Laurence Henry Lau (born May 10, 1954) is an American television and stage actor, best known for his roles in several

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

s. Lau was born in

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and raised in Lake Oswego, Oregon. He attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

. One of his first roles was on the TV comedy/drama ''

Eight Is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who ...

'' in 1980. He first became popular by playing the role of rich kid Greg Nelson on '' All My Children'' (1981–1986), in which his character got involved with a girl from the other side of the tracks, Jenny Gardner (

Kim Delaney Kim Delaney (born November 29, 1961) is an American actress known for her starring role as Detective Diane Russell on the ABC drama television series ''NYPD Blue'', for which she won an Emmy Award. Early in her career, she played the role of Je ...

). The pair was considered to be a supercouple and the status booted Lau to stardom. Other notable soap roles include NBC's '' Another World'' as Jamie Frame (1986–1990), and ABC's '' One Life to Live'' as attorney Sam Rappaport (2001—2003), taking over from actor

Kale Browne David Charles "Kale" Browne (born June 16, 1950) is an American actor. He was born in San Rafael, California. Browne was the first to play the roles of Michael Hudson on '' Another World'' (1986–1993, 1995–1998) and Sam Rappaport on ...

. In 2007, Lau played Greeber in ''Scituate'', a play written by Martin Casella and directed by David Hilder, at TBG Arts Mainstage in New York City. Soap opera critic for Atlantic Canada's Breakfest Television Matthew Borden claimed that this role would solidify Laurence as a big time soap opera actor. On May 20, 2008, Lau returned to ''All My Children'' as Greg Nelson to catch up with old pals Jesse and

Angie Hubbard Jesse and Angela "Angie" Hubbard are fictional characters and a supercouple from the ABC and The Online Network daytime drama ''All My Children''. Jesse is portrayed by Darnell Williams and Angie is portrayed by Debbi Morgan.From 1990 to 1991 ...

and brother-in-law

Tad Martin Tad Martin is a fictional character from the American daytime drama, ''All My Children''. Tad was played by three actors, according to the age of the character: Matthew Anton, John E. Dunn, and Michael E. Knight. Knight has portrayed the role on a ...

. On August 17, 2008, Lau joined the cast of ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...

'' in the recurring role of Brian Wheatley. Following the end of his stint on ''ATWT'', Lau booked the pilot ''Upstate'', which filmed on location in Syracuse, New York. However, the pilot was not picked up by a network in time for the next television season. Lau also made appearances on primetime television shows including ABC's ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...

'', CBS' ''

The Waltons ''The Waltons'' is an American historical drama television series about a family in rural Virginia during the Great Depression and World War II. It was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on his 1961 book '' Spencer's Mountain'' and the 1963 fil ...

'', NBC's ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...

'', and CBS' '' JAG'' and '' Diagnosis: Murder''. Lau has also appeared on stage productions such as ''Arrivals'', ''Spine'', ''The Exonerated'', ''The Goat'', ''Becky's New Car'', ''Scituate'', '' God of Carnage'', and ''Psycho Therapy''. On stage he has played Steve Heidebrecht in the Broadway National Tour of August: Osage County starring Estelle Parsons, as well as numerous roles Off Broadway and at regional theaters throughout the US.

References

External links

* * * *
Sam Rappaport profile from OLTL OnlineGreg Nelson profile from The AMC Pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lau, Laurence American male soap opera actors American people of German descent American male television actors American male stage actors Male actors from Long Beach, California 1954 births Living people