The Wild Story Behind Michael Damian’s 45-Year Run on The Young and the Restless as Danny
The Young and the Restless introduced Michael Damian as rocker Danny Romalotti 45 years ago this month — but his journey to Genoa City began in an unorthodox way.
Acting the Part
On April 11, 1981, Damian was an 18-year-old up-and-coming musician when he appeared on an episode of American Bandstand to perform his new single, “She Did It,” a cover of an Eric Carmen song. And it was that broadcast that brought him to the attention of William J. Bell, the co-creator of Y&R, who was then serving as its executive producer and head writer.
During an episode of Soap Opera Digest’s podcast, Dishing With Digest, Damian recalled how the soap first reached out to him about joining the cast. “They wanted to do a [storyline about] struggling singer who was working as a waiter and trying to make it and dreamed about success, having hit records, and concert tours,” he shared. “Then they called me and they, of course, asked if I knew how to act, and I said, ‘Of course I do.’ And then when I hung up the phone, I looked at my brother Larry. I said, ‘Larry, I gotta quickly learn how to act!’”
Though Damian had never acted professionally before, he told Digest in 2023 that he felt his musical skills would translate, explaining, “I figured I had been performing on stage, I felt so comfortable on stage, and my personal opinion is that a majority of acting is the ability to have confidence and be comfortable on camera or in front of people performing. And that’s usually the key, to be relaxed around insanity. And that’s kind of what I grew up in, being in a house of 11.”
Sticking Around
Y&R brought Damian in to audition with Lilibet Stern, who was playing Patty Williams at the time, and soon found himself hired to play Danny Romalotti. He made his debut on June 24, 1981, for what was supposed to be just a three-month gig.
During his podcast appearance, Damian recalled some encouraging words he got upon his arrival at the show from David Hasselhoff, who played Snapper Foster from 1975-82. “I’ll never forget, he was so nice to me,” Damian shared. “He said, ‘Oh, this is gonna be a piece of cake. You’re gonna have so much fun. Ah, don’t worry about it, come on, just have fun.’”
Throughout the summer, Y&R showcased Damian’s musical abilities as Danny. “We did this big concert on the show, shot it on the Price is Right stage, and that was like, Danny fantasizing that he was a rock star,” Damian recounted. “So I was able to perform the song that already was climbing the charts, ‘She Did It.’”
Danny was such a hit with fans that the show quickly approached Damian about sticking around Genoa City. “At the end of the summer, they said, ‘Hey, would you like to sign a five-year contract?’ And I was like, ‘What? I thought you guys said you wanted me for three months.’ And they go, ‘Yeah, now we want you for several years.’”
Damian agreed to extend his stay when the producers made it clear they didn’t expect him to ditch his real-life musical aspirations. “They said, ‘No, you can do your concert tours. Just let us know what your dates are for your shows, and we’ll let you out and we’ll make it as convenient as possible for you to continue your music career, but also play this singer on the show.’ So it was really art imitating life, life imitating art, because whenever Danny Romalotti was doing things, so was Michael Damian, and vice versa.”
By the time Damian ended his first Y&R run in 1998, he had a No. 1 hit single, 1989’s”Rock On,” and had starred on Broadway in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, in addition to becoming half of one of the show’s most popular romantic pairings, Danny and Cricket (Lauralee Bell).
He returned to the show from 2002-04, in 2008, from 2012-13. Damian came back again in 2022 and continues to play Danny on a recurring basis and is now also a prolific screenwriter, director and producer with multiple hit projects for Netflix, including the Lindsay Lohan (ex-Alli Fowler, Another World) vehicles The Wrong Paris and Irish Wish.
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