Michael originated the role of Max when
he was first taken in by Steve and Kayla in late 1986. He played Max
during his more "scruffy" days, when Max was supposed to be just a
kid from the street. He held the role for less than 6
months.
Michael's
Gallery
Michael Rhoton
Maxwell
Brady
Steve and Max always had a
very special connection. Steve saw a lot of himself in
Max.
Young Max "saved the day"
according to Steve and Roman in 1986, when he helped Kayla
get away from a punk who held a knife on her at the
Emergency Center.
Kayla thanked Max for being
her hero.
Max then reached out to Kayla,
wanting a hug.
Michael was doing some weird
things with his mouth while Steve and Kayla
talked.
Max was missing and Kayla
found him and brought him back to the Fish Market. Shawn and
Caroline told him how worried they had been.
Max told them he had to find
Steve. Caroline said, "Next time you ask."
Shawn and Caroline were
forgiving though. Shawn asked if he might want some hot
chocolate. Of course, Max said he did.
The Children of Salem gathered
together for a Halloween photo for the Days Calendar for
1987. Pictured, left to right: Lisa Brinegar {Sarah Horton},
Christie Clark {Carrie Brady}, Vanessa Nichols {Stephen's
daughter, who held a recurring role as Kelly}, Aaron Nichols
{recurring role as young Steve}, Michael, Tiffany and Edward
Palma {Sami and Eric Brady}.
Michael looked like a tough
guy in his karate uniform.
Max came running into the
Brady kitchen saying, "Look what I found!" He had found
Roman and Marlena's special star ornament.
Everyone just stared at Max
with the ornament, somewhat speechless. Marlena had only
been dead a few days and the ornament was a reminder of the
woman they'd all loved and lost. She and Roman had gotten
the ornament on their first Christmas together and had added
stars for each of the children.
Max asked, "Was I bad?" He was
confused about everyone's reaction. Roman said he wasn't
bad, but that they wouldn't hang that ornament on the tree
this year.
After Roman talked with
Carrie, Max said, "The star goes on top of the tree." Roman
agreed that he was right.
Roman told Max the history of
the star, that Marlena had made it for their first Christmas
together and that he thought it wouldn't be right for them
to put it up without her this year.
Roman wanted to drop the
subject and needed to take a break. It was just too painful.
Roman told everyone that he thought they needed more tinsel,
so he was going to go get some. He got back down and told
Max that he was leaving him in charge while he was gone. He
was supposed to "shape these people up" and "decorate this
baby" while Roman was gone.
Roman returned and Max asked
if had gotten more tinsel. Roman had forgotten. He thought
the tree looked great anyway. Roman and Carrie took one last
look at the tree and agreed that their star needed to be at
the top.
Max sang Christmas carols with
the family. First, Jingle Bells, then Silent
Night.
Max ran into the Brady kitchen
and said hi to Kimberly {Patsy Pease}, who was his
counselor. She said, "Hiya Max!"
Max asked Kim if she was there
to see him. Kim didn't know what to say. Then Max asked,
"Could you stay?"
Kim told Max that she couldn't
see him today. Max asked, "Don't you want to." Of course Kim
said she wanted to, but she couldn't. Max didn't understand.
He asked, "Why not?"
Max asked if he'd see her
tomorrow. Kim again had to say "No, not even tomorrow." Max
asked, "When?"
Michael was doing a great job
of looking and sounding sad. He hung hid head down, looking
near tears. Kim told Max that she would see him again as
soon as she could. All of this was beyond her control. The
social worker who assigned Kimberly her patients at the
abuse clinic had told Kim that all of her work would be
suspended until her murder trial was over. Kim felt like she
was abandoning her patients who had worked with her for so
long.
Kim told Max that he would
have more time to play with his friends since she wouldn't
see him. With Kim's encouragement, Frankie said he'd take
Max to the pier to feed the ducks.
Max turned around and said
goodbye to Kim, giving her a little wave. She said she'd see
him soon. It was one of the few times we saw Max smiling
onscreen.
Where are they
now? Michael attended Amherst College and graduated in 2002.
In March, 2003, he performed in a school presentation
entitled, "The Death of Victor Hartmann." The show was an
original staging of vocal and piano music of Modest
Musorgsky. The Amherst press release for the event stated:
Musorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death, interwoven with his
Nursery Songs and selections from Pictures at an Exhibition,
will be performed in a staging created by world-renowned set
and costume designer John Conklin, assistant artistic
director of the Glimmerglass Opera, and Jenny Kallick,
professor of music at Amherst College, with lighting design
by Michael Baumgarten, visiting lecturer in music at Amherst
College. The drama evokes 19th-century Russia in scenes
drawn from the world of Victor Hartmann, the artist whose
sudden death inspired the composition of Pictures at an
Exhibition. Bass Valerian Ruminski, who has appeared with
companies such as the Metropolitan Opera and the New York
City Opera, will sing the two song cycles in an arrangement
by composer Richard Beaudoin, and the performance will also
feature cellist Matt Haimovitz, clarinetist Patrick Messina,
violinist Christoph Franzgrote, pianist William Hicks and
actor Michael Rhoton.
(info courtesy www.amherst.edu)
