DAYS: RIP Wayne Northrop

[janea4old]

from Christie Clark
https://www.instagram.com/p/DDIVy0XxtcA/

monkeywenches (Christie Clark)

Wayne Northrop was the most gloriously funny cowboy who adored his family! So,very sorry for your loss Lynn, Hank, Grady & @deidrehall_official & all the days fans & my days family.
Wayne had me in stitches nearly every time the stage mangers called action. This kept me on my toes & taught me to enjoy the ride. Drake & Wayne played the same part & had a similar vein running thru their blood, family first,enjoy every morsel of life & if you can make folks laugh.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2024 by janea4old

[DeliaIrisFan]

The soap hits keep coming.  My heart breaks for Lynn Herring, in parts for reasons that are unique to soaps and admittedly weird - she's practically broken my heart just by playing grief on screen, so the thought of her going through this for real just seems horrific.

[janea4old]

https://x.com/KristinaWagnr/status/1863687527284023806

 

[janea4old]

https://x.com/thejonlindstrom/status/1864318488610832402
Jon Lindstrom @thejonlindstrom
December 4, 2024

I know many of you have been sending healing thoughts to Lynn and her family in the last few days. Wayne was such a vital and powerful soul that it’s hard to imagine him no longer on this plane with us mere mortals. But I have to take a moment to acknowledge my friend Lynn’s bravery, grace, dignity and, most of all, her unwavering devotion to the love of her life and husband for over 4 decades. It is an inspiration and an example of what true, committed, unvarnished love can be. I’m sending her my thoughts along with all of you. I know she appreciates it, so keep ‘em coming. #LynnHerring #WayneNorthrup #BeautifulSouls @GeneralHospital #GeneralHospital #GH @DaysPeacock #DaysOfOurLives

 

Edited December 5, 2024 by janea4old

[Jdee43]

Interesting how all of Wayne's attempts to play a bad guy, on Dynasty, Port Charles, Days 2005, weren't successful. Perhaps it all had to do with the writing each time?

Wayne's greatest success was playing Roman in the 80s, a good guy. Perhaps behind his popularity in the 80s was the character's working class background? Interesting how in the 90s, Roman's working class background was used to turn him into an unforgiving, intolerant  jerk.

I wonder how much of the poor writing Wayne got during his second stint from 91-94 was due to grudges behind the scenes. They only rehired him because Deidre insisted. Wayne only signed a 6 month contract, and when it was up, he played hard ball with the producers, forcing them to embarrassingly write out Roman again right after he returned from a 7 year hiatus. Wayne finally agreed to a new contract, but it seemed like the producers also had to hire his wife. Perhaps the producers didn't forget this, and had the writers destroy his character by the time he left in 1994? It's interesting how all the characters Reilly hated were portrayed by actors who gave the producers, and him, a hard time: Roman, Jack, Tony, Victor.

[j swift]

Not to point fingers, but why do we always assume it is a production issue?

By 1994, Wayne's wife was working, they had two young kids and a ranch.  Perhaps, he wanted to care for his family responsibilities?  Knowing that he only signed for a few months, the writers chose to make John and Marlena the end-game.

His later returns to daytime may have been financially driven.  After all, ranching in California is expensive.  He may have sought opportunities during downtimes in his wife's career.

We also don't know the onset of his dementia, which may have effected his ability to focus or learn lines. 

My point being, that issues are more complex than they seem, and the idea that a single writer or producer doesn't like a character is rarely the only reason that things don't work out.

[Contessa Donatella]

I'm doing a rewatch & I began in 1991 & I'm early in 1992 now & I have yet to see this bad writing, him being a jerk, or worse, although I have been warned I will run into it, sooner instead of later. I just mention it because whatever was going on I don't think it began immediately as soon as he returned. 

In terms of resolving the story of Marlena loving 2 different men, perhaps it was simplistic of me, but I just thought that a decision was made that Marlena was going to sin & get knocked off the pedestal she was in, inviting evil into her life, with John & Marlena being end game & to make that happen they felt they had to damage the RoMar iconic relationship & they did that by working on both characters, Marlena & Roman. Do most people think JER really did not like the character of Roman Brady? Reilly was clear in who he wanted to write for & who he did not. Many writers are 'guilty' of that I believe. 

