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Michael Nader

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Michael Nader
Born(1945-02-19)February 19, 1945
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
DiedAugust 23, 2021(2021-08-23) (aged 76)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1963–2013
Spouses
  • Robin Weiss
  • Jodi Lister
Children1
RelativesGeorge Nader (uncle)

Michael Nader (February 19, 1945 – August 23, 2021) was an American actor, known for his roles as Dex Dexter on the ABC primetime soap opera Dynasty from 1983 to 1989, and Dimitri Marick on the ABC daytime soap opera All My Children from 1991 to 2001, and in 2013. He also starred as Kevin Thompson on the soap opera As the World Turns from 1975 to 1978.

Early life

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Nader was born on February 19, 1945, in St. Louis, Missouri.[1] He was of German, Yugoslavian, and Lebanese descent.[2] Nader was a nephew of actor George Nader.[1][3] His parents split a few months after his birth.[4] At the age of six, he was hit by a drunk driver, which left him with a visible facial scar.[4] Nader accompanied his mother, Minette, when she moved to Los Angeles to pursue an entertainment career.[4]

At 16, Nader was one of three young surfers featured in a September 1961 Life photo with George Jones spread accompanying the article "The Mad, Happy Surfers: A Way of Life on the Wavetops".[5][6] He graduated from Palisades Charter High School in 1963.[4]

Career

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Nader began his acting career in 1963 with small roles in several of American International Pictures Beach Party films, then billed as "Mike Nader".[4][7] He later appeared in the recurring role of Siddo in the 1965–66 TV series Gidget,[1] and had a small role in the 1968 film Blue.[4] Nader's first soap opera role was playing Kevin Thompson on As the World Turns from 1975 to 1978. In 1983, he appeared in the NBC prime time soap opera Bare Essence as Alexi Theopolis.[4][7]

Nader won the role of Farnsworth "Dex" Dexter, the eventual third husband of Alexis Colby (Joan Collins), on the prime time soap opera Dynasty in 1983.[4][5][7] He remained on the series until its cancellation in 1989.[5][8]

Nader appeared as Nazi officer Burchhardt in the 1988 television film The Great Escape II: The Untold Story.[9][10] The same year, he co-starred as Nick Scalfone in the TV movie Lady Mobster.[11] In 1990, he appeared as Enzio Bonnatti in the miniseries Lucky Chances.[12][13]

Nader returned to soap operas in 1991, portraying Dimitri Marick, the husband of Erica Kane (Nader's Lady Mobster costar Susan Lucci), on the daytime drama All My Children.[1][5] He played the role from 1991 to 1999 and from 2000 to 2001.[14] Nader returned for All My Children's online revival in 2013.[14][15][16]

Nader also appeared in episodes of other television series, including The Flash (1991), Law And Order: SVU (2002), and Cold Case (2009).[17]

Personal life

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Marriages and family

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Nader dated actress Ellen Barber for ten years, with the relationship ending around the same time as his role on As the World Turns.[4] Nader married Robin Weiss in June 1984, and a month later they had a daughter.[4] He was married to Jodi Lister at the time of his death, with the couple having been together for 18 years.[18]

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In 1984, Nader admitted to previously having drug and drinking problems, which prompted him to become sober in 1980. He was charged with drunk driving in 1997, and in 2001 was arrested for attempting to sell cocaine to an undercover police officer.[1] Nader was let go from his role on All My Children soon after, with a statement from ABC that if he resolved his issues they would rehire him. They never did, and Nader sued the network, alleging that they never intended to bring him back to the show at all.[14]

Death

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Nader died on August 23, 2021, at the age of 76 at his home, ten days after being diagnosed with an untreatable form of cancer.[19]

Nader had long been rumored to have been HIV positive. Speculation about his health first abounded in 2001 following his arrest and subsequent firing from All My Children. Nader vehemently denied having HIV.[20] However, following his death, his daughter Lindsay revealed in an Instagram post[21] that her father had, in fact, lived with HIV for several decades; he had contracted the virus before she was born, and was one of the longest known survivors.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1963 Beach Party Beach Boy
1964 Muscle Beach Party Surfer Boy
1964 For Those Who Think Young College Boy
1964 Bikini Beach Surfer #8
1964 Pajama Party Pajama Boy
1965 Beach Blanket Bingo Butch
1965 Ski Party Bobby
1965 How to Stuff a Wild Bikini Mike
1965 Sergeant Deadhead Air Policeman
1966 Three on a Couch Young man Uncredited
1966 Fireball 500 Joey
1967 Don't Make Waves Surfer Uncredited
1992 The Finishing Touch Sam Stone
1996 Fled Frank Mantajano

