JUMPIN' JACK SMASH!

JUMPIN' JACK SMASH!

Michael Logan

Although he'd be among the first to acknowledge the obvious comparisons, Jack Wagner can't help but plant his tongue firmly in cheek and ask "Who's Rick Springfield?"

Both, of course, made it to the bigtime via TV's hottest soap opera, General Hospital. Unlike Springfield, however, who took a powder from the show as soon as he struck Top 10 gold, Wagner continues to wow 'em as a serial actor. Despite SRO concert and top-selling platters (and depending on the day of the week you talk to him!), emoting on the tube s sill Jack's priority.

As the soap's "Frisco Jones. he as introduced to the plot, ironical-y. because Springfield's departure as well as that of Tony -Luke pencer" Geary's) left a hole bigger hart the Grand Canyon. He came on 's rock singer but producer Gloria Aoi ty's need to groom a kingpin was o strong. it didn't seem to matter hat Jack had never warbled a note his life! Apparently it didn't bother ereral Hospital fanatics, either. Varner caught fire and was estab-shi d as a certifiable soap superstar n ) time.

Because of his zilch experience, e actor was put in the trusty hands f Kelly Ross. a music consultant ;red by ABC to supervise the us cal aspects of the plot. She was uite impressed with Wagner's har sma, his diamond-in-the-rough )oki, and his raw rock talent-and it idn t hurt that she was best friends ith Quincy Jones. Before long. a eal as struck for the mega-maestro p oduce an EP of five Wagner one 3. including the single "All I ee

The track took off, landing pretty am close to the number one posi-on on the charts An LP followed, as id a quandary.

HUN does a guy who never plan-ed t) be a rock star in the first place parlay chart success into a national tour-when he's never performed live before because he can't step foot out of Hollywood because he's work-ing ten hours a day. five days a week in front of a soap camera???

The situation was such a mess that Wagner took the only way out-he didn't tour at all and. as a result. saw his "All I Need" success come and go without much direct contact with the fans. He worked out his performing kinks with a few scattered. local amusement park dates and a Solid Gold/American Bandstand appear-ance or two. but it wasn't until the release of his second LP, Lighting, The Night, (and a paid vacation fr General Hospital!) that he was able truly test the waters with a series concert dates across the countrj

While there was an occasional!!, ty notice, more often than not critical reactions were glowi Especially amazing were the numbers of reviewers who atten: with a “show me’’ attitude (which' Missouri kid met head-on!) and raving about the emergence of ar pop star.

Constant sell-outs and scream rose-tossing crowds aside, Wac takes success up to this point v, grain of sait. “It’s a real rough, for me,” he admits. Just about performer, artist, designer or v, has tried to cross over another art form would agree him—but Jack believes his stall a soap star is a particularly: mark against him, especially wt record label.

“My record company do: understand that there are 40if people that watch me every# Wagner states flatly. “In oro (. market that properly, there real tfle to be a good plan. I have to beI' m( as a legitimate act. I don’t nece: j know that, in the eyes of the yj Jack Wagner is a priority." job

According to the actor, the Vac tion may never change, but endlessly thankful for the supp is fans. “The success is due to the c pie out there, the fans that keep jesting my records because they njoy what we put out,” he says. “I n i;just thank the Lord for that Krause, without them, you wouldn’t hefring a lot of my music.”

/agner’s no stranger to strugglthough. Prior to landing his i sco Jones” role, the 26-year-old had gone from one odd job to ier, from waiting on tables to ngjsdamera-snapping tourists :h Universal Studios. Modeling Quite his thing, and commeros were few and far between, 3|er kept sane with nighttime classes and roles in nonpaying theaters. “It kept me alive,” he remembers, “and I wasn’t sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring and getting money from my parents.”

Home was Washington, Missouri, but Jack, after winning a junior college golf championship, hightailed it to the University of Arizona with hopes of landing a sports scholarship. ‘‘I realized early on how com.petitive professional golf was,” he recalls. “Every kid’s dream was to be the top of the line, a Jack Nicklaus. I had the same dream but it was soon abandoned. There were so many guys who were 18 or 19 with sparkles in their eyes, but only the smart ones learned that just a small handful go on to the professionals.” He switched his allegiance to acting, which is even more competitive, but never mind. The day after he graduated, Wagner headed for Hollywood.

Once the acting parts did start happening, he played a role in the racy cable soap opera, A New Day In Eden. It flopped pretty quickly, but Jack landed on his feet with a twopart episode of Knot's Landing. Not long after came “Frisco” and his permanent position in the Soap Hall of Fame.

And whether or not Wagner’s singing career ultimately triumphs, he’s gaining strong respect within the acting industry, earning an Emmy nomination for his General Hospital emoting. “It was very flattering to be nominated,” he admits, even though, because of a new quirky Academy category, he was put up for the honor of “Best Juvenile.” Groans Jack, “I felt very proud to lose to an elevenyear-old.”

These days, he devotes virtually every spare minute to his music. Wagner’s been known to leave the General Hospital set (usually long after dark) and take a brisk walk down Sunset Boulevard to get “Frisco” out of his system before he hops into his car. Then he’s off for four more hours of recording, rehearsing or songwriting.

The jumping Jack existence does more than take a toll on his romantic life. “It destroys it,” he laughs, though not too boisterously. “It’s really tough to maintain a relationship and have someone understand why I spread myself so thin.” Reportedly, his last girlfriend of a year and a half finally called it quits when she saw more of him on TV than she did in real life. “Still, I’ve been lucky enough to be associated with some women who have been very patient,” Wagner maintains.

Meanwhile, though he’s made it to the airwaves, you won’t be catching Jack rockin’ out on the serial. Even his latest single, a duet with Valerie Carter called “Love Can Take Us All Away,” has been relegated to lush, General Hospital background music. Due to a necessary turn of plot events, “Frisco” has donned a badge and gone respectable.

Even in the crazy world of soap opera—where anything can happen and usually does—Wagner insists, “I’m not going to be the singing policeman!”