Michael O'Leary, who was born on March 27, 1958 in St. Paul, Minnesota, is best known for playing Dr. Frederick Bauer on the soap opera Guiding Light. For this portrayal, he received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination in 1987 and four Soap Opera Digest Award nominations, including Outstanding Male Scene Stealer in 2001. Before he auditioned for the role, he was an usher on the game show The Price is Right. The soap only needed someone to help in the audition process, but O’Leary was later asked to join the cast when Rick Bauer was fired.
While in college, he got into acting after he appeared on a commercial for McDonald’s. O'Leary was educated at California State University at Fullerton and was determined to pursue an acting career after school. He also studied acting with Stella Adler and Larry Moss in Los Angeles and William Esper in New York. He then landed the recurring roles of Dr. Stewart Farmingham in Doogie Howser and Paul in It's a Small World. In 1980, he was seen on two episodes of CHiPs, before getting a role in the dramatic action film Lonely But Deadly. He later got a small part in The Greatest American Hero, and followed this up with appearances in Gimme a Break! and T.J. Hooker. In 1999, O’Leary obtained a guest role in the Law & Order episode, “Justice.”
O'Leary had also appeared on stage, in productions such as Tea & Sympathy, Auntie Mame, Scars (which he also co-wrote) and Rain. He was seen in a TV commercial for Lee Jeans in 1992, as well as in a public service announcement for the Save Babies Through Screening Foundation. He is also a registered member of the Writer’s Guild of America, like his Guiding Light co-star Lisa Brown.
One of Michael O’Leary’s hobbies is doing impressions. He is known to mimic practically anyone from President Jimmy Carter to his Guiding Light co-star, Jordan Clarke. In his free time, O’Leary likes to play golf. Previously working as a door to door salesman, he landed a job in real estate when not acting.
(Photo courtesy of CBS.com)