Actor Wayne Northrop, who is perhaps best known for his roles on Days of Our Lives and Dynasty, died on Friday. He was 77.
Northrop’s publicist Cynthia Snyder told Deadline that the soap star died on Friday at the Motion Picture and Television Woodland Hills Home following a long struggle with Alzheimer’s.
“Wayne was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s 6 years ago. He took his last breath in the arms of his family,” Northrop’s wife, actress Lynn Herring Northrop, in a statement. “We wish to thank the most caring and amazing place, The Motion Picture and Television Home for taking such great care of him.”
Lynn Herring Northrop added, “Wayne touched so many people with his sense of humor and wit. A husband for 43 years, the best dad ever to his two boys, Hank and Grady, and a rancher who loved his cows and was a friend to many.”
Northrop was perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roman Brady on Days of Our Lives from 1981 to 1984. The actor later returned to the soap opera from 1991 to 1994, and again in 2005 to 2006, when he played Dr. Alex North.
File/DAYS OF OUR LIVES/ (l-r) Deidre Hall as Marlena Evans, Wayne Northrop as Roman Brady — (Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
The soap star was born in Sumner, Washington, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington. From there, he took an acting class at Seattle Community College, and went on to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles, California.
In 1975, Northrop joined actor Ralph Waite’s Los Angeles Actors’ Theatre, and ended up landing his first role in an episode of Police Story. He has also appeared on L.A. Law, Cold Case, The Waltons, and Hotel.
The actor was also “passionate about wildlife and conservation causes,” and “purchased a working cattle ranch in Raymond, California, with wife Lynn in the late ’80s,” Deadline reported.
In 2008, Northrop and his wife bought the oldest house in Raymond — built in 1886 — and converted it into a museum, which is now listed as a historical location.
Northrop is survived by his wife and sons Hank and Grady, as well as his stepmother, Janet.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
