Wally Kurth is an American actor, producer, and singer best known for his roles as Ned Ashton on ‘General Hospital and Justin Kiriakis on ‘Days of Our Lives.’ He was named as ‘General Hospital’s Most Valuable Player’ by the readers of Soap Opera Update and nominated for ‘Hottest Male Star’ by Soap Opera Digest. Wally Kurth studied music and theater at the theater school at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He started his own band, Kurth and Taylor, who composed a tune for ‘General Hospital’ that won an Emmy. He has also acted on stage in a number of roles, the Pirate King in “The Pirates of Penzance” is one of the most notable. As an actor and director, he is also engaged with the Los Angeles Equity Waiver theater scene.
Wally Kurth’s Career
In 1987, Wally Kurth debuted in the lead role of Justin Kiriakis on ‘Days of Our Lives,’ an American daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. He remained on the show until 1991, and the same character was recast in 2009.
In 1991, he began acting as Ned Ashton on the television series ‘General Hospital,’ a role he maintained until 2007. This is the longest-running American soap opera, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
The host of his own SOAPNet program, “1 Day With,” he spent a day with another television star. Several of his ‘General Hospital co-stars, including Tamara Braun, Alicia Leigh Willis, Ingo Rademacher, and Anthony Geare, joined him on the show. In addition to working for The History Channel, he narrated the series Battle 360.
Wally is also interested in music, and he and his boyfriend Christian Taylor founded the band Kurth and Taylor in 1992. Their high school classmates Lee Beverly on bass, Jim Bloodgood on drums, and Pat McCormack on guitar joined the band.
Eddie Maine & The Idle Rich performed for seven years on ‘General Hospital’ as Eddie Maine & The Idle Rich. The majority of the band’s albums have been praised by Billboard magazine. They even received an Emmy for Outstanding Original Song for the tune “Barefoot Ballet” from their album “Freedom,” which was featured in an episode of “General Hospital.” Wally was the song’s co-author.
Wally Kurth has also produced ‘Class C,’ a feature-length documentary about five basketball teams from the tiniest schools in Montana and their quest to win the state championship. The documentary won Best Sports Action Film at the Jackson Hole Film Festival as well as The Big Sky Award at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.
Kurth’s Personal Life
Wally Kurth was born on July 31, 1958, in Billings, Montana, and is the youngest of his family’s five children. His brothers and sisters are Vicki, Kevin, Sid, and Brian. Growing up with a passion for acting and music, he attended UCLA to study music and theater.
He wed three times. In 1990, he wed Cynthia Ettinger and divorced her in 1993. Next, he wed Rena Sofer in 1995, but their union ended in 1997. He is currently married to Debra Yuhasz, whom he wed in 2003. Brogan George, who was born on November 14, 2004, is their only child. Rosabel Rosalind Kurth, who was born on September 17, 1996, and Meghann Kurth, who was born on October 29, 1985, are his other two children.
He won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Song for ‘General Hospital’ in 2002.
Class C: The Only Game in Town earned Best of the Festival at the Fort Collins TriMedia Festival in 2009.
Estimated Net Worth
Wally Kurth is one of the wealthiest Soap Opera Actors and one of the most popular. According to our research, Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, Wally Kurth has an estimated net worth of $1.5 million.