Michael Damian

Michael Damian
At the 1990 premiere of Air America
Born	Michael Damian Weir (1962-04-26) April 26, 1962 (age 62) Bonsall, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Actor, recording artist and producer
Years active	1980–present
Spouse	Janeen Damian ​ (m. 1998)​

Michael Damian Weir (born April 26, 1962) is an American actor, singer, director, writer, and producer, best known for his role as Danny Romalotti on the soap opera The Young and the Restless, which he played from 1981 to 1998, 2002 to 2004, 2008, 2012 to 2013, and again from 2022 to 2024.

Career

Michael began his music career as a member of his family band, The Weirz, who released two self-titled albums, one in 1975 and one in 1979. After a 1981 appearance on American Bandstand in support of his debut single, a cover of the Eric Carmen tune "She Did It”, Damian was offered the part of struggling singer, Danny Romalotti, on the daytime television series The Young and the Restless.^[1][2]

Michael appeared in three episodes of the popular television series The Facts of Life (in 1985 - Season 6 episodes 19-20 as well as 1986 in the nineteenth episode of Season 7) playing Flyman, the love interest of Jo Polniaczek (Nancy McKeon).

Damian performed the theme song to Saved by the Bell.^[3]

After twelve years with The Young and the Restless, Damian landed the starring role in the Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. With Damian cast as Joseph, the production set a single day box-office record as well as a historical record for the highest weekly gross for a Broadway revival at the Minskoff Theatre.^[4][5] Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat had 231 performances at the Minskoff Theatre from November 10, 1993, to May 29, 1994. The cast album earned a Grammy Award nomination in the Best Musical Show Album category.^[6][7]

Damian has released five albums with three top 40 hits, including his number-one cover of the David Essex song "Rock On" (from the Dream a Little Dream soundtrack), which was certified gold in 1989. He also won a BMI Song-writing Award for his hit single "Was It Nothing at All.” He made his feature film directorial debut with an indie comedy, Hot Tamale, which he co-wrote with his wife Janeen, who is the daughter of actor James Best. Following in the family film genre, he directed the films Moondance Alexander, Flicka 2, Marley & Me: The Puppy Years, Flicka: Country Pride, and A Princess for Christmas.^[8] In 2012, he directed and co-wrote, again with his wife, the 90-minute romantic comedy The Sweeter Side of Life, co-starring his father-in-law veteran actor James Best in his last film role. The film premiered on the Hallmark Channel on January 19, 2013.^[9]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums^[10]^[11]

Year	Title	Label	Hot 200[12]
1984	Love Is a Mystery	Columbia	—
1986	Michael Damian	CBS	—
1989	Where Do We Go from Here	Cypress	61
	Dream a Little Dream (Soundtrack)	Cypress	94
1991	Dreams of Summer	A&M	—
1993	Reach Out to Me	Scotti Bros.	—
1994	Time of the Season	Wildcat Records (UNI) Wild Cat (Indie)	—
2003	Shadows in the Night	Bcd	—
2005	The Christmas Album	Studio City Sound	—
2007	Getting So Much Better	Caption Records	—
2009	Rock On	Caption Records Weir Brothers Entertainment	—

Singles

List of singles, with selected peak chart positions

Year	Title[13]	Peak chart positions							Album
		US Hot 100 [14]	US Cash Box [15]	US AC [16]	US Dance Sales [17]	AUS [18]	GER [19]	NZ [19]
1981	"She Did It"	69	95	—	—	—	—	—	single only
1984	"She's in a Different World"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Love Is a Mystery
1986	"What Are You Looking For"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Michael Damian
1987	"Christmas Time Without You"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	single only
1989	"Rock On"	1	1	—	—	55	45	18	Where Do We Go from Here
	"Cover of Love"	31	30	—	—	—	—	—
	"Was It Nothing at All"	24	23	7	—	—	—	—
1990	"Straight from My Heart"	—	—	47	—	—	—	—
1991	"What a Price to Pay"	60	57	—	—	—	—	—	Dreams of Summer
	"Let's Get Into This (Primal Solution)"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1992	"(There'll Never Be) Another You"	—	—	26	—	—	—	—
1993	"Reach Out to Me"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Reach Out to Me
1994	"Time of the Season"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Time of the Season
	"Never Walk Away"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2002	"Shadows in the Night"	—	—	—	5	—	—	—	Shadows in the Night
2009	"Rock On (2009)"	—	—	28	—	—	—	—	Rock On
2023	"Bring Back the Christmas Card" (featuring Sharon Hendrix)	—	—	27	—	—	—	—	Christmas Album (deluxe)

Theatre

• 1971–1973: Ventura County Youth Experimental Theatre ^[2]
• 1993–1994: Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as Joseph

References

1. "American Bandstand 1981 11:81 Michael Damian". Season Number 30 Episode Number 11 AB 81. Dick Clark media archives. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
2. Everett, Todd (February 25, 1993). "Soap Imitates Life: 'The Young and the Restless' takes a cue from reality as Michael Damian and his TV character go onstage at the Pantages Theater". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 14, 2012. Damian's eldest brother, Larry Weir, started what he called the Ventura County Youth Experimental Theater, which produced three original musicals: "Island," "The House on Crossroads Alley" and "Hobo's Jungle." All featured the Weir siblings, three boys and seven girls.
3. "Lil Yachty Remixes 'Saved by the Bell' Theme Song for Upcoming Series".
4. Snow, Shauna (March 10, 1993). "Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation's press". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 18, 2013. Briefly: Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" has set a house record at the Pantages Theater. The musical, starring Michael Damien, sold $128,790 on Sunday, the theater's top single-day sale ever....
5. Daryl H. Miller (January 5, 1994). "'SUNSET BOULEVARD' CRUISES TO A BOX-OFFICE RECORD". Desert News/Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved January 18, 2013. "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" broke not only the house record at the Minskoff Theatre but set a new peak for highest weekly gross for any revival in Broadway history, according to show publicist John Barlow. It had gross ticket sales of $729,605 for the week ending Jan. 2.
6. "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
7. Bonacich, Drago. "Michael Damian profile". Biography. Rovi - MSN. Retrieved November 12, 2012.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
8. "AllMovie: Michael Damian". Filmography. AllMovie by Rovi. Retrieved November 12, 2012.
9. Stockly, Ed (18 January 2013). "Saturday's TV Highlights: 'The Sweeter Side of Life' on Hallmark". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
10. "Michael Damian: Discography". Allmusic. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
11. Michael Damian discography, Discogs.com; retrieved June 23, 2013.
12. "Dream a Little Dream: Awards". Dream a Little Dream (Soundtrack). AllMusic: Billboard. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
13. "Michael Damian Discography at Discogs: Singles-EPs - Releases". Discogs.
14. "Michael Damian - Chart history - Billboard". Billboard.
15. "Cash Box Top 100 6/20/81".
    • "Cash Box Top Singles - 1989".
    • "Cash Box Top 100 2/10/90".
    • "Cash Box Top 100 7/13/91".
16. "Adult Contemporary: Week of December 30, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
17. "Dance Singles Sales : Aug 03, 2002 - Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard.
18. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 81. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
19. "Michael Damian - Rock On - dutchcharts.nl".

External links

• Michael Damian at IMDb
• Michael Damian at the Internet Broadway Database