Phoebe Tyler Wallingford

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Ruth Warrick as Phoebe Tyler Wallingford on All My Children
Ruth Warrick as Phoebe Tyler Wallingford on All My Children

Phoebe Tyler Wallingford was a fictional character on the soap opera All My Children. An original character, she was played by Ruth Warrick from 1970 until her death in 2005.

Phoebe English Tyler Wallingford was a pillar of Pine Valley. Her family, the Englishes, were founders of the region. The leading socialite in the community, Phoebe always prided herself on her family's lineage, and was a member of the fictional "Daughters of Fine Lineage."

Phoebe was first married to Charles Tyler, who was Chief of Staff at Pine Valley Hospital. They had three children, Charles, Lincoln, and Anne. Charles and his wife were killed in a car wreck, leaving Phoebe and Charles to raise their grandson Chuck. Chuck gave his grandmother plenty of grief with his involvement in one of the show's earliest love triangles between himself, his best friend Phillip Brent, and the young Tara Martin. Lincoln became a prominent attorney and was first married to Amy. After Amy's secret child from a prior relationship was eventually found out, she left Lincoln and Pine Valley.

Phoebe was constantly meddling in her children and grandchildren's lives, much to the dismay of her husband Charles. Charles, much more down-to-earth and live-and-let-live than his often overbearing wife, later turned to his secretary, Mona Kane, for comfort. This pushed Phoebe to begin drinking heavily, making a spectacle of herself at public events.

Phoebe and Charles eventually divorced, and she found a new love in the form of Langley Wallingford. Langley claimed to be a professor, but he had a checkered past as a con man. He initially pursued Phoebe for her fortune, but eventually fell in love with her. Langley and Phoebe were married in June of 1980. Their marriage was briefly strained in 1984 when Phoebe learned of her husband's past, but the two reconciled. They were blissfully happy, until the arrival of another poser named Wade Matthews in 1986. Wade staged a series of events to break up Langley and Phoebe. Phoebe married the much younger Wade in a drunken stupor. Wade unsuccessfully tried to murder Phoebe to inherit a sizable portion of her estate. He was later found out, the marriage annulled, and Wade was sent off to prison.

Phoebe and Langley remarried and remained together until Langley's death in 2001. Phoebe died from old age in May of 2005, with her niece, Brooke English, at her side. Her last words were, "Langley is waiting for me."