Michael Donnelly (Santa Barbara)

Last updated
Michael Donnelly
Santa Barbara character
Michaeldonnelly1989.jpg
Frank Runyeon as Michael Donnelly (1989)
Portrayed by Frank Runyeon
First appearanceEpisode 962
May 26, 1988
Last appearanceEpisode 1818
October 14, 1991
Created by Charles Pratt Jr. and
Anne Howard Bailey
In-universe information
OccupationPriest
Cop
SiblingsHeather Donnelly
Other relativesMichael Clark

Michael Donnelly is a fictional character from the American soap opera Santa Barbara . He was portrayed by American actor Frank Runyeon from May 26, 1988 to October 14, 1991.

Contents

Character history

When Mason Capwell was accused of the murder of Mark McCormick, he left Santa Barbara in search of Mark's true killer. Mason's quest led him to a convent where Michael Donnelly was the main priest. An explosion caused Mason to lose his memory and he was presumed dead, but his wife, Julia Wainwright, showed up at the convent searching for the truth about Mason. Eventually the truth about Mark's killer was revealed, but by that time Father Michael realized he had fallen in love with Julia.

Michael's profession as a priest came to torment him when he heard the confession of serial rapist Zach Kelton. Michael's conscience was troubled, because he wanted to inform the police but was forbidden to do so by the Seal of the Confessional. Zach, fearing that Michael would betray him, kidnapped Julia. Michael rescued Julia, and came to the conclusion he would need to give up the priesthood.

When married couple Laura and Ethan Asher came to town, Michael revealed that he had once had a relationship with Laura and had accidentally killed her child while working as a policeman. Laura forgave Michael, but Ethan was suspicious of Michael and Laura. Another person from Michael's past, Leo Mitchell, arrived in town threatening Michael. When Leo was killed, Michael was accused of committing the crime, but it turned out that Laura had killed Leo in self-defense.

Michael then had a short relationship with Greta McAdams before moving on to Nikki Alvarez. Cruz Castillo saved Michael and Nikki from being tormented by Kirk Cranston, and the couple started dating and got engaged, but Nikki was murdered by Harland Richards before the wedding. Michael was then hired by Minx Lockridge to find the daughter she had given up many years before. After learning that Minx's daughter was Cassandra Benedict, Michael and Cassandra dated for a while. After Cassandra, Michael became involved with Flame Beaufort, but her suicidal nature ruined their relationship. After that, Michael decided to leave town to get away from bad memories.

Related Research Articles

<i>Santa Barbara</i> (TV series) American television soap opera

Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera that aired on NBC from July 30, 1984, to January 15, 1993. The show revolves around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California. Other prominent families featured on the soap were the rival Lockridge family, and the more modest Andrade and Perkins families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eden Capwell and Cruz Castillo</span> Soap opera character

Eden Capwell and Cruz Castillo are fictional characters and a supercouple from the American daytime drama Santa Barbara. Eden was portrayed by American actress Marcy Walker from September 28, 1984 to August 9, 1991, and Cruz was portrayed by actor A Martinez from August 13, 1984 to September 11, 1992. While producers were at first unsure about pairing the blonde, white Eden with a character of Mexican descent, the fans eagerly adopted the new couple, and they quickly became Santa Barbara's most popular couple.

Love Is a Many Splendored Thing is an American daytime soap opera that aired on CBS from September 18, 1967, to March 23, 1973. The series was created by Irna Phillips, who served as the first head writer. She was replaced by Jane Avery and Ira Avery in 1968, who were followed by Don Ettlinger, James Lipton and finally Ann Marcus. John Conboy served as producer for most of the show's run.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Newman</span> Fictional character in The Young and the Restless

Victor Newman is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. He has been portrayed by Eric Braeden since 1980. Initially a guest character who was to last for eight to twelve weeks, Victor has evolved into the soap opera's leading male figure. Created by William J. Bell as a "despicable, contemptible, unfaithful wife abuser", the character was planned to be killed off and never heard of again. However, after Bell saw Braeden's performance, he decided to sign the actor onto a contract. Braeden was hesitant to work on a soap opera, but eventually signed a contract, and has remained on the series as a regular cast member for over 40 years. The character is widely described as a ruthless villain, while loving to those he holds dear. Over the years, he has also been the center of several controversial plots and relationships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikki Newman</span> Fictional TV character

Nikki Newman is a fictional character from the American CBS daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless. Created and introduced by William J. Bell in 1978, the role was portrayed by Erica Hope, before Melody Thomas Scott took over in 1979. Introduced as a stripper, the character became well known for her relationship with businessman Victor Newman, a union that developed into a supercouple pairing that has spanned over four decades. She shares two children with Victor, Victoria and Nicholas Newman. In 2013, she reveals that she had previously given up a child for adoption, who is later discovered to be Dylan McAvoy. The character has also had several other notorious relationships, including Paul Williams, Jack Abbott, and Brad Carlton. Scott is considered an icon in the soap opera genre.

