Jack Wagner (actor)

For other people named Jack Wagner, see Jack Wagner (disambiguation).

Jack Wagner
Birth name	Peter John Wagner, II
Born	October 3, 1959 (1959-10-03)
Origin	Washington, Missouri, U.S.
Genres	Pop rock
Occupations	Musician, actor
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar
Years active	1982–present
Labels	Qwest

Peter John "Jack" Wagner, II (born October 3, 1959, Washington, Missouri) is an American actor and singer, best known for his roles on the soap operas General Hospital,Santa Barbara, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Melrose Place.

Early years

Raised Catholic, Wagner attended St. Gertrude's parochial school and St. Francis Borgia Regional High School in his hometown, where he played football and basketball. He attended the University of Missouri for one year, then junior college before eventually enrolling at the University of Arizona, where he tried out for the golf team and drama department. The drama department offered him a full scholarship.^{[citation needed]}

Acting career

Wagner first appeared on the scene in 1982 in the role of Clint Masterson in Douglas Marland's short-lived cable soap opera, A New Day In Eden (co-produced by Susan Flannery, who would later be Wagner's co-star on The Bold and the Beautiful).

His most famous role has been Frisco Jones on the soap opera General Hospital (1983–1988, 1989–1991, 1994–95). He was half of a supercouple with Kristina Wagner's Felicia and played the father of Georgie and Maxie Jones. He played Warren Lockridge on Santa Barbara (1991–93).

He appeared in several made for television films including Moving Target with Jason Bateman, Lady Killer with Judith Light, Frequent Flyer with Joan Severance, Nicole Eggert and Shelley Hack, and Dirty Little Secret opposite Tracey Gold.

He appeared for many years on the nighttime soap Melrose Place as Dr. Peter Burns (1994–1999), and directed episodes as well. Since early 2003 he has played Dominick Marone on the CBS daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful. He appeared in the NBC TV series Titans with Yasmine Bleeth in 2000, and in Sunset Beach in 1997.

In 1985, Wagner was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for "Best Younger Actor" for his work on General Hospital, but he lost to Brian Bloom from As the World Turns. He was nominated again in 2005 for "Best Lead Actor" for The Bold and the Beautiful, but lost to Christian LeBlanc from The Young and the Restless.

Singing and Stage Career

Wagner has recorded five albums. In 1985 he topped the Billboard charts with the ballad "All I Need". The single reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

His albums include:

• 1984: All I Need #44 Peak Billboard 200
• 1985: Lighting Up the Night #150 / Peak Billboard 200
• 1987: Don't Give Up Your Day Job #151 Peak Billboard 200
• 1993: Alone in the Crowd
• 2005: Dancing in the Moonlight
• 2012: Will The Rain Fall Down (Single)

He has had the following Hot 100 singles:

• 1984: "All I Need" #2 US (2 weeks) behind Madonna's 'Like A Virgin' - January 12, 1985 (#1 AC - 2 weeks)
• 1985: "Lady of My Heart" #76 US - Jun 15, 1985
• 1985: "Too Young" #52 US - Dec 7, 1985 (#15 US Hot Adult Contemporary)
• 1986: "Love Can Take Us All The Way" - #15 US Hot Adult Contemporary - April 26, 1986
• 1987: "Weatherman Says" #67 US - May 30, 1987

Although Wagner had been playing the guitar since he was 14, his initial audition for the role of "Frisco Jones" on General Hospital with producer Gloria Monty did not include any singing. Wagner had five auditions with ABC before ultimately winning the role of "Frisco Jones". His final audition in 1983 included performing the Kenny Loggins song "Wait a Little While." ABC musical honcho Kelli Ross hooked Wagner up with her good friend in legendary producer Quincy Jones who oversaw his initial 5 song EP "All I Need". Eventually, they would release a full ten song LP of "All I Need" once the song "All I Need" began to rise the charts. Quincy Jones proteges Glen Ballard and Clif Magness produced Wagner's first two albums on Qwest Records/Warner Brothers. Wagner's singing talents led him to appearances on American Bandstand, Solid Gold, Soul Train and The Merv Griffin Show.

Eventually, his musical theater talent led to the title role(s) in a Broadway run of Jekyll & Hyde, making him the first celebrity casting. Wagner has stated this was "a role of a lifetime" and performing the dual characters on Broadway was his most fulfilling professional experience. Wagner says "the role I had the most fun playing, TV-wise, would be Dr. Peter Burns (Melrose Place). He was sort of an evil character who could redeem himself. Theatrically, it was when I played Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Jekyll & Hyde on Broadway." He also appeared in a national theatre tour in 1987 in the role of Tony in West Side Story, and a national tour of Grease in 1988.

While he toured as a rock/pop performer in concert consistently from 1985–1988, Wagner did not perform in the 1990s except for an occasional benefit appearance.^{[citation needed]} In 2005, Wagner resumed performing in concert sporadically. His more recent concerts have included a diverse blend of songs from his own catalog, cover songs from artists such as Neil Young, Lindsey Buckingham, and Paul McCartney, and originals. His next concert performance is scheuduled to be January 28, 2012 at the Mohegan Sun Casino Wolf Den in Connecticut.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life

He was married to actress Kristina Wagner, who played opposite him on General Hospital as his love interest Felicia Cummings. After marital troubles, they filed for divorce twice,^{[citation needed]} and it was finalized in 2006. The Wagners have two sons, Peter (born 1990) and Harrison. He has been dating his Melrose Place love interest Heather Locklear since 2007. They became engaged in August 2011. Wagner said of his relationship with Locklear and the prospect of marriage: "[W]e're not rushing into anything - we're really focusing on being good parents". In November 2011, Jack met his 23 year old daughter Kerry for the first time at a concert in Florida. Kerry had been placed up for adoption at birth by her mother and recently hired a private investigator to find her biological parents.

Wagner is an avid golfer, ranking as one of the leading celebrity golfers. He is the only non-professional athlete to have won the American Century Celebrity Golf Classic, the annual competition to determine the best golfers among American sports and entertainment celebrities. Wagner first won the event in 2006 and repeated as champion in 2011 when he bested Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo by 3 strokes. Wagner also won the Missouri junior college championship in 1980, and at one point considered a career in pro golf. He has a Celebrity Golf Classic named after him that raises funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Wagner created the event to support the Society's mission to cure such cancers as leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. The Golf Classic raised more than $600,000 in its first two years to fund critical cancer research and patient services.^{[citation needed]}

Miscellaneous

• Wagner hosted the Miss Universe Pageant twice: in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1998; and in Chaguaramas, Trinidad and Tobago in 1999.

Selected Stage Work Highlights

• Butterfly - Pink (1987) East Haddam Playhouse, Connecticut
• West Side Story - Tony (1987) National Touring Company
• Grease - Danny Zuko (1988) National Touring Company
• They're Playing Our Song (1992) Long Beach Civic Light Opera, California
• Jekyll & Hyde - Dr. Henry Jekyll / Edward Hyde (2000) Broadway

External links

• Jack Wagner at the Internet Movie Database
• Jack Wagner at the Internet Broadway Database