James Reynolds (born August 10, 1946) is an American television actor. He is best known for portraying the role of Abe Carver on ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

'', for which he won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2018.

Early life

Reynolds was born in Oskaloosa, Kansas on August 10, 1946. At Oskaloosa High School (Kansas), he was an All-State football player.. Following graduation from

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

, Reynolds joined the

Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

. After boot camp he was assigned to the Information Service Office where, first stationed in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, he became a reporter for the service newspaper, the ''Windward Marine''. Later, he was sent to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and served for almost a year with a variety of units in and around

Chu Lai Chu Lai is a seaport, urban and industrial area in Núi Thành District, Quảng Nam Province, Vietnam. The city is served by Chu Lai International Airport. It is also the site of the Chu Lai Open Economic Zone (Vietnamese: ''Khu Kinh Tế M� ...

, adding battlefield reporting to his combat duties. Returning to the

States State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, Reynolds enrolled in

Topeka Topeka ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeaste ...

Washburn University Washburn University (WU), formally Washburn University of Topeka, is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs as well as professional programs in law and business. The university enroll ...

, majoring in prelaw and

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

. Advised that the best place on campus to meet girls was the

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

department, he began auditioning and performing in plays. In addition to his improved social life, Reynolds reaped another unexpected benefit—he discovered a passion for acting. He went on to appear not only in regular campus productions of

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

and dramatic plays, but with local theater groups as well.

Career

Reynolds originated the character of Abe Carver on the NBC dramatic serial ''

'' in 1981, which he has played since then. He has been on contract with the show since 1981 with only two short breaks in 1991 and 2003 where he still appeared as a recurring character. He is the only actor to play the role of Abe Carver. Before appearing on ''Days of Our Lives'', he had previously appeared in the 1979 CBS series '' Time Express''. After serving as stalwart police commander Abe Carver on ''Days of our Lives'' for nine years, Reynolds moved to the new series, '' Generations'' in 1991 to play powerful business tycoon Henry Marshall, replacing actor Taurean Blacque in the role. He was rewarded for his powerful portrayal with an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

nomination as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. With the subsequent demise of that series, Reynolds was invited to return to ''Days'' where his character was promoted in rank to Chief and named the top law enforcement official in Salem, the fictional

community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

which is home to ''Days of our Lives''.

Personal life

One of Reynolds' greatest honors is being named to the Kansas Historical Society's list of famous Kansans, a list that includes such notables as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( ; July 24, 1897 – January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her li ...

, Langston Hughes, Barry Sanders, and many others. He was married to Laura Toffenetti on September 30, 1978. They welcomed their son Jed, on October 27, 1979. After four years of marriage, the couple separated, and divorced on July 19, 1984. Reynolds married his second wife, Lissa Layng on December 21, 1985.

Feature filmography

* '' C.H.O.M.P.S.'' (1979) * '' The Magic of Lassie'' (1978) * '' Fun with Dick and Jane'' (1977) * '' Mr. Majestyk'' (1974) * ''

'' (1981–1990; 1991–present) * ''

Inhumanoids ''Inhumanoids'' is the title of an animated series and the name of a Hasbro toy property that were both released in 1986. In the tradition of other Hasbro properties such as ''Transformers (toy line), Transformers'', and ''G.I. Joe'', the show w ...

'' (1986) * '' Generations'' (1990–1991)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
James Reynolds profile at Industry Central website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, James 1946 births Living people United States Marines United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War American male television actors American male soap opera actors Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winners Male actors from Kansas People from Oskaloosa, Kansas 20th-century African-American male actors 20th-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors 21st-century American male actors