Zach Spaulding
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Alan Cooper "Zach" Spaulding is a fictional character on the daytime soap opera Guiding Light. He is currently being played by Nicholas Art since 2002. He was previously played by Connor & Keegan Sinclair from August 1999 to 2002.
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[edit] Character History
Alan Cooper Spaulding was born in the summer of 1999 to the wealthy Phillip Spaulding and his working class wife, Harley Cooper. Born in the wake of his grandfather Alan's heart attack, the child was named after Phillip's adoptive father, Alan Spaulding. Days after his birth, Harley decided to nickname the boy "Zach" from a character in one of Phillip's early novels about a young artist who declares his freedom from his wealthy family. Unfortunately, Zach's family life would be torn apart less than a year later, in 2000, when it was discovered that Phillip had had an affair with Beth Raines and the child she was carrying was his. After the birth of Beth and Phillip's child, James, Harley decided she couldn't forgive Phillip for his infidelity and she left him. In early 2001, she decided to divorce him and sought custody of Zach. Though Phillip tried futilely to change Harley's mind, she was adamant about going through with it. Out of respect for her, Phillip allowed Harley to keep the house that he'd bought for her. The dissolution of her marriage led to Harley seeking comfort in the arms of Phillip's best friend, Rick Bauer and conceiving his child. Late that summer, Zach would gain another little brother--Jude. In 2002, after almost a year of them getting to know each other, Harley invited Gus Aitoro to move in with her and the kids. Gus soon bonded with the boys who in turn adored him. Unfortunately, Phillip didn't trust Gus and after learning that Gus had a juvenile record, he threatened to seek custody of Zach unless Gus was thrown out. When a stubborn Harley refused to even look at Gus's juvenile file, Phillip took Zach to live with him at the Spaulding mansion. Angry, Harley retaliated by kidnapping Zach, When Phillip demanded that Harley be arrested, the chief of police complied and Harley was forced to choose between leaving Zach with Phillip or social services. Harley reluctantly agreed to let Phillip continue to care for Zach while she fought for custody. The custody battled waged on for several months. With no resolution in sight, things came to a halt when Zach accidentally ran into the street and was struck by a car in the spring of 2003. Luckily, Gus was on the scene, and saved Zach by transporting him safely to the hospital. Grateful, and feeling guilty about everything, Phillip dropped his custody suit. In 2004, Zach looked forward to Gus marrying Harley and was hurt when it didn't happen. Although Zach was angry at Gus, blaming him since Gus told them they'd be a family, Gus was able to win him over and Zach forgave him. In the meantime, Phillip was waging his own private vendetta against the Cooper family, mainly by threatening to have the Cooper family restaurant "Company" destroyed. Although the Coopers tried to shield Zach from their problems, Zach caught on that Phillip was trying to hurt his mother and distanced himself from him. Although the Coopers (with help from Gus and Beth) were able to keep Company, it cost Zach his home when Phillip vindictively demolished Harley's house. In the next several months, the war between the Coopers and Spauldings heated up with Harley disguising herself as "Ruth" in order to spy on Phillip. Although everyone else was fooled by the disguise, Zach recognized her immediately but agreed to keep it a secret. Unfortunately, Zach later innocently told his father who "Ruth" really was, causing Phillip to kidnap all of his children. Although the children were later found by Gus, Zach was devastated to learn that his father was dead. For the next several months Zach was consoled and taken care of by his family. In 2005, Harley was arrested for Phillip's murder, but all Zach, who would be staying with the Coopers, knew was that his mother was going away for a long time. Before going to prison, Harley tried to make the boys understand that she had to leave, but an angry Zach responded by trying to run away. Luckily, Gus stopped him and helped reconnect with his mother. After spending a horrible summer missing his mother, the pair were joyfully reunited that after Harley was finally exonerated for Phillip's murder. In addition to finally having his mom home for good, Zach was happy when she and Gus finally wed.
Unfortunately, things wouldn't go as planned. In early 2006, less than five months after the wedding, Gus would disappear. When Zach kept asking when Gus would come home, Harley insisted that it would be soon. However, Gus planned a family vacation for the entire family in Hawaii and Zach was concerned he wouldn't be back in time. Harley insisted that Gus would be there. Later, Harley was forced to tell the kids that Gus had been involved in an accident and was dead. Fortunately, Gus wasn't dead after all; and after having been missing for almost two months, returned to the family. Unfortunately, things still didn't go back to normal. When he was gone, Gus had been injured and ended up being addicted to pain medication. Although he tried to wean himself off, it proved harder than he thought. Gus's condition, or his arguments with Harley, didn't go unnoticed by Zach. When Jude asked why Gus wasn't around, Zach told him it was because Gus did drugs. Not long after, Harley took the kids and left Springfield hoping Gus would get his act together while they were gone. About a month later, Harley and the kids returned and Harley was pleased to find that Gus was cleaned up.
[edit] Family
[edit] Parents
- Phillip Spaulding (Father)
- Harley Cooper Aitoro (Mother)
[edit] Sibling(s)
- Elizabeth "Lizzie" Spaudling (Paternal Half-Sister)
- Susan Lemay (Maternal Half-Sister)
- James Spaudling (Paternal Half-Brother)
- Jude Cooper Bauer (Maternal Half-Brother)
- Emma Spencer Lewis (Paternal Half-Sister)
[edit] Other Relatives
- Justin Marler (Paternal Biological Grandfather)
- Jacqueline "Jackie" Scott Marler (Paternal Biological Grandmother, deceased)
- Alan Spaulding (Paternal Adoptive Grandfather)
- Elizabeth Spaudling (Paternal Adoptive Grandmother)
- Frank "Buzz" Cooper Sr. (Maternal Grandfather)
- Nadine Cooper (Maternal Grandmother, deceased)
- Samantha Marler (Paternal Biological Aunt)
- Gus Aitoro (Paternal Adoptive Uncle)
- Alan-Michael Spaudling (Paternal Adoptive Uncle)
- Frank Cooper Jr. (Maternal Uncle)
- Lucille "Lucy" Cooper (Maternal Aunt)
- Henry Cooper "Coop" Bradshaw (Maternal Uncle)
- Ian Stavros "Rocky" Cooper (Maternal Uncle, via adoption)
- Sarah Randall (Niece)
- Marina Cooper (Maternal Cousin)
- Dinah Marler (Paternal First Cousin Once Removed)
- Brandon "Lujack" Luvonaczek (First Cousin once removed; Deceased)
- Nick McHenry Spaulding (First Cousin once removed)
- Vicky Brandon Spaulding (First Cousin once removed)
- Jason Marler (First Cousin once removed)
- Kevin Marler (First Cousin once removed)
- Clarissa Marler (First Cousin once removed)
