Stuart Damon
Alan Quartermaine
1977 - Present
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Stuart Damon Alan Quartermaine 1977 - Present |
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Stuart
Damon was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 5th to
struggling Russian immigrants who came to America during the Bolshevik
Revolution. As a child,
Stuart loved making his family and others laugh. At age 11, he played the
cowardly lion (ring a bell?) in a production of The Wizard of Oz, and
later starred and sang in musical comedies at a summer camp near Danbury,
Connecticut. Stuart
attended a private high school, continuing his studies at Brandeis
University, where he obtained a B.A. degree in psychology. He was on his
way to becoming an attorney, but got sidetracked when his involvement in
acting turned into a professional pursuit. He began playing lead roles in
summer stock with such stars as Jane Powell and George Gobel. In the next
few years, he gained experience in more than 50 musical comedies, washing
a few dishes along the way to help with finances. He
landed his first Broadway role in the chorus line of Irma La Douce, where
his dance partner was Elliott Gould. He also understudied the principals,
and after two weeks took over one of the leads. That break led to other
Broadway shows. In
1964, Stuart was named Most Promising Performer of the Year by Theater
World for his performance in The Boys From Syracuse. The following year,
he was brought to Hollywood to star with Lesley Ann Warren in the
now-classic TV musical production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella.
The program attracted worldwide attention. A
lucrative offer to star on an English television series, The Champions,
sent Stuart to Great Britain with his British-born wife, actress Deirdre
Ottewill-Damon, and their daughter, Jennifer. During the next 12 years,
Stuart starred on British television and played many roles on stage in
London's West End. Shortly
after returning to the United States in 1977, Stuart was signed as a
series regular on General Hospital as the handsome but troubled Dr Alan
Quartermaine. His performance in the soap opera led to many things: A
starring role in the highly rated TV suspense thriller, Fantasies; a
1981-82 ABC Monday Night Movie; a cameo in the comedy feature film, Young
Doctors in Love, an ABC Motion Picture released in 1982; an appearance in
Bob Fosse's Star 80; and a highly dramatic guest-star role on an episode
of Arthur Hailey's Hotel on ABC. Stuart
returned to the stage in 1982 to play King Arthur, opposite his wife in
the role of Queen Guenevere, in a San Diego production of Camelot. It
marked the first time the two had performed together in ten years. Early
in 1988, Damon made his play-directing debut with the world premiere
production of What's Wrong With This Picture?, at the Back Alley Theater
in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles. The actor remarked, "Now I know
what I want to do with the next part of my life besides act." Damon
has been nominated for more than a dozen Emmy and Soap Opera Digest awards
has won the Outstanding Supporting Actor and Outstanding Veteran Awards in
1998 and 1999. He
has been active with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation since 1983 and
instrumental as a major fund-raiser. He also, along with co-star Leslie
Charleson, is involved with the Mountain AIDS Foundation of Santa Monica.
He is an ardent golfer and sports fan. The Damons have a daughter, Jennifer, son Christopher and have recently adopted their grandson, Alex. They divide their time between homes in England and Los Angeles where they live in houses they renovated themselves |