- published: 02 Aug 2009
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Daniel (Hebrew: דָּנִיֵּאל, Modern Daniyyel Tiberian Dāniyyêl ; Arabic: دانيال, meaning in Hebrew "God is my Judge") is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways. By Divine Wisdom from his God, Yahweh, he interpreted dreams and visions of kings, thus becoming a prominent figure in the court of Babylon. Eventually, he had apocalyptic visions of his own that have been interpreted as the Four monarchies. Some of the most famous tales of Daniel are: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, The writing on the wall and Daniel in the lions' den.
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim (BC 606), Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among the young Jewish nobility carried off to Babylon. The four were chosen for their intellect and beauty to be trained as advisors to the Babylonian court,(Daniel 1) Daniel was given the name Belteshazzar, i.e., prince of Bel, or Bel protect the king!(not to be confused with the neo-Babylonian king, Belshazzar). Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were given the Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, respectively.
Daniel Hugh Kelly (born August 10, 1952) is an American stage, film and television actor. He may be best known for his role on the 1980s ABC TV series Hardcastle and McCormick (1983–1986) as ex-con Mark "Skid" McCormick.
The middle of five children, Kelly was born and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where his grandfather and father were police officers/detectives and his mother a social worker. He attended and graduated from Roselle Catholic High School in 1970. A graduate of St. Vincent College (Latrobe, Pennsylvania) in 1974, Kelly also pursued an MFA at Catholic University (Washington, DC) on a full scholarship.
Kelly has appeared in numerous Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway productions, primarily at The Public Theatre and The Second Stage. A product of regional repertory theater, Kelly has been a company member of the Williamstown Theater Festival (Massachusetts), The Folger Theater (DC), Arena Stage (DC), and the Actors Theatre of Louisville among others. He toured with the National Players, the nation's oldest classical touring company. He starred on Broadway as Brick opposite Kathleen Turner's Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and opposite Madeline Kahn's Billie in Born Yesterday. In 2003, he appeared at the Mark Taper Theatre Forum (LA), originating the role of Richard in Living Out by Lisa Loomer.