History of All My Children (1990-1999)
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As All My Children started a new decade, the show was faced with many actor defections, including longtime favorites such as Peter Bergman, Taylor Miller, and Debbi Morgan. The writing team stayed the same, under the direction of Wisner Washam, but the ABC daytime drama department wished to elevate Megan McTavish to the role of head writer (she had been affiliated with the show since 1987). Her first stories started airing in 1992, and were praised both in the soap magazines and by fans.
In the late '80s and early '90s, Trevor Dillon and Natalie Marlowe (James Kiberd and Kate Collins) were one of the most popular romantic couples on the program, receiving much screen time. Over time, (with the help of Dimitri, played by Michael Nader), Trevor and Natalie drifted apart, and Natalie died.
| History of All My Children series | |
Erica couldn't make up her mind between the Montgomery brothers, Jackson (Walt Willey) and Travis (originally Larkin Malloy, then Daniel Hugh Kelly), so she resolved to date both of them. But her and Travis's daughter, Bianca, wanted her parents back together, so Erica finally decided to re-marry Travis. However, Travis and Barbara Montgomery's (Susan Pratt) daughter, Molly, was diagnosed with leukemia, and Travis and Barbara decided that they would conceive a new child to serve as a bone marrow donor. This broke up Travis's marriage to Erica, and Barbara's marriage to Tom Cudahy (Richard Shoberg). When Travis found Jackson in bed with Erica, he filed for sole custody of Bianca. And when Erica asked Jackson to lie about their relationship, and he refused, she not only broke up with him, but lost custody of Bianca. Travis, Bianca, Barbara, Molly and their new baby moved to Seattle, Washington.
Opal Gardner (Jill Larson) Purdy set her sights on Palmer Cortlandt, and, with the help of Palmer's ex-wife, Daisy (Gillian Spencer), she convinced him to marry her. As usual, Palmer was set on breaking up the relationship between his niece Dixie (Cady McClain) and the love of her life, Tad Martin (Michael E. Knight), even though Tad was Palmer's new wife's son. Tad decided that he had had enough, and told Dixie that they should move out of Pine Valley in order to get away from her uncle. Dixie refused, and it caused the breach that Palmer had hoped for. Tad turned to Brooke English (Julia Barr). Dixie found a new "friend" in Billy Clyde Tuggle (Matthew Cowles), but Billy Clyde became obsessed with Dixie and tried to rape her. Tad succeeded in saving her from Billy Clyde, but he and Billy Clyde fought on a bridge, and the two fell off. Billy Clyde's body washed up on shore, but Tad was not found. A final scene showed an amnesiac Tad hitching a ride out of town.
After a long period of grief, Dixie turned to handsome newcomer Craig Lawson (Scott Thompson Baker), who claimed to have been a friend of Tad's. In actuality, he was a con man who had read about Tad's death in a California newspaper, and he had come to town to woo the wealthy widow. But Craig was followed by his ex-girlfriend, Gloria Marsh (Teresa Blake), who threatened to reveal the truth about Craig unless he would continue to sleep with her. In the meantime, Brooke had given birth to Tad's son, Jamie (who would be played in 1995 by Sean Marquette).
Adam Chandler now decided that he wanted Erica back. He sprung the surprise on her that their divorce was not legal, because he had had his brother, Stuart stand in for him at the divorce proceedings. Therefore, Adam and Erica were still legally married. He blackmailed her into coming back to him by having a public wedding to make everyone else think they were re-marrying, when it was just a sham. In turn, Erica hired a fake minister, so the false marriage was as invalid as the false divorce.
Trevor's troubled niece Hayley Vaughan (Kelly Ripa) came into town, having run away from her mother after her father's death. When Hayley's mother, Arlene (Phyllis Lyons, then Olivia Birkelund) came after her, Arlene was shocked to discover that she knew Adam Chandler. In fact, Adam was Hayley's real father. In the meantime, Hayley the troublemaker met straight-arrow Brian Bodine (Gregory Gordon, Matt Borlenghi and Brian Lane Green), and they fell in love. Later, Brian found himself attracted to Dixie, and the two became lovers. Hayley, dejected, found solace with Charlie Brent (Christopher Lawford), son of Tara Martin. At first their relationship moved very slowly, as he was much older and didn't want to take advantage of her. Hayley, on the other hand, quickly stopped whining about being "the oldest living virgin" and saw Charlie for who he really was: someone who loved her. Eventually, Charlie and Hayley moved to the next level and had sex. As they became a true couple and their relationship moved faster, the two started a Private Investigator firm. Adam did not like Charlie and he broke up the marriage by having Hayley work at Enchantment, a makeup company, instead.
