Christopher Bernau was a New York based actor, primarily known for his for his work on the stage and television. Shortly after leaving college, he got cast in the New York Shakespeare Festival's production of Antony and Cleopatra in 1962. This led to him being cast in the national tour of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf in 1964.
Another breakthrough for Bernau - he was cast as Larry in the groundbreaking “Boys in the Band” replacing actor Keith Prentice. While working on the show off-broadway, Bernau was cast in the daytime gothic soap opera “Dark Shadows” as Phillip Todd, a member of a mysterious cult.
In 1977, Bernau originated the role of “The Passion of Dracula” which ran for 718 performances off Broadway.
His best known role was the villain Alan Spaulding on the soap opera “Guiding Light” which be played for 106 episodes between 1977 and 1989.
Though the character of Spaulding was as a habitual womanizer, Bernau was out as gay in his personal life. But to the public, he maintained a straight facade, saying in a 1981 People Magazine interview:
“When I'm happily involved with a woman, I don't look around for someone else. I’m going out with two or three girls now. I've never been and at the moment am not looking to get married.”
Beanau died of a heart attack in 1989, as a result of complications from AIDS.