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1965–1966 Gidget Siddo / Peter Stone 9 episodes
1975–78 As the World Turns Kevin Thompson
1981 Magnum, P.I. Mitch Caldwell Episode: "The Ugliest Dog in Hawaii"
1983 Bare Essence Alexi Theophilus 5 episodes
1983–1989 Dynasty Dex Dexter 152 episodes
1984 Finder of Lost Loves Kent Halliday Episode: "Portraits"
1988 Lady Mobster Nick Scalfone Television film
1988 The Great Escape II: The Untold Story Burchardt
1989 Nick Knight Lacroix
1990 Lucky Chances Enzio Bonnatti 3 episodes
1990, 1991 The Flash Nicholas Pike 2 episodes
1991 Perry Mason: The Case of the Maligned Mobster Johnny Sorrento Television film
1991–2001 All My Children Dimitri Marick 405 episodes
2002 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Robert Prescott Episode: "Surveillance"
2009 Cold Case Tucker 'Duke' Benton Episode: "The Crossing"
2013 All My Children Dimitri Marick 42 episodes

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Messing, Philip (February 25, 2001). "Soap Star Busted in 'Coke' Sale". New York Post. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  2. ^ "At first, “Fled" producers didn't think Nader, who is of Lebanese descent, could be at all convincing as a Cuban, but..."
  3. ^ Archerd, Army (February 5, 2002). "Nader's death another sad finale to a glamorous H'w'd life". Vanity Fair. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wallace, David (March 4, 1985). "As Dynasty's Dex, He's Pure Sex, but New Papa Michael Nader Tries a Little Tenderness". People. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d Weller, Sheila (August 2006). "When Surfing, Malibu, and the Beach Life Became a National Phenomenon". Vanity Fair. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  6. ^ Meares, Hadley (July 19, 2018). "How a rag-tag group of surfers changed Malibu forever". Curbed. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c Hastings, Julianne (April 19, 1984). "TV World: Dynasty newcomer Michael Nader still awed by characters popularity". United Press International. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  8. ^ Walker, Joseph (May 24, 1989). "Dynasty Cliffhanger is Just That". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
  9. ^ O'Connor, John J. (November 7, 1988). "Review/Television; Derring-Do And Deceit In Wartime". The New York Times. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  10. ^ Hanauer, Joan (November 5, 1988). "Untold Story Told: The Great Escape II". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  11. ^ Werts, Diane (September 4, 2012). "The many roles of Susan Lucci". Newsday. Melville, NY. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  12. ^ Shales, Tom (October 6, 1990). "Lots of Lucky". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  13. ^ Hanauer, Joan (October 6, 1990). "Jackie Collins' Lucky/Chances". United Press International. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  14. ^ a b c Fairman, Michael (May 18, 2013). "Exclusive All My Children's Michael Nader Interview: Fan Favorite As Dimitri Marick Comes Home To Pine Valley!". On-Air On-Soaps. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  15. ^ "Michael Nader Returns To All My Children". Deadline Hollywood. May 13, 2013. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  16. ^ Clifford, Kambra (July 22, 2013). "Michael Nader Opens Up About His AMC Return and the Mistake That Almost Convinced Him to Quit!". Soap Opera Network. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  17. ^ "Michael Nader". Soaps.com. June 4, 2015. Retrieved September 4, 2018 – via soaps.sheknows.com.
  18. ^ Henderson, Cydney (August 25, 2021). "Michael Nader, soap opera star of Dynasty and All My Children, dies at 76 from cancer". USA Today. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  19. ^ Swift, Andy (August 25, 2021). "Michael Nader, Star of All My Children and Dynasty, Dead at 76". TVLine. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  20. ^ "Angelfire". Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  21. ^ "Lindsay Nader on Instagram: "My father, Michael Nader, passed away on Monday 8/23. He was diagnosed with an untreatable form of liver cancer on 8/13 and was given a 2 week to 2 month window to live. After diagnosed he slipped away very quickly and was only with us for 10 more days. He grew up surfing in Los Angeles and was discovered on the beach. He started modeling and acting and eventually made his way onto the stage and then the screen. My dad loved the spotlight and really liked to party. He used to tell the craziest stories about hanging out with Hendrix at electric ladyland and doing drugs with Jim Morrison. Even though my parents split when I was very young, they stayed best friends and I spent a ton of time with my dad, especially over the summers. He always showed up for me. He was my idol for most of my childhood. He lived a glamorous, adventure filled life and showed me the world from a street view, from Broadway stages, from trips to foreign countries, from art galleries and museum installations. It was important to him that I was immersed in art and culture and had a large world view. One of my favorite memories was sitting in restaurants with him in NYC and helping him memorize his lines. My dad was a magical, charismatic and wildly inappropriate man who fiercely battled addiction. I began to see more and more of this as I got older and my image of him slowly started to change, an experience many of us can share with regards to our parents. He wasn't the infallible hero anymore, but rather a flawed human being with a lot of heroic qualities. I saw some things I wasn't supposed to see and a little trauma was accrued along the way. He was able to open up to me in my teenage years and speak candidly about his struggles. It was very tough but I admired his choice to be vulnerable with me. I've actually been waiting my entire life to share something about him…it's tragic that cancer was what ended up taking him because he's one of the longest known survivors of HIV. He contracted the virus before I was born and by some miracle I was conceived without infection. He found out later he was positive and didn't tell me until I was 16. Cont. In comments"".
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