David Ackroyd first made a name for himself on soap operas, though he never became a star in his own right. He began with "The Secret Storm," a soap centered on the northeastern Ames clan. He followed that up with a turn as Dr. David Gilchrist on "Another World," the long-running soap opera based in fictional Bay City. Ackroyd moved to prime time as Gary Ewing on the classic "Dallas" before appearing as a guest star on TV shows ranging from the action-junkies' favorite "The A-Team" to the law school drama "The Paper Chase." He had small roles in a handful of feature films but saw more success as the voice in several animated shows (such as "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest," the ongoing story of teens embroiled in sci-fi adventures) and as the narrator of a few documentary TV series (such as the History Channel's "History's Mysteries," a show that examines unresolved historical questions surrounding events like the JFK assassination).