Erica and Dimitri Marick (Michael Nader) fought over control of Erica's cosmetics company. While battling, their sexual chemistry was potent. They began an affair. Eventually, Erica was able to divorce Adam, who wound up marrying the reformed Gloria Marsh. Erica and Dimitri eventually married.
When Will Cortlandt (James Patrick Stuart) turned up murdered (it turned out that Janet Green had murdered him in order to get on the good side of Trevor, since Will had attempted to rape his niece, Hayley), Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Edmund Grey (John Callahan) came to town to research the case. He had been the son of two servants on the estate of Dimitri Marick's father, and harbored a grudge against Dimitri. It was eventually revealed that Edmund was Dimitri's half-brother. Dimitri, in a fit of guilt, gave up the claim to Wildwind, his family's estate, to Edmund. The two brothers agreed to live on the estate together.
Erica hired a new assistant, a young girl named Kendall Hart (Sarah Michelle Gellar). Kendall had originally befriended Erica's mother, Mona, and found out information about her birth mother. Unbeknownst to Erica, Kendall claimed to be Erica's illegitimate daughter, whom she had given up for adoption. Even though happy with her adoptive parents, Kendall felt rejected by Erica, and determined to ruin her life. Only after much stress did Erica finally recall that, on her 14th birthday, she had been raped by a friend of her father's. She had been so traumatized by the rape, she had managed to forget all about it. Mona had arranged the adoption. And on-again, off-again love-hate relationship developed between Erica and Kendall. In 1996 when Kendell left the show, she famously called Erica "mom" for the first time. Kendell returned in 2002 and since her and Erica became much closer. As of 2006 refrences to her adoptive parents are rare.
Adam and Gloria's relationship was broken up by the arrival of handsome Alec McIntyre (Grant Aleksander). Adam was sure that the two were having an affair, and faked paralysis in order to catch them in the act. Thrown together by Adam's jealousy, Gloria and Alec made love. Later, as Alec and Hayley were working together at Enchantment, they started an ill-advised relationship on the urging of Hayley's mother, Arlene.
Brooke found some evidence that Tad may have shown up in the Napa Valley, using the name of Ted Orsini. She traveled there to find out if her suspicions were true. In fact, Tad, in his amnesia, had wandered onto the Orsini Vineyards estate, where widowed winemaker Nola Orsini (Barbara Rush) had taken one look at him and assumed that he was her long-lost son, Ted. Tad/Ted was running Orsini Vineyards. Unselfishlessly, Brooke was determined to return Tad to Pine Valley for Dixie's sake, but she was also interested in his finding out about their son, Jamie. At the time, however, Dixie was married to Brian Bodine, and felt it wrong to end her marriage to him, even though Tad had returned. Tad married Brooke to make a home for the two of them and their son, but his love for Dixie never wavered. Suddenly, the real Ted Orsini came to town, wanting vengeance on Tad's having taken over his life. He began a relationship with Dixie, eventually luring her into the woods in northern Canada, where he hoped to kill Tad and to rape Dixie. Tad chased the pair into the woods, rescued Dixie and allowed Ted to leave unharmed because of Tad's love for Ted's mother Nola. Dixie and Tad reconciled, and they were remarried.
Mona found out that she had lung cancer. This was in conjunction with the revelation that actress Frances Heflin was diagnosed with the same ailment. Although she tried treatment for a while, it did not work, and Mona became very sick. Erica tried to promise her, in vain, that the doctors, especially Dr. Joe Martin, said that Mona would be just fine. Mona told Erica that she believed her but she knew that she was near death. Frances Heflin made her last appearance on the show in the spring of 1994 and died in June. On August 12, 1994, a memorial episode was held for Mona, showcasing the best of Heflin's performances in the role. Mona's loved-ones spoke on the show in the form of eulogies. Many surprise speakers were at the service, including Erica's half-brother Mark Dalton (Mark LaMura), who had left Pine Valley five years earlier. Also, Phoebe Tyler Wallingford gave a nice eulogy on the woman who had once been her rival.
On the rebound, Brooke took up with Edmund Grey. While Brooke had dithered between Edmund and Tad, however, Edmund had met the beautiful Doctor Maria Santos (Eva LaRue Callahan). Even though still interested in Brooke, Edmund became engaged to Maria.
Young would-be writer Del Henry (Winsor Harmon) came to town, and met and fell in love with Kendall. It turned out, however, that he had an ulterior motive for coming to town. He was really Dixie's half-brother, and he needed a kidney, and was looking for a blood relative to help him out. It was revealed that he was also an old love of Maria's, and his appearance in town threatened Edmund and Maria's marriage. Eventually, despite Tad's misgivings, Dixie donated Del a kidney, and he and Kendall left town.
