The Hollywood Legacy of Zane Danton

In "The End," the first episode of American Horror Story: Apocalypse, high schooler Timothy Campbell finds out that he has received a prestigious college scholarship.  A moment later, the sirens go off.  The bombs are going to start falling.  Representatives of the mysterious Collective arrive, tell him that he has been chosen to survive due to his superior DNA, and whisk him away.  The rest of the family vanishes from the story..for now.  Maybe they'll return in flashbacks.


Timothy's dad is played by Travis Schuldt, born in 1974 in Topeka, Kansas, best known as Ben in Always Sunny in Philadelphia  and Keith on Scrubs.

Timothy's brother Edward is played by Zane Danton in his first acting role.  His appearance on screen was short but memorable -- I especially liked the full-body hug, as Edward realizes that his brother is going away forever (and that he's going to be dead in an hour).

Zane certainly has what it takes to become a teen idol.

He's a National Honors Student in math.

He does modeling, represented by the Young Artist's Studio.

He won the long jump competition at an event sponsored by the Pacific Palisades YMCA.

No social media presence; I couldn't find a facebook, instagram, or twitter account; this is someone with the same name.

But Zane has the most important criterion for becoming a teen idol: connections.  A Hollywood legacy extending back three generations.

Zane's father is Steve Danton.  He appeared in a few 1980s movies, such as Fever Pitch and Trouble in Mind, but his main career has been in directing.  A lot of rom-coms and female buddy movies: Thelma and Louise, When a Man Loves a Woman, How Stella Got Her Groove Back.   Also Seventh Son, The Fantastic Four, and The Originals.

His mother, Darragh Danton (born Croyle), was a production assistant on Boys on the Side, The Edge, and some other movies.

At the beginning of The Edge (1997), Anthony Hopkins is seen reading a book about wilderness survival by D. Croyle, an in-joke by the prop department.

Zane also has an uncle in show biz. Mitchell Danton has appeared on screen a few times, but he is primarily known as an Emmy-winning film editor, with credits including Beverly Hills 90210, Dawson's Creek, Survivor, and The Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce.  He...um...edited a book on the topic, Cutting it in Hollywood.

Steve and Mitchell's father, Zane's grandfather, was Ray Danton (1931-1992), suave leading man of the 1950s; a biography is entitled The Epitome of Cool.   He appeared in many Westerns and cop shows through the 1970s, and directed episodes of Quincy, Fame, Cagney and Lacey, and Dynasty.  

He also produced, wrote, and directed the two-fisted New Mike Hammer (1984-89), starring Stacey Keach, a muscle hunk of the day.

I haven't heard any gay rumors about Ray Danton, but most of the beefcake stars of the 1950s were at least open to the idea of gay-for-pay.

Ray's ex-wife, Zane's grandmother, is Julie Adams (1928-), not to be confused with Julie Andrews.  She was terrorized in a swimsuit in Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), and had a long career in dramas, Westerns, and the occasional comedy.   You may recognize her as Amelia, a member of the wacky book club run by the Others on Lost (2008), hinted to be the long-lost Amelia Earhart.

With such an illustrious Hollywood heritage, how can you refuse to become a star?

See also: The Hunk from the Black Lagoon.