Edward Wass (born October 27, 1952) is an American television director and former actor. He is best known for his roles as Danny Dallas on the series ''

Soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

'' (1977–1981) and as Nick Russo on the sitcom ''

Blossom In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as w ...

'' (1991–1995). After ''Blossom'' ended its run in 1995, Wass retired from acting and focused only on directing episodic television series, such as ''

Spin City ''Spin City'' is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996, to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a fictionalized version of the New York City mayor's off ...

'', ''

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes. The show originally centered on five charact ...

'', ''

Less than Perfect ''Less than Perfect'' is an American television sitcom created by Terri Minsky and starring Sara Rue and Sherri Shepherd which originally aired on ABC from October 1, 2002, to June 6, 2006. It follows Claude (Rue), who works at a television n ...

'' and ''

2 Broke Girls ''2 Broke Girls'' (stylized as ''2 Broke Girl$'') is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 19, 2011, to April 17, 2017. The series was produced for Warner Bros. Television and created by Michael Patrick King and Whitn ...

''. Wass returned to acting when he reunited with

Mayim Bialik Mayim Chaya Bialik ( ; born December 12, 1975) is an American actress, author, and former game show host. From 1991 to 1995, she played the title character of the NBC sitcom ''Blossom (American TV series), Blossom''. From 2010 to 2019, she play ...

and played her father again on Bialik's '' Call Me Kat'' in 2022.

Early life and education

Wass was born in

Lakewood, Ohio Lakewood is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Established in 1889, it is one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs and part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. The popula ...

. He was raised in

Glen Ellyn, Illinois Glen Ellyn is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. A suburb located due west of downtown Chicago, the village has a population of 28,846 as of the 2020 Census. History Glen Ellyn, like the neighboring town to the east, Lomba ...

and graduated from

Glenbard West High School Glenbard West High School is a public four-year high school located at the corner of Ellyn Avenue and Crescent Boulevard in Glen Ellyn, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Glenbard Township High School D ...

in 1970. He attended

Goodman School of Drama The Theatre School at DePaul University, previously the Goodman School of Drama (also known as TTS and GSD, respectively) is the drama school of DePaul University. Originally associated with the Goodman Theatre, its first class was conducted at ...

at the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...

(now at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

). Wass trained as an opera singer and was also involved in rock and roll as a lead singer and guitarist.

Career

Acting

In 1976, Wass made his Broadway debut in the original Broadway production of '' Grease'', playing Danny Zuko. He made his television debut as Danny Dallas on ''

'' from 1977 to 1981, filming 101 episodes. He appeared on Broadway with his ''Soap'' co-star

Diana Canova Diana Canova (born Diane Canova Rivero; June 1, 1953) is an American actress, director, and professor. She is best known for her role as Corinne Tate on ''Soap'' (1977-1980). Early life Canova was born Diane Canova Rivero in West Palm Beach, F ...

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...

's ''

They're Playing Our Song ''They're Playing Our Song'' is a musical with a book by Neil Simon, lyrics by Carole Bayer Sager, and music by Marvin Hamlisch. In a story based on the real-life relationship of Hamlisch and Sager, a wisecracking composer finds a new, offbeat l ...

''. Wass starred in ''

Curse of the Pink Panther ''Curse of the Pink Panther'' is a 1983 comedy film and a continuation of ''The Pink Panther'' series of films created by Blake Edwards in the early 1960s. The film was one of two produced concurrently following the death of the series' star Pe ...

'' (1983), one of the post-

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...

films in the franchise, as Detective Sergeant Clifton Sleigh, engaged by Police Chief Dreyfus to track down

Inspector Clouseau Inspector Jacques Clouseau (), later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical ''The Pink Panther'' series. Clouseau's immense ego, eccentricity, exaggerated French accent, and prominent mustache ...

. He played struggling musician Bobby Shelton (who trades his soul — and his family — to become an ill-fated rock star "Billy Wayne") in the black comedy film ''

Oh, God! You Devil ''Oh, God! You Devil'' is a 1984 American comedy film, directed by Paul Bogart from a script written by Andrew Bergman. The movie is a sequel to ''Oh, God! Book II'' (1980) serves as the third and final installment overall in ''Oh God!'' film se ...

'' (1984). He played a sports journalist caught in a murder in female-

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

film '' Sheena'' (1984). In 1986, he starred in the TV movie ''Triplecross'', directed by David Greene. This was intended as a television pilot, but the series was never picked up. His last acting role was among his most prominent, playing the title character's father in ''

'' (1991–1995), a sitcom about a teenage girl with two brothers being brought up by their single father.

Directing

Wass began directing while acting on the TV sitcom ''Blossom''. He has directed episodes of over 40 TV series along with many TV movies.

Personal life

Wass' first wife was actress

Janet Margolin Janet Natalie Margolin (July 25, 1943 – December 17, 1993) was an American theater, television and film actress. Early life Margolin was born in New York City to a Jewish family. Her father, Benjamin Margolin, was a Russian Jewish accountan ...

, who died in December 1993 at age 50 from ovarian cancer. Their two children are Julian (a composer) and Matilda. He has two grandchildren from Julian's marriage to director Jenee Lamarque. His second and current wife is producer Nina Feinberg Wass, whom he married in 1996. They have a daughter named Stella.

Filmography

As an Actor

As a Director

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wass, Ted 1952 births Living people 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Illinois Male actors from Ohio American male film actors American male television actors American television directors DePaul University alumni People from Glen Ellyn, Illinois Actors from Lakewood, Ohio American people of Jewish descent