Paul Williams (<i>The Young and the Restless</i>) Soap opera character

Paul Williams is a fictional character on the American CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. Paul was introduced to the show on May 23, 1978, and has been portrayed by Doug Davidson ever since. Initially, Paul was a "bad boy", who had a romance with Nikki Reed, giving her an STD. The relationship ultimately ended, but the two have remained friends since. After a year on the series, Bell gave the character a proper backstory, surname and family. This included his notoriously unstable sister Patty Williams. After a failed marriage to April Stevens —who gave birth to his daughter Heather Stevens —focus turned towards Paul's career as a private investigator, as well as his relationship and eventual marriage to and later divorce from Lauren Fenmore. Paul's string of unsuccessful romances with women—including his ill-fated bride Cindy Lake, and Cassandra Rawlins, the wife of one of his clients—continued. Over the years, Paul continued to become heavily involved in various storylines as a private investigator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zach Slater</span> Soap opera character

Zach Slater is a fictional character from the American drama, All My Children. He was portrayed by actor Thorsten Kaye from May 20, 2004 to November 19, 2010; Thorsten returned to the role on August 5, 2011 to September 23, 2011. In 2006, the character was reported by newspaper Chicago Sun-Times as one of the male television character romantically desired by their female readers, and is considered one of television's anti-heroes. On April 30, 2013, Kaye reprised the role of Zach for the continuation of All My Children. In October 2013, Kaye announced he would not be returning for the second season of the series, instead taking on the role of Ridge Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helena Cassadine</span> Soap opera character

Helena Cassadine is a fictional character on the American soap opera General Hospital, famously originated by film actress Elizabeth Taylor in November 1981. After a brief stint by Dimitra Arliss in 1996, Constance Towers took over the role in 1997 and has returned — for periods of varying length — nearly every year since.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Scorpio</span> Fictional soap opera character

Robert Scorpio is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera General Hospital, played by actor Tristan Rogers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenlee Smythe</span> Fictional character from All My Children

Greenlee Smythe is a fictional character from the American daytime drama, All My Children. She was originally portrayed by actress Rebecca Budig from August 11, 1999 to November 30, 2005, and was portrayed by actress Sabine Singh from April 20, 2007 to January 15, 2008. On December 14, 2007, it was announced that Budig accepted the offer to reprise the role, and would continue her portrayal of the character. Episodes with Budig began airing again January 16, 2008. The return is one of the most widely reported in the genre's history, with newspapers such as the Associated Press and New York Daily News featuring the story. Budig again departed the role on February 17, 2009, the day the character was killed off. In the June 29, 2009 issue of ABC Soaps in Depth magazine, head writer Charles Pratt, Jr. confirmed they had written Greenlee to remain alive, but that Budig would be making no immediate plans to return to the show. On October 8, 2009, it was confirmed that Budig would return to the show in December. Budig returned on December 23, 2009 and remained with the series until its finale on September 23, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah Nichols</span> Soap opera character

Hannah Nichols is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera All My Children. The role was originally portrayed by actress Stacy Haiduk from March to May 2007. Haiduk reprised her role from September 2007 to January 14, 2008, when the character was killed off.

Frank Runyeon is an American actor who played Steve Andropoulos on CBS's As the World Turns from 1980 to 1987. He has also translated and performed in one-man plays of Scripture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Capwell Conrad</span> Soap opera character

Pamela Pepperidge Conrad is a fictional character from the American soap opera Santa Barbara. She was first portrayed by actress Shirley Anne Field from October 13 to December 28, 1987, and was then replaced by Marj Dusay, who portrayed the role from December 29, 1987, to July 7, 1988. Dusay returned as a guest star from February 25 to March 4, 1991.

Joe Perkins (<i>Santa Barbara</i>) Soap opera character

Joseph Evan "Joe" Perkins is a fictional character from the American soap opera Santa Barbara. Actor Dane Witherspoon originated the role in the first episode of the series aired on July 30, 1984. Following a disagreement with the show's producers, Witherspoon was fired and last seen on the show on October 30, 1984, when Joe was supposed to be killed, but the storyline was changed in order to recast the character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobbie Spencer</span> Fictional character from General Hospital

Barbara Jean "Bobbie" Spencer, RN is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera General Hospital, portrayed by Jacklyn Zeman. She debuted in January 1978, after playing Lana McClain on the sister-soap One Life to Live. Zeman went on to appear on General Hospital until 13 July 2010. The character is the sister of Luke Spencer and mother of Carly Corinthos. In February 2013, it was announced that Zeman would be returning to the role; she first appeared on March 22 and once again vacated the role on April 15. However, on October 22, it was confirmed that Zeman would be returning to the show, with her first airdate slated to be on November 27. Zeman continued in the role until her last appearance on April 27, 2023, shortly before her death on May 9 of that year.

Cassandra Rawlins is a fictional character from the American soap opera The Young and the Restless. She was portrayed by Nina Arvesen from March 3, 1988, to March 4, 1991. Hall was the character's maiden name.

References

    Further reading