Don was born on April 1st in
Brooklyn, NY; he is married to Leslie Denniston they live in NY State with
their daughter Katharine Scott Hastings. Don also has two daughters Jennifer
and Julie and a son Matthew from a previous marriage. Don’s interests include
travel and golf.
At the age of 6 Don had his an expected
start to show business; he accompanied Bob; his older brother to the Children’s
Radio Program on which Bob sang; a producer heard that Don could sing as well;
he auditioned and got a part in the radio show Coast to Coast on a Bus and that
role led to a part in Life with Father in 1941 he toured 3 seasons and he has
acted ever since.
In 1944 he debuted on Broadway in I
Remember Mama, in 1946 On Whitman Avenue, in 1947 A Young Man’s Fancy, in 1948
Summer and Smoke; during those years he continued to do radio and television.
Don was doing television full time in
1949; he played the Ranger in a children’s program Captain Video for 6 years;
until the show went off the air. After that he was in numerous television
series including Studio One; which was originally a radio show which Don also
starred in Crunch and Des; and 2 daytime dramas A Date with Life and Modern
Romances.
In April 1956, he joined the cast of
Edge of Night where he remained for 4 and a half years; he also worked on
Guiding Light.
Don joined the cast of As The World
Turns in October 1960 as Dr Bob Hughes and has been there ever since.
Don is also a member of the Writers
Guild; he wrote scripts for As the World Turns in 1971 and 1972 under the
series creator and head writer Irna Phillips; he also wrote for Guiding Light. In
November 1993, he was honored by the National Television Arts and Sciences with
the Silver Circle award, which recognizes people with the minimum of 25 years
in the television industry.