As the series began, Danny was infatuated with Jade Perkins and tried to impress her with a hang-gliding stunt. Much to Danny's chagrin, however, Jade was more interested in lifeguard Warren Lockridge. The stunt did get him noticed by a movie casting director, who wanted Danny to do the stunt on film. He did. Afterwards, he and Ted headed for Hollywood to become stuntmen. Much to Danny's delight, they were soon joined by Jade, who wanted to be an actress.

Danny, Ted and Jade spent several weeks in Hollywood. While there, Danny and Ted got hired as stuntmen when a casting director mistook a real fight between the boys for professional work. Later, Danny saved Jade from the clutches of a sleazy producer, who wanted to put her in a pornographic film. Jade was grateful to Danny, and they grew closer. But she still didn't want to be more than friends.

Back in Santa Barbara, Danny helped Ted feud with his humorless teacher, Mr. Bottoms. As a practical joke, the boys stole a camel, which they then placed in Mr. Bottoms's classroom. Also, Danny started running a motel with his friends, which they called Frisky Business. They were led to believe that the motel was haunted, but it wasn't. During this time, Danny's humorous moments included sleeping through an earthquake and getting close to an obvious hooker. On New Year's Eve, Danny and Jade had a date and got stuck in the snow. They finally shared a kiss.

In 1985, Danny faded from the limelight until he got into trouble with Angel Ramirez's gang. He was saved by family friend Cruz Castillo. In 1986, Danny's life spiraled out of control. He became a cocaine addict and got into trouble with the police for driving under the influence. Later, Cruz accidentally shot and wounded Danny, who was committing a robbery to get Angel his coke money. Danny ended up in the hospital. There, he was visited by Ted and Hayley Benson. As for Angel, Cruz was able to arrest him.

After this turn of events, Danny disappeared from the canvas without explanation.