Wesley Eure

Happy Birthday to Wesley Eure! He was born Wesley Eure Loper in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on August 17, 1951, His father left the family when he was two years old, so his mother, Mary Jane Loper (February 6, 1927 - January 25, 2011), moved him and his elder sister, Gai (born September 10, 1950), to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where Eure's grandmother lived. While Eure grew up in Mississippi, his mother obtained a bachelor's degree in psychology and began teaching. She subsequently took positions in Texas and Illinois and became a drug abuse counselor with the state of Nevada. The Eures moved to Las Vegas, where his mother ran a methadone clinic and hosted a radio talk show about drug abuse. He spent his senior year of high school in Las Vegas.

Eure wanted to be an actor since the age of five, While the family lived in Illinois, he enrolled in a summer program at Northwestern University, where he took acting lessons and won an award. His first break came when he was 17 years old and working part-time at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas selling artwork. He was hired as a driver for Robert Goulet and Carol Lawrence during their summer tour. He spent most of 1968 and 1969 as their driver. In 1970 Eure became a cast member at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut. During his time in Stratford, he worked with Jane Alexander in The Tempest and appeared in Mourning Becomes Electra, Merry Wives of Windsor, Twelfth Night, and many original works produced by the company. At the Bucks County Playhouse in Pennsylvania, he performed in West Side Story (portraying "Action" of the Jets) and then joined a musical comedy revue and traveled throughout the East Coast resort areas. Eure moved to Los Angeles in 1973.

He was hired to star in a pilot for a Kaye Ballard TV series, The Organic Vegetables, created and produced by the team behind The Monkees. When that series was not picked up due to the 1973 writers' strike, Eure answered an ad in an industry trade publication to audition for a television show. He learned that David Cassidy was threatening to leave The Partridge Family, and that the audition was for a role as a "neighbor boy" who would take over the lead in the family band from Cassidy. Eure won the audition, but never joined The Partridge Family after Cassidy agreed to stay on. The show was canceled before the next season started. From 1974 to 1981, Eure starred on NBC's Days of Our Lives, playing the role of Mike Horton. He also starred as Will Marshall in Sid and Marty Krofft's children's adventure series, Land of the Lost from 1974 to 1976, filming this show and Days of Our Lives simultaneously. (The gold chain he wore on the show was a gift from his then-lover.) As a publicity stunt, Eure agreed to be billed simply as "Wesley" on Land of the Lost, although he later said he regretted the decision. ABC wanted Eure for the role of "Gopher" on The Love Boat (1977), but this fell through because NBC wouldn't release Wes from his Days of Our Lives contract.

Eure appeared in 1978 as a murderer in The Toolbox Murders and in the horror film Jennifer. While filming Jennifer, Eure said he had a difficult time working with the various snakes on the set, including the large boa constrictor that features in the climax. He later appeared in Hanna-Barbera's 1979 cult comedy C.H.O.M.P.S., which also starred Valerie Bertinelli, Red Buttons, Jim Backus, Hermione Baddeley, and Conrad Bain. In 1987, Eure became host of the Nickelodeon children's game show Finders Keepers and continued in this role through 1988. When the show was sold to Fox for its 1989 (and final) season, Fox declined to hire Eure as host and replaced him with Larry Toffler. Eure co-produced, wrote and acted in Fox Television's hidden-camera show Totally Hidden Video (which aired from 1989 to 1992) He also co-created Dragon Tales, PBS Kids's Emmy-nominated animated series for preschoolers which began airing in 1999, and directed Spy TV for NBC in 2001.

Eure and Land of the Lost co-star Kathy Coleman filmed cameo appearances for the 2009 film version of Land of the Lost starring Will Ferrell but were edited out of the final cut. He appeared in the 2014 independent thriller film, Sins of our Youth as Chief Police Kaplan. He became friends with Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett, and some of his music was produced by Bobby Sherman, though a full album was never completed. Motown Records placed him under contract, and he was in a boy band whose music was produced by Mike Curb. He also sang a few times with the Jackson Five. He had a Las Vegas act at Harrah's casino. In 1992, Eure published his first children's novel The Red Wings of Christmas. It was called "the new American classic" by CNN, The book was illustrated by the late Ron Palillo who played Arnold Horshack on the 1970s TV series Welcome Back, Kotter. He has had 5 books published since. Eure has starred on the stage in shows like Bus Stop, Butterflies Are Free, Love Sex and the IRS, as well as the musicals I Love My Wife and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

For many years, he was a fundraiser for the March of Dimes, and has also raised money through telethons and fund-raising campaigns for groups like the Variety Club and the Special Olympics. Eure has been a fundraiser for a number of HIV/AIDS causes. While working on Days of our Lives, Eure supported his mother as she attended law school in her 50s. After graduating at the top of her class, she became his personal manager and attorney. In the 1970s, Eure met and had a relationship with actor Richard Chamberlain. He credits his Days of Our Lives co-star Frances Reid (Alice Horton) with much of his success as an actor; she became a mentor to him when he was 23. The two enjoyed a superb relationship for 36 years, until 2010, when she passed away. Eure served as a pallbearer at her funeral.