Biography

Early life

Read was born in Buffalo, New York. He started acting as a student of law at the University of Oregon where he graduated in 1976. He studied acting in New York and then did several off Broadway and regional theatres such as The Denver Center Theatre Company, where he had a couple of leading roles and spent three seasons. In 1998, he earned his Masters Degree in psychology from Pepperdine University.

Career

Read is best known for his role as George Hazard in the three North and South TV miniseries (1985, 1986 and 1994) based on the John Jakes trilogy of novels of the same name (his co-star, Patrick Swayze, taught him how to ride a horse), and for his co-starring role in the movie Beaches.

He had a recurring role on The WB series Charmed as Victor Bennett and was also a regular during the first season of Remington Steele. Recently, he could be seen as Ken Davis in the ABC family drama Wildfire and as ambassador Franklin Fairchild in 2010 television series Persons Unknown. In 2008, he directed an episode of "Wildfire". In 2009, he performed in "Better Angels" as Abraham Lincoln at the Colony Theatre in Burbank, California. Since 2014, he has played the role of drug lord Clyde Weston on the soap opera Days of Our Lives.

Filmography

Movies

The following groups theatrical, television and special movies :

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	Talker	CO	television movie
2010	All Signs of Death	Westin Nye	television movie / Unaired Pilot
2009	Fame	Alice's dad
2006	Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film	Himself	documentary movie / archive footage (scenes of The Initiation, 1984)
2005	A Lot Like Love	Brent Friehl
2004	The History of North and South	Himself / George Hazard	"the-making-of" DVD documentary / archive footage / special thanks
2003	Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde	Elle's father	cut scenes (DVD edition)
2003	Charmed: Behind the Magic	Victor Bennett	DVD documentary (archive footage)
2001	Legally Blonde	Elle's father
2001	Not Another Teen Movie	Preston's father
1998	Indiscreet	Zachariah Dodd	television movie
1997	Walking Thunder	Abner Murdock
1996	Full Circle	Judge Carter	television movie from Danielle Steel's novel
1996	Harvest of Fire	Scott	television movie
1995	When the Dark Man Calls	Det. Michael Lieberman	television movie
1995	The Other Woman	Michael Bryan	television movie, also known as Mothers and Daughters
1992	The President's Child	Sen. James Guthrie	television movie
1992	Love Crimes	Stanton Gray
1990	Lola	Peter Baltic	television movie / Pilot, also known as Escape from 212
1990	Web of Deceit	Paul Evanston	television movie, also known as Conspiracy to Kill
1990	Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn	Hugh	television movie, The Wonderful World of Walt Disney
1988	Beaches	Michael Essex	also known as Forever Friends
1988	Eight Men Out	Claude "Lefty" Williams
1987	Celebration Family	James Marston	television movie
1985	Midas Valley	Josh Landau	television movie
1985	Lace II	Daryl Webster	television movie
1984	The Initiation	Peter
1983	Blue Thunder	Policeman
19xx	A Journey of Love	unknown	television movie, rumoured

Television series

The following groups miniseries and series with regular and semi-regular appearances :

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014-2015	Days of Our Lives	Clyde Weston	TV series 1965-present
2010	Persons Unknown	Franklin Fairchild	TV series 2010, 6 episodes
2005-2008	Wildfire	Ken Davis	TV series 2005-2008, 40 episodes
2002-2005	American Dreams	George Mason	TV series 2002-2005, 8 episodes
2001-2006	Charmed	Victor Bennett	TV series 1998-2006, 14 episodes
1994	North and South, Book III	George Hazard	miniseries
1987	Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story	Cary Grant	miniseries / television movie
1987	Shell Game	Riley/John Reid	TV series 1987
1986	North and South, Book II	George Hazard	miniseries
1985	North and South, Book I	George Hazard	miniseries
1985	Robert Kennedy & His Times	Teddy Kennedy	miniseries / television movie
1982-1983	Remington Steele	Murphy Michaels	TV series 1982-1987, 22 episodes (Season 1)

The following groups television series with his guest-appearances :

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	CSI: NY	Robert Monroe	TV series 2004-, 9.08 "Late Admissions"
2011	Castle	Anton McHugh	TV series 2009-, 4.05 "Eye of the Beholder"
2010	In Plain Sight	Damon Schmidt	TV series 2008-, 3.11 "The Born Identity"
2008	Cold Case	Prof. Robert Boreki	TV series 2003-2010, 6.01 "Glory Days"
2006	Pepper Dennis	Mr. Brinkman	TV series 2006, 1.10 "Dennis, Bulgari, Big Losers at ACoRNS: Film at Eleven"
2005	Crossing Jordan	Dean William Hargrave	TV series 2001-2007, 4.12 "Family Affair"
2002	Sabrina the Teenage Witch	Ben, Josh's Father	TV series 1996-2003, 6.17 "The Competition"
2002	Becker	Dan	TV series 1998-2004, 4.12 "The Ex-Files"
2002	Intimate Portrait	Himself	TV series 1995-2004, "Finola Hughes"
2001	Star Trek: Voyager	Jaffen	TV series 1995-2001, 7.16 & 17 "Workforce: Part 1 & 2"
2000	Touched by an Angel	Nick	TV series 1994-2003, 6.11 "Millennium"
1999	Profiler	James Lofton	TV series 1996-2000, 3.20 "Las Brisas"
1998	Push	unknown	TV series 1998, unknown episode
1997	Diagnosis: Murder	David McReynolds	TV series 1993-2001, 5.02 "Open and Shut"
1997	The Cape	Jeff	TV series 1996-1997, 1.19 "Just Like Old Times"
1997	7th Heaven	Bill Sanders	TV series 1996-2007, 1.16 "Brave New World"
1996	Home Improvement	Captain Jenkins	TV series 1991-1999, 6.01 "At Sea"
1996	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Jack Olsen	TV series 1993-1997, 3.13 "The Dad Who Came in from the Cold"
1995	Murder, She Wrote	Boyd Venton	TV series 1984-1996, 11.13 "Death 'N Denial"
1994	Heaven Help US	Max	TV series 1994, 1.07 "The Last Great Hope"
1991	Princesses	Michael Decrow	TV series 1991, 1.01 "Pilot"
1990	Columbo	Dr Wesley Corman	TV series 1971-2003, 9.05 "Uneasy Lies the Crown" / television movie
1990	Midnight Caller	Richard Clark	TV series 1988-1991, 2.22 "Nighthawk's Got the Blues"
1984	Matt Houston	Fletcher / Jason Haywood	TV series 1982-1985, 3.08 "The High Fashion Murders"
1984	Jessie	The Streak	TV series 1984, 1.02 "The Lady Killer"
1984	Cover Up	unknown	TV series 1984-1985, rumoured appearance
1983	Trapper John, M.D.	Ace Bukowski	TV series 1979-1986, 5.08 "The Agony of D'Feet"
1983	Fantasy Island	Eddie Random	TV series 1977-1984, 7.08 "Random Choices/My Mother, the Swinger"
1983	Hotel	Pike	TV series 1983-1988, 1.11 "Christmas"
1982	Cheers	Herb Sawyer	TV series 1982-1993, 1.07 "Friends, Romans, and Accountants"

[ Source: Wikipedia ]