Trevor then married Laurel (Felicity LaFortune), and later, Natalie's nutty sister Janet Green (Robin Mattson). While Janet wreaked havoc on Trevor and Natalie at first, she ended up falling in love with Trevor, which necessitated her having to create a fake identity, whom she called Jane Cox. Trevor found out about Janet's lies from the Dillon family dog, Harold, who realized who Janet was before anyone else. Trevor was angry at first, but he reconciled with her, since Janet was the mother of his child, Amanda. His son, Timmy, had trouble accepting Janet and despised her for years.
When Maria and Edmund were married, Maria's entire family came to town, including her parents, Hector and Isabela, and her siblings, Julia (Sydney Penny), Mateo (Mark Consuelos), Anita and Rosa. When a tornado struck Pine Valley, Julia was caught in the storm, and her face was seriously damaged by flying glass. While trying to deal with her disfiguring wound, she ran away from her psychologist, and found herself in a bad part of town. She was raped by a seedy assocaite of Noah Keefer (Keith Hamilton Cobb), but the two eventually became a couple. When Noah was falsely accused of murder, the two ran off to Jamaica, but were able to return when the truth was made known. Noah's mother, Rose (Leslie Uggams) came to town, running from a hit man who wanted to kill her for information about a murder. Julia became caught up in the case, and testified against the mobsters who were after Rose. In fear of retaliation, Rose, Julia and Noah left town to join the Witness Protection Program.
While on a modeling stint, Erica fell from a catwalk, seriously injuring her back. She became addicted to pain medicine, an addiction which she has fought to this day. In order to cure her addiction, she turned to Doctor Jonathan Kinder. Kinder was not the kindly doctor he appeared to be, however, and hoped to gain control over Erica by keeping her addicted and under his control. The two had a sexual relationship, which Dimitri found out about, ending their marriage. It was also revealed that, not only was Jonathan Kinder and old lover of Liza Colby's, but that he was keeping his wife, "Toni" (really Adam's daughter Skye Chandler (Carrie Genzel, later Robin Christopher)) locked up in a drug-induced coma. When Janet Green found out about Kinder's illicit dealings, he kidnapped her, and tried to keep her locked up like he was doing with Skye. But Janet and Skye teamed up and escaped, and joined up with Erica to bring him down. When Kinder was killed falling down a flight of stairs, the three teamed up to bury his body. Unfortunately, it turned out that he was not dead, and he escaped from the grave, vowing vengeance. Eventually the three brought him to the Pine Valley police, where he got his just rewards.
Hayley, fleeing from an ill-advised almost-wedding with Alec McIntyre, encountered Mateo Santos at the beach. The two fell in love, but Adam, Hayley's father, opposed their relationship. Hayley married Alec who was also sleeping with Hayley's mother Arlene. When Arlene threatened to reveal their affair, Alec tried to kill Arlene by making it look like she drank herself to death. Hayley eventually wised up and married Mateo.
Young Kelsey Jefferson, Joe Martin's granddaughter (the daughter of Tara) came to town, pregnant. It turned out that the father of her baby was Bobby Warner. Anita Santos, Kelsey's friend, convinced her to let Anita's sister, Maria, and Maria's husband, Edmund, adopt the baby. Kelsey agreed for a large sum of money, but when the time came for the adoption, Kelsey decided that she could not give up her baby. Maria kidnapped the baby, Sam, and tried to run off with him, but Edmund stopped her at the airport, and made her give the baby back. Maria blamed Edmund for the loss of their adopted child, and turned to Dimitri. They made love on the grounds of Wildwind, and Skye witnessed it. Maria became pregnant, not knowing which brother was the father of her child, and Skye, having fallen in love with Edmund, decided to use her knowledge to keep Maria and Edmund apart. She tampered with the pregnancy test at the hospital in order to make it look as if Dimitri was the father, when, in fact, the baby's father was really Edmund. Erica, jealous that Dimitri had slept with Maria, kidnapped her, but was forced to deliver Maria's baby in the woods. Erica tried to take the baby to the hospital, but she was caught in a storm and lost control of the car. The baby floated away, and everyone thought she had been lost forever. It turned out, however, that a reclusive woman named Esther Glynn (Ann McDonough) had found the baby, named her Sonya, and determined to keep her. Erica eventually tracked down Esther, convinced her to give up the baby, and gave her back to her rightful parents. Edmund and Maria named their daughter Maddie (Madelyn). Erica went to jail for kidnapping. While Erica was in prison, Jack told her that he loved her, but that Travis had said that she could not have any dealings with their daughter Bianca (Gina Gallagher, then Nathalie Paulding) until Bianca was eighteen. In the meantime, Bianca, jealous over the attentions that Travis and Barbara were showing their own children, and upset that she was not allowed to see her mother, ran away from home to Pine Valley. She and Erica were reunited, and Travis decided to let Bianca stay with Erica once she was released from prison. Later, Bianca became very disgusted that she did not have a say in her own life and in the lives of her family members. She resorted to anorexia as a way to get her family's attention; however, it consumed her life in the process and she needed to get treatment.
