Life and career
Dano was born Linda Rae Wildermuth[3] in Long Beach, California, to Evelyn (Delgado) and Ted Wildermuth.[4]
Early works
In late 1960s, Dano began appearing on screen playing small parts in films Tony Rome (1967), Star! (1968) and Hello, Dolly! (1969). In early 1970s, she signed a contract to 20th Century Fox alongside such actors as Tom Selleck and was cast in a numerous primetime programs.[5] Dano guest-starred on Ironside, Police Woman, Harry O, Petrocelli, The Rockford Files (in three different roles), Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels, and CHiPS, as well as in Emergency!, Barney Miller, and The Six Million Dollar Man (in two different roles). In 1975, Dano starred in the short-lived 1975 NBC comedy series, The Montefuscos, which was cancelled after three episodes were broadcast and ultimately ran for seven. She had supporting roles in the made-for-television movies The Last Survivors (1975), The Nurse Killer (1975), and The Night That Panicked America (1975). She starred alongside Joe Don Baker in the 1977 Western horror film, The Shadow of Chikara.
1978—2005
In 1978, Dano moved to New York City and joined the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live in the role of Gretel Cummings to 1980.[6][7] From 1981 to 1982, she played Cynthia Haines on As the World Turns. In 1983, Dano was cast as a glamorous romance novelist Felicia Gallant in the NBC soap opera, Another World appearing until the show's cancellation on June 25, 1999,[8] For the performance, Dano received the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1993.[9] She was also nominated for Leading Actress Emmys in 1994[10] and 1996,[11] and for Supporting Actress in 1992.[12]
From 1986 to 1991, Dano hosted the Lifetime talk show Attitudes, for which she received Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host nomination, and has both been a guest and guest-host on The View. Lifetime Television dedicated an episode of its Intimate Portrait celebrity biography series to Dano in 2000. Dano was impersonated on NBC's Saturday Night Live in the late 1980s by Nora Dunn. Dano hosted an Another World reunion special on SOAPnet in 2003 for which she was later nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Special Class Special.[citation needed] Dano has written a style and fashion column for Soap Opera Digest on and off for years, and has had her own merchandise lines on QVC, with Dano having celebrated her 20th anniversary affiliated with the home shopping network in February 2013.[13] In 1999, she won the Accessories Council Excellence Award for outstanding contributions to consumer awareness.[14]
Dano starred opposite Jaclyn Smith in the 1986 miniseries, Rage of Angels: The Story Continues based on novel by Sidney Sheldon. She appeared in the television movies Perry Mason: The Case of the Killer Kiss (1993), When the Vows Break (1995) opposite Patty Duke, and See Jane Date (2003). She also guest-starred on Homicide: Life on the Street and appeared in the independent film Somewhere in the City (1998).[15]
On June 28, 1999, Dano returned to One Life to Live as Gretel, now calling herself "Rae" Cummings.[6][8] The character also appeared on the three other ABC soap operas at the time — All My Children, General Hospital, and Port Charles — in a crossover storyline, which was the first time a daytime character had ever appeared on four series.[6][16][17] In 2003, Dano was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Supporting Actress for the role,[18] and left One Life to Live on March 13, 2004.[7] In 2005, Dano appeared briefly as Lena Kendall on CBS soap opera, Guiding Light.
Later years
Dano left the daytime television in early 2005 and moved to Connecticut. Since then, she guest-starred in episodes of Desperate Housewives and What I Like About You, as well as appeared in the 2007 crime drama film, Reservation Road. In 2005, she appeared as the title character in Mame at the Bucks County Playhouse.[19]
In 2019, after more than ten years off-screen, Dano appeared in the Hallmark television film, Chronicle Mysteries: Vines That Bind starring another soap opera veteran, Alison Sweeney.[20] In early 2021, Dano stepped into the role briefly of Vivian Alamain on NBC soap opera, Days of Our Lives.[21][22] In 2021, Dano starred in a Hallmark comedy film production, A Little Daytime Drama playing the role of the creator/producer of popular long-running daytime series.[23][24]
