Jack Wagner

Peter John Wagner II (born October 3, 1959) is an American actor, singer, and golfer. He is best known for his roles on soap operas such as General Hospital, Santa Barbara, The Bold and the Beautiful, and Melrose Place. His 1985 single "All I Need" peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Early life Wagner was born in Washington, Missouri, to Peter John Wagner, a car salesman (died 1990), and Irene M. ( Amberg) "Scotty" Wagner (1920–2022), a homemaker. His only sibling, his elder brother Dennis Wagner (1953–2018), died of leukemia after a nearly two decade battle.

Raised Catholic, Wagner attended St. Gertrude's parochial school and St. Francis Borgia Regional High School in his hometown, where he played football and basketball. He attended the University of Missouri for one year, then junior college before eventually enrolling at the University of Arizona, where he tried out for the golf team and drama department. The drama department offered him a full scholarship.

Acting and television career Wagner first appeared on the scene in 1982 in the role of Clint Masterson, in Douglas Marland's short-lived cable soap opera, A New Day In Eden, co-produced by Susan Flannery, who would later co-star with Wagner on The Bold and the Beautiful.

His most famous role has been Frisco Jones on the soap opera General Hospital (1983–1987, 1989–1991, 1994–95, 2013). He was half of a supercouple (with real-life wife Kristina Wagner's character, Felicia) and played the father of Georgie and Maxie Jones. He played Warren Lockridge on Santa Barbara from 1991 until that series' conclusion in 1993.

He appeared in several made for television films, including Lady Killer and Frequent Flyer. He appeared for many years on Aaron Spelling's Fox nighttime soap opera Melrose Place, as the alternately caring/conniving Dr. Peter Burns (1994–99); he directed episodes as well. His character and Heather Locklear's "Amanda" were featured together on a beach in the series finale's closing scene, having faked their own deaths. He appeared in another Aaron Spelling project, the short-lived NBC television series Titans with Yasmine Bleeth in 2000, and in Spelling's daytime soap opera Sunset Beach (in 1997).

From 2003 to 2012, he played Nick Marone on the CBS daytime soap The Bold and the Beautiful. He reprised this role on June 16, 2025. On February 28, 2006, he and a contestant Christine Denos won $142,550 (including the standard $100,000 top prize) in the game show Wheel of Fortune; at the time, it set a single-episode largest winning record (and second largest overall) until Michelle Lowenstein surpassed said record on October 14, 2008, as the inaugural $1,000,000 winner.

In 1985, Wagner was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for "Best Younger Actor" for his work on General Hospital. He was nominated again in 2005 for "Best Lead Actor" for The Bold and the Beautiful.

Wagner guest-starred on primetime television in notable programs such as Monk, Hot in Cleveland, and Castle.

In January 2013, it was announced that Wagner had agreed to reprise the role of Frisco Jones on General Hospital for several episodes in early 2013. Since 2014, he has played Bill Avery on When Calls the Heart. Wagner also starred on the Hallmark Channel in the Wedding March film series, with The Wedding March 3: Here Comes the Bride having premiered in February 2018 and Falling for Christmas in 2022.

In 2026, Wagner competed in season fourteen of The Masked Singer as "Eggplant". He was eliminated on "Ozzfest Night".

Dancing with the Stars In 2012, Wagner was a contestant on season 14 of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with professional dancer Anna Trebunskaya. They were eliminated from the competition on April 3, 2012, placing 11th.

Singing and stage career Discography Studio albums +TitleDetailsPeak chart positions US All I Need Released: October 1984 Label: Qwest Format: LP, CD44 Lighting Up the Night Released: 1985 Label: Qwest Format: LP, CD150 Don't Give Up Your Day Job Released: 1987 Label: Qwest Format: LP, CD151 Alone in a Crowd Released: 1993 Label: BFE Format: LP, CD— Dancing in the Moonlight Released: 2005 Label: BB&J Format: LP, CD— On the Porch Released: April 22, 2014 Label: Self-released Format: Digital download, streaming—

Singles

Although Wagner had been playing the guitar since he was 14, his initial audition for the role of Frisco Jones on General Hospital with producer Gloria Monty did not include any singing. Wagner had five auditions with ABC before ultimately winning the role of "Frisco Jones". His final audition in 1983 included performing the Kenny Loggins song "Wait a Little While".

ABC musical honcho Kelli Ross hooked Wagner up with Quincy Jones Wagner says "the role I had the most fun playing, TV-wise, would be Dr. Peter Burns (Melrose Place). He was sort of an evil character who could redeem himself. Theatrically, it was when I played Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Jekyll & Hyde on Broadway." He also appeared in a national theatre tour in 1987 in the role of Tony in West Side Story, and a national tour of Grease in 1988.