Tad's old nemesis/lover, Liza Colby, came back to town, and took over the running of Adam's television station, where Tad was working. Tad couldn't deny his interest in Liza, and, even though he was in love with Dixie, he kept having fantasies about Liza. Dixie was also upset with the long hours the two were keping, and with the sleazy tabloid-type television they were creating. She issued Tad an ultimatum, and he vowed to make their marriage work. He was unable to keep his hands off Liza, however, and they eventually had sex. When Liza's mother, Marian (Jennifer Bassey) told Dixie, her marriage to Tad was over.
Adam and Liza plotted to get the lovers they wanted. They decided to pretend to fall in love and marry so that Adam might make Brooke jealous, and Liza might make Tad jealous. But at the point in the ceremony where she was supposed to end the wedding, Liza said. "I do," and Adam found himself with a wife he didn't want. Even worse, the "mother-in-law from hell", Marian Colby, moved in with them. Marian and Liza schemed to get the marriage consummated so that Liza would be entitled to half of Adam's estate, but he did everything he could to avoid sleeping with his wife. He decided to throw her together with handsome Jake Martin (Michael Lowry) (Tad's brother), but Adam found himself actually falling in love with his wife. Jake and Liza fell in love and planned to leave town, but Liza made love to Adam just before she was to depart, and decided to stay with her husband. When Liza became pregnant, at first Adam refused to believe the little girl was his, but he eventually learned to love little Colby Chandler.
Brooke had made a trip to New York City, and while returning home to Pine Valley, the plane crashed. Maria, Edmund and Maddie were also on the flight. Edmund was knocked unconscious, and Maria fought furiously to save her baby. Brooke and a stranger, Jim Thomasen (Roscoe Born, then David Forsyth), were able to save Maddie, but Maria slid over the side of a cliff with the wreckage, and was never seen again. Brooke determined to become a second mother to Maddie, but she couldn't resist her attraction to Jim. Brooke had also recently adopted a homeless girl, Laura Kirk (Lauren E. Roman), but it turned out that, while on the streets, Laura had posed for child pornography photos for Jim. The photos wound up on the Internet, destroying Laura's reputation in Pine Valley. With Tad's help, Brooke managed to get Jim convicted of kiddy porn charges, but when Jim threatened to hurt Laura, Brooke shot and killed him. Tad helped her to avoid any charges.
Princess Gillian Andrassy (Esta TerBlanche), Dimitri's penniless cousin, came to town, looking for a rich husband. At first she set her sights on Edmund, but then turned to Scott Chandler (Daniel Cosgrove, then Forbes March), Stuart's adopted son. Liza was opposed to Gillian's schemes, so she plotted to blackmail con man Ryan Lavery (Cameron Mathison) to woo Gillian in order to keep her away from Scott. Ryan and Gillian married, each thinking the other was rich. When they found out that neither of them had any money, they realized that they were in love.
Just as Erica and Jackson were about to marry, Erica's old flame, Mike Roy, whom she assumed was dead, returned to town. Mike said that he had been forced to fake his death in order to become involved in a secret espionage mission. He told her he still loved her, and wanted to marry her. Erica was torn, but eventually decided that she wanted to stay with Jackson. However, before she said goodbye to Mike, she slept with him "for old time's sake." When Jackson found out, he called off their wedding.
It turned out that Adam was the owner of the airline which had caused Maria's death, and when Liza found out about it, she wanted out of their marriage. Marian decided to help her but proving that Adam was an adulterer. In order to do that, she tried to seduce Adam, but instead, she slept with Stuart. She eventually discovered that she loved Stuart, and the two were married. Liza and Adam reconciled.
Dixie returned to Pine Valley, and, after trying to convince herself that she was no longer in love with Tad, gave in to her feelings. Unfortunately, she discovered she had kidney problems, and because she had donated a kidney to her half-brother Del Henry, she was in serious condition. She decided that she couldn't be a burden on Tad, so she decided to tell him that she didn't love him. Doctor David Hayward (Vincent Irizarry) came to town and took a position at Pine Valley Hospital. He fell in love with Dixie, and did all he could to keep her apart from Tad.
Main article: All My Children
