Thomas Knight Slater (born on December 26, 1938), known professionally as Michael Hawkins and credited sometimes as Michael D. Gainsborough, is a retired American actor. He is known for playing Frank Ryan 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 ...

'' Ryan's Hope'' (1975–1976). He is the father of actor

Christian Slater Christian Michael Leonard Slater (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He made his film debut with a leading role in ''The Legend of Billie Jean'' (1985) and gained wider recognition for his breakthrough role as Jason "J.D." D ...

Life and career

Hawkins was born Thomas Knight Slater in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York, the son of Helen Margaret (Knight) and Thomas G. Slater. He would later also use the stage name Michael Gainsborough. His uncle was radio personality Bill Slater. He spent the early part of his childhood in Forest Hills section of Queens, as well as in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. Later in the 1940s, he lived in the Strathmore section of Manhasset, Long Island. He was athletic and was one of the faster boys at his grade school, Munsey Park School, and started his acting and singing career in a fourth-grade production of the Gilbert Sullivan operetta, HMS Pinafore, as Captain Corcoran. His family left Manhasset in 1950. It is not clear where he was raised after that point. After a small role on the CBS soap opera ''

Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show fo ...

'', he played Dr. Paul Stewart #4 on another CBS soap opera, ''

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 ...

''. He later replaced

David Birney David Edwin Birney (April 23, 1939 – April 27, 2022) was an American actor and director whose career included performances in both contemporary and classical roles in theatre, film, and television. He is noted for having played the title role ...

as Mark Elliott on another CBS show, '' Love is a Many Splendored Thing''. He later played Larry Kirby #2 on the NBC soap opera ''

How to Survive a Marriage ''How to Survive a Marriage'' is an American soap opera which aired on the NBC television network from January 7, 1974 to April 18, 1975. The serial was created by Anne Howard Bailey, with much input from then-NBC Vice President Lin Bolen. The ...

''. He later created the role of Frank Ryan on the ABC soap opera '' Ryan's Hope'' but was fired from the role at the end of the show's first year reportedly due to his alcoholism and inability to memorize lines correctly. He was asked back, but replaced with actor Andrew Robinson later that year. At the time she was cast in ''Ryan's Hope'',

Helen Gallagher Helen Gallagher (born July 19, 1926) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. She is the recipient of three Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Drama Desk Award. Early years Born in Brooklyn, she was raised in Scarsdale, New York, and the ...

, who played matriarch Maeve Ryan, taught singing in her home three times a week. Hawkins was one of her students. Hawkins was married to casting director Mary Jo Slater until their divorce in 1976; their only child is actor

Filmography

References

External links

* 1938 births Male actors from New York (state) People from Queens, New York American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors Living people People from Manhasset, New York {{US-film-actor-1930s-stub