In 2012, Wagner released new music, the single "Will the Rain Fall Down" on iTunes. He also performed the song acoustically on The Bold and the Beautiful. In 2014, Wagner released the full-length release On the Porch.

Filmography

Film

Television Year Title Role Notes 1982 A New Day in Eden Clint Masterson Episode 1.1 1984–19911994–19952013 General HospitalFrisco Jones 1988 Moving Target Tim Sutcliff - Scott Syndicate TV movie 1989 Swimsuit Hart Chadway TV movie 1991–1993 Santa Barbara Warren Lockridge Main cast; 64 episodes 1994–1999 Melrose Place Dr. Peter Burns Main cast; 139 episodes 1995 Sirens Jack Episode: "Missing" Lady Killer Dr. Elliman TV movie 1996 Frequent Flyer Nick Rawlings TV movie 1997 Sabrina The Teenage Witch Himself Episode: Jennie's Non-Dream Echo Max Jordan / Steven Jordan TV movie Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Randy Goode Episode: "Sex, Lies and Videotape" Sunset Beach Jacques Dumont / Liam 3 Episodes 1998 Dirty Little Secret Jack Ramer TV movie Miss Universe 1998 Himself Anchor 1999 Miss Universe 1999 Himself Anchor 2000 Nowhere to Land Captain John Prescott TV movie 2000–2001 Titans Jack Williams 9 episodes 2002 Trapped: Buried Alive Michael Cooper TV movie 2003 Ghost Dog: A Detective Tail Kyle Caldwell TV movie 2003–2012, 2022, 2025 The Bold and the Beautiful Nick Marone Main cast (2003–2012) Recurring (2022, 2025) 2009 Monk Perry Walsh Episode: "Mr. Monk and Sharona" 2011–2013 Hot in Cleveland Dr. Aaron Everett 2 episodes 2012 Dancing with the Stars Himself Partnered with Anna Trebunskaya; placed 11th 2013 Castle Billy Piper Episode: "Significant Others" See Dad Run Scooter Sullivan Episode: "See Dad Swoon" 2014 My Gal Sunday Danny O'Brien Hallmark Movies & Mysteries TV Movie 2014–present When Calls the Heart Bill Avery Main cast; 117 episodes 2015 Ray Donovan Sandy Patrick Episode: "Breakfast of Champions" 2016 The Wedding March Mick Turner Hallmark Channel TV Movie; also executive producer 2017 Love on the Vines Grant Gerritson TV movie The Wedding March 2: Resorting to Love Mick Turner Hallmark Channel TV Movie; also executive producer 2018 The Wedding March 3: Here Comes the Bride The Wedding March 4: Something Old, Something New 2019 The Wedding March 5: My Boyfriend's Back 2021 The Wedding March 6: Sealed With a Kiss 2026 The Masked Singer Himself/Eggplant Season 14 contestant; 3 episodes

Personal life Wagner was married to actress Kristina Wagner, who played opposite him on General Hospital as his love interest Felicia Cummings. They divorced in 2006. They had two sons, born in 1990 and 1994. Their younger son Harrison died in Los Angeles on June 6, 2022, of an accidental drug overdose.

On June 13, 2022, Jack and his former wife announced a scholarship fund in honour of their son, who struggled with addiction issues. All funds donated to the Harrison Wagner Scholarship Fund will be used to directly help young men pay their rent or a portion of their rent who could not otherwise afford their care at New Life House (a sober living facility in California).

Wagner began dating his Melrose Place love interest Heather Locklear in 2007; they became engaged in August 2011. The couple called off their engagement on November 15, 2011.

In May 2013, Wagner confirmed to Soaps In Depth that he and his former The Bold and the Beautiful co-star Ashley Jones had been dating for about a year. They were no longer together as of 2015.

On May 18, 2025 Wagner married his girlfriend of almost 5 years, singer and songwriter Michelle Wolf, in an intimate ceremony at the Bel Air Country Club.

In November 2011, Jack met his 23-year-old daughter, Kerry, for the first time at a concert in Florida. Kerry had been placed for adoption at birth by her birth mother and had recently hired a private investigator to find her biological parents. This was the subject of Wagner's "personal story" in his Dancing with the Stars performance on April 2, 2012.

Wagner is a golfer, and at one point considered a career in pro golf. He won the Missouri junior college championship in 1980, He has a total of nineteen top ten finishes. The tournament, televised by NBC in July, is played over three rounds at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Lake Tahoe.

Wagner has a Celebrity Golf Classic named after him that raises funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Wagner created the event to support the Society's mission to cure such cancers as leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. The Golf Classic raised more than $600,000 in its first two years to fund critical cancer research and patient services.