Hmm, I don't think 'rare' would be accurate. JMO. 

[Khan]

Maybe, but I think it never was easy to watch WN portray a "bad guy."  To me, it was like watching Kevin Costner portray a villain.  Both seemed to be innately decent gentlemen who might have flaws, but who never could be nefarious.

Edited December 5, 2024 by Khan

[carolineg]

I'll be honest I don't think JER hated Wayne-he just preferred Drake.  Roman and John did become redundant in the 90's especially if JER's vision was Jarlena and it was.  Sure, you could have spun Roman off into several different directions and he was viable.   It just didn't happen.  

I do think it was quite calculated to recast Roman when Wayne was already tied to PC, but I chalk that up to a Corday decision.

@j swift Wayne openly admits his contract wasn't renewed in 1994.  It's in articles.  He didn't choose to leave. That's a production choice. I absolutely don't think Wayne's health had anything to do with anything here.  He came back in 2005? and was giving very coherent interviews with SOD about his character and hiring less than a decade ago.

 

[Liberty City]

Exactly and, even after his 2006 exit, he still gave interviews.

[Wendy]

Yeah, Wayne Northrop was fired as Roman in the '90s. I admit, when I started Days, Drake was in the role, and he was my preference. But I didn't dislike what I saw of Wayne's version, although I do think he was made the "benign heavy". By that, I mean I have always read about and heard how funny and charming his Roman was. (Thank God for some clips that allowed me to see proof!) I saw none of that in his second stint. The writers had him constantly angry [maybe rightfully so as he had his life stolen] at Marlena and Carrie and his immediate family and was just being made to look sour and unpleasant as contrasted with John.

But there was no real reason to not allow Roman to lighten up again and allow him to move on with a new love interest as Marlena had. To me, it seemed like James E. Reilly couldn't be bothered in fleshing Roman out after his trauma, just saw him as redundant due to John (as if soaps can only have one good guy?!) and just gave him the heave ho. Which sucks.

[carolineg]

Thank you.  There wasn't anything extra at play here in his firing in 1994.  I am pretty sure Wayne used the terms that his character had run out of story and he was let go, but could be back in the future.  That's a production decision.  JER was ready to move on to his Possession story and I could see Roman not fitting into those plans.  There was no way Roman would have just not cared or been involved if Marlena was in trouble.  You probably could have set up a Kristen/John/Marlena/Roman quad, but outside of Carrie/Austin/Lucas/Sami, JER seemed to prefer triangles.

Roman did have that whole wacky story about play a faux Mrs. Doubtfire for Marlena and the kids when he was supposed to be on the run in 1992.  He did have some lighthearted moments, but that was mostly due to Wayne's inherit charisma.

He became the real heavy when the show was building up to the affair.  His anger in 1991 was mostly understandable due to circumstance, IMO, at the time.  I'd be mad if most people preferred my imposter too lol.

[Liberty City]

Honestly, Roman would not have fit the Possession storyline. That was purely a Drake Hogestyn/John Black storyline. Not at all. And it's no surprise Roman (via recast) pretty much returned post-that storyline, right?!

[carolineg]

Roman would have made the Possession hard to buy in general because John had to be her savior.

No.  He returned when John/Marlena were about to married.  So it went Possession, then Aremid, then the Paris kidnapping, then the Kristen baby story with the secret room and Susan.  So there were multiple arcs before he returned.  Roman actually "died" in 1997 and gave John/Marlena letters forgiving them and encouraging them to be together then popped up shortly afterward.  Kristen/Stefano found him

[Wendy]

True, but he still could have been involved in some fashion, even if John were the main hero. I mean, Marlena and Roman did share children.

But even if he wasn't, Roman could have had his own stuff going on, if Reilly cared even one iota. I don't know why the poor treatment of Wayne bothers me since, as I said, he was not even Roman when I started. But maybe it's because, without his version, there'd be no RoJohn to begin with, and it just seems awful how he was cast aside. (And no, I don't blame Drake, either. He didn't write this stuff! LOL!)

With a writer that even tried, I think it could have been interesting to see the two men contrasted - and when necessary, allow their similarities to work together for some common goal. (Maybe Carrie and/or Sami and Eric could have faced some sort of danger or whatnot, and both "fathers" would have to put aside their issues to come together? Just spitballing.)