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“Call Me Wayne, Everybody Does”: NHL GOAT Wayne Gretzky’s Daily Addiction Once Influenced His Cameo Appearance on a Popular Soap Opera

Published 12/26/2022, 4:45 PM EST

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Ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky was renowned beyond his sport. Outside the arena, Gretzky has often found himself venturing into different avenues including entrepreneurship, fashion, and even television. Apart from being one of the greatest athletes of his era, The Great One has repeatedly appeared on TV for various commercials. One of his famous campaigns was with Coca-Cola.

One time he even had the opportunity to make a guest appearance in a very renowned soap opera. In an interview with CBC he once spoke about his soap opera addiction and incidentally appeared in The Young and the Restless later that year. The 61-year-old NHL legend discussed his experience while recalling an interesting memory with his friends.

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Wayne Gretzky could not get enough of the soap opera drama

In his CBC interview, Gretzky disclosed a secret. While playing for the Oilers, he revealed that he and his teammates would watch soap operas every day before hitting the rink. This guilty pleasure led the athlete to the silver screen himself. Later that year, the Ontario-born 20-year-old Gretzky would appear as a mobster in what is perhaps one of the most widely renowned TV shows of the 70s.

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An excited young Gretzky says his line with a lot of oomph in the show. “Call me Wayne. Everybody does,” the pop icon says. This was not last his last stint on the television screen. In fact, the sports star even met his wife Janet Jones thanks to television while he was judging the “Dance Fever”.

Other appearances in the media

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Wayne Gretzky has been the face of multiple brands and has found himself to be associated with TV in one way or another. The all-time greatest goal scorer in NHL history appeared on ‘The Tonight Show in 1988’ and hosted ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 1989. He also appeared on ‘The Arsenio Hall Show’ and served as the judge for ‘Dance Fever’. Additionally, he has also appeared in a cameo for ‘The Simpsons’ and can be seen in Nickleback’s video of their famous number ‘Rockstar.’

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An ardent fan of his sport, Wayne has promoted it beyond the scope of the skating rink. His venture into video games includes NHL Slapshot Gretzky NHL 2005 and 2006. 

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Watch this story >The great one what is Wayne Gretzky’s golf handicap

Wayne Gretzky started with a simple 10 seconds role and became one of the highest-paid athlete endorsers by 1995. Looks like he took all the shots, and made them too.

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Written by:

Anirban Roy

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Anirban Roy is working as a US Sports author for EssentiallySports. Anirban has a Master's degree in Spatial Data Science from Jadavpur University. He has worn many hats, including being a database admin and a scientific researcher.
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Edited by:

Anupama Ghosh