffer post-partum depression and seek help from Dr. Joyce Brothers (playing herself). [3]

In 1973, Daniel's mother dies [1] [2] of a traumatic brain injury following a freak accident during an attempted robbery at the Lord estate Llanfair. [5] Larry raises young Danny a single father [2] and with help from his siblings Anna and Vince. Danny leaves fictional Llanview in 1979 attends to boarding school overseas. [6]

Danny is aged to an adult in 1983 [7] and becomes a newspaper reporter [8] for his grandfather's newspaper, The Banner. Dorian Lord Callison ( Robin Strasser) seduces Dan into a brief love affair in 1984. [9] The character returns to Llanview on an ongoing basis in August 1986 [10] as Dr. Dan Wolek (Joshua Cox), a resident physician at Llanview Hospital. He dates shy Allison Perkins ( Barbara Garrick) [11] briefly before she falls under the spell of Mitch Laurence ( Roscoe Born). Dan ( Michael Palance) returns again in 1989 and soon becomes a rival to his own father Larry for the affection of nurse Brenda McGillis (Brenda Brock) in a love triangle. The nefarious Michael Grande ( Dennis Parlato) then seeks to woo Brenda, and rigs a medical malpractice case to get Dan was fired from the hospital. Michael is killed in a whodunit, and Dan is accused of murdering Michael before the former husband of his aunt Victoria Lord Buchanan ( Erika Slezak), Roger Gordon ( Larry Pine), is revealed to be Michael's actual killer. [12] [13]

Dr. Wolek is fired from Llanview Hospital, and starts a private clinic for low-income Llanview residents. He falls in love with Laura Jean Ellis ( Neith Hunter), the estranged wife of one of the mob lieutenants of Carlo Hesser ( Thom Christopher). Dan leaves Llanview with Laura [14] and with little fanfare [12] in 1991. [15]

Casting and impact

In spite of being related to original and long-running protagonists Larry Wolek and Victoria Lord, the role of Daniel Wolek failed to achieve the fanfare the showrunners had hoped for. [2] [12] [16] [17] Daniel was recast six times [12] between 1974 and 1991 and is the second-most recast character role on One Life to Live after Kevin Buchanan.

The role was originated by infant children in non-speaking roles from 1971 until 1974. Daniel began appearing as a speaking role in 1974, played child actors Neail Holland from 1974 through 1976 [2] [18] and Eddie Moran from 1976 until 1979. [19] The role was aged up to a 17-year-old with actor Timothy Waldrip in the role in 1983, [7] changing the character's onscreen birth year from 1971 to 1966. Actor Steven Culp replaced Waldrip in the role from 1983 until 1984. [20] Actor Ted Demers played the character in 1984. [20] Waldrip returned to play the role after he was fired in 1983 [21] for a few months in 1985. [22] Joshua Cox picked up playing the character from 1986 until he was fired [17] in 1987. [23] Michael Palance was the last actor to play Daniel Wolek, from March 9, 1989 [16] until he left the show [14] on January 16, 1991. [12] [20] [24] [25]

In 2021, Wally Kurth revealed he had auditioned for the role "a few years" prior to his casting as Justin Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives. [26]

References

  1. ^ a b Kohn Goldsen, Rose (1978). The Show and Tell Machine: How Television Works and Works You Over. New York City: Dell Publishing. p.  305. ISBN  978-0-440-57666-2.
  2. ^ a b c d e Soares, Manuela (January 1978). The Soap Opera Book. New York City: Harmony Books. p.  166. ISBN  978-0-517-53331-4.
  3. ^ a b "One Life to Live recap (1971)". ABC. Archived from the original on April 23, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  4. ^ One Life to Live. Season 4. November 17, 1971. American Broadcasting Company.
  5. ^ "One Life to Live recap (1973)". ABC. Archived from the original on April 23, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  6. ^ One Life to Live. Season 10–11. 1979. American Broadcasting Company.
  7. ^ a b Reichardt, Nancy M. (April 29, 1983). "Days of Our Lives welcomes Barbara". The Courier. Prescott, Arizona. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  8. ^ Goudas, John N. (November 26, 1983). "Soap Opera Scene". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Sarasota, Florida. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  9. ^ Goudas, John N. (September 22, 1984). "Kevin Conroy Is an Actor on the Run". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Sarasota, Florida. King Features Syndicate. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  10. ^ "Soap News". The Gazette. Montreal. August 25, 1986. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  11. ^ Reichardt, Nancy M. (September 13, 1986). "What's happening on your favorite soap opera". Chicago Tribune. Chicago. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  12. ^ a b c d e Waggett, Gerry (2008). The One Life to Live 40th Anniversary Trivia Book. New York City: Hyperion Books. ISBN  9781401323097.
  13. ^ One Life to Live. Season 21–22. 1989–1990. American Broadcasting Company.
  14. ^ a b "Soap Bubbles". Calhoun Times. Calhoun, Georgia. January 23, 1991. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  15. ^ One Life to Live. Season 24. August 1991. American Broadcasting Company.
  16. ^ a b "Tipoff". Wilmington Morning Star. Wilmington, North Carolina. January 21, 1989. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  17. ^ a b Reichardt, Nancy M. (May 21, 1987). "Several Ryan's Hope stars departing". Times-News. Hendersonville, North Carolina. Syndicated. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  18. ^ Terrace, Vincent (1981). Television: 1970–1980 (1 ed.). A.S. Barnes & Co. p. 148. ISBN  978-0-498-02539-6.
  19. ^ Terrace, Vincent (1985). Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials 1974–1984. Vol. 2. New York City: Baseline Books. p. 307. ISBN  978-0-918432-61-2.
  20. ^ a b c Schemering, Christopher (1988). The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. Ballantine Books. ISBN  0345324595.
  21. ^ "Tipoff". Wilmington Morning Star. Wilmington, North Carolina. June 13, 1985. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  22. ^ "Tipoff". Wilmington Morning Star. Wilmington, North Carolina. October 23, 1985. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  23. ^ Riggs, Thomas (19 January 2007). Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television. Vol. 17. Gale. p. 46. ISBN  978-0787690502.
  24. ^ Rout, Nancy E. (1993). The Soap Opera Book: Who's Who in Daytime Drama. Todd Publications. p. 202. ISBN  0915344238.
  25. ^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present. London: Penguin Books. p. 621. ISBN  978-0-14-024916-3.
  26. ^ SOD (February 22, 2021). "What other soap roles have you auditioned for?". Soap Opera Digest. United States: American Media, Inc. p. 7. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021.

External links

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