Occupation: CEO of Double Strike Studios

Children: Van Edgewater, Keaton Hartley

Relationships: Alex Reynolds

Appearances: Seasons 5 & 6

Who’d Play Him: James Brolin

The Mogul Who Left a Son Behind: Deacon Edgewater was one of Hollywood’s powerful men, a studio figure whose influence stretched across the industry and into the lives of the Blackthornes. Wealthy, commanding, and accustomed to moving through rooms where careers were made and destroyed, Deacon belonged to the old world of Hollywood privilege, where secrets were often treated as the cost of doing business.

His most lasting connection to the Blackthornes came through Alex Reynolds. Long before Alex’s life settled into its later patterns with James Blackthorne and Jordan Rydell, she had a complicated history with Deacon. Their relationship produced a child, but the truth was hidden, reshaping lives before anyone involved fully understood the consequences.

That child was Keaton Hartley, who grew up without knowing he was the biological son of Alex Reynolds and Deacon Edgewater. Keaton’s discovery of his true parentage forced another buried Hollywood secret into the open and gave Alex yet another painful piece of her past to confront. For Keaton, the revelation meant that his identity had been built around absences and half-truths.

Deacon was also the father of Van Edgewater, who chose a more disciplined path by going to medical school. But even Van was not entirely removed from Hollywood’s reckless younger set. Though training to become a doctor, he was still prone to carousing around town with Blake Distefano, Benji Rydell, Sheldon Novak, Summer Solomon, and the others who turned privilege, nightlife, and bad decisions into a dangerous pastime.

That contrast made Van another reflection of Deacon’s complicated legacy. Deacon represented Hollywood power and entitlement, while Van tried to build something more serious for himself, even as he remained close enough to the party world to be pulled into its chaos.

Deacon’s shadow lingered because he belonged to the same class of men who shaped Hollywood from behind closed doors. His choices, affairs, and omissions did not simply vanish with time; they resurfaced in the lives of his children and the families connected to them.