Michael Damian Weir (born April 26, 1962) is an American actor, recording artist, and producer, best known for his role as Danny Romalotti on the

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 ...

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, ...

'', which he played from 1980 to 1998 and again in 2002-2004, 2008, 2012-2013, and again in 2022.

Career

Michael began his music career as a member of his family band, The Weirz, who released two self-titled albums, one in 1975 and one in 1979. After a 1981 appearance on '' American Bandstand'' in support of his debut single, a cover of the

Eric Carmen Eric Howard Carmen (born August 11, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist. He was first known as the lead vocalist of the Raspberries. He had numerous hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Rasp ...

tune "

She Did It "She Did It" is a song written and originally recorded by Eric Carmen in 1977. Carmen's single was a Top 40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, reaching number 23. "She Did It" was covered in 1981 by actor and singer Michael Damian, who reac ...

”, Damian was offered the part of struggling singer, Danny Romalotti, on the daytime television series ''

''. Michael appeared in three episodes of the popular television series '' The Facts of Life'' (in 1985 - Season 6 episodes 19-20 as well as 1986 in the nineteenth episode of Season 7) playing Flyman, the love interest of Jo Polniaczek (

Nancy McKeon Nancy Justine McKeon (born April 4, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Jo Polniaczek on the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' and Jinny Exstead on '' The Division''. Early life and family Nancy Justine McKeon was born o ...

). After twelve years with ''The Young and the Restless'', Damian landed the starring role in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ...

's musical, '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat''. With Damian cast as Joseph, the production set a single day box-office record as well as a historical record for the highest weekly gross for a Broadway revival at the

Minskoff Theatre The Minskoff Theatre is a Broadway theater on the third floor of the One Astor Plaza office building in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1973, it is operated by the Nederlander Organization and is named ...

. ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' had 231 performances at the Minskoff Theatre from November 10, 1993, to May 29, 1994. The cast album earned a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

nomination in the ''Best Musical Show Album'' category. Damian has released five albums with three

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hits, including his number-one cover of the

David Essex David Essex (born David Albert Cook; 23 July 1947) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. Since the 1970s, he has attained 19 Top 40 singles in the UK (including two number ones) and 16 Top 40 albums. Internationally, Essex had the most ...

song " Rock On" (from the '' Dream a Little Dream'' soundtrack), which was certified gold in 1989. He also won a BMI Song-writing Award for his hit single "Was It Nothing at All.” He made his feature film directorial debut with an

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

comedy, '' Hot Tamale'', which he co-wrote with his wife Janeen, who is the daughter of actor

James Best Jewel Franklin Guy (July 26, 1926 – April 6, 2015), known professionally as James Best, was an American television, film, stage, and voice actor, as well as a writer, director, acting coach, artist, college professor, and musician. Duri ...

. Following in the family film genre, he directed the films ''

Moondance Alexander ''Moondance Alexander'' is a 2007 American comedy-drama film directed by Michael Damian and written by Janeen Damian. The film was released in North America in October 2007. The story is shot on location in Okotoks, High River and Calgary, Alberta ...

'', '' Flicka 2'', '' Marley & Me: The Puppy Years'', '' Flicka: Country Pride'', and ''

A Princess for Christmas ''A Princess for Christmas'', billed in the UK as ''A Christmas Princess: Sometimes Dreams Come True'' (previously known as the Canadian title ''Christmas at Castlebury Hall'' and ''A Princess for Castlebury'') is a 2011 American made-for-televis ...

''. In 2012, he directed and co-wrote, again with his wife, the 90-minute

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

The Sweeter Side of Life ''The Sweeter Side of Life'' is a 2013 American made-for-television romantic comedy film starring Kathryn Morris and James Best. The film was co-written and co-produced by Michael Damian and his wife Janeen Damian. ''The Sweeter Side of Life'' i ...

'', co-starring his father-in-law veteran actor

in his last film role. The film premiered on the

Hallmark Channel The Hallmark Channel is an American television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which in turn is owned by Hallmark Cards, Inc. The channel's programming is primarily targeted at families, and features a mix of television movies a ...

on January 19, 2013.

Discography

;Studio albums ;Singles ;Duet Performance ;"Don't Make Me Wait" by Pınar Aylin (feat. Michael Damian) ;Album: Bekletme-Don't Make Me Wait ;Release Country: Turkey ;Composers: Feyyaz Kuruş & Aşkın Tuna ;Release Year: 1998

Theatre

* 1971–1973: Ventura County Youth Experimental Theatre * 1993–1994: '' Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' as Joseph

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Damian, Michael 1962 births Living people 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Male actors from San Diego American male film actors American film directors Film producers from California American male musical theatre actors American male screenwriters American male soap opera actors American male television actors Musicians from San Diego Singers from California Columbia Records artists CBS Records artists A&M Records artists Zomba Group of Companies artists Screenwriters from California 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American male writers