Wolek family

Wolek family

One Life to Live family
From left: Antony Ponzini as Vince, Katherine Glass as Jenny, Michael Storm as Larry, and Doris Belack as Anna, 1975
Type	Fictional family
Created by	Agnes Nixon
Original run	July 15, 1968 (1968-07-15) – May 28, 2004 (2004-05-28)
First appearance	Episode 1, July 15, 1968
Last appearance	Episode 9,174, May 28, 2004

The Wolek family is an original family of fictional characters on the American soap opera One Life to Live when it debuted in 1968. They were created as the working-class reflection of the affluent Lords, with early storylines exploring the ways these families interacted and contrasted.

The Polish American family is formed around the relationships of Dr. Lawrence "Larry" Wolek, a character who appears from the debut episode in July 1968^[1][2] through May 2004.^[3][4]

Generations

• Only current spouses are listed or those who were married when they died
• Notable children who are stillborn or die before proper character development are italicized

Ancestors

• Unnamed Wolek (common ancestor)

First generation

• Unnamed Wolek descendant
• Unnamed Wolek descendant

Second generation

• Anna Wolek (born early 1940s)
  • Jim Craig [widowed]
• Vincent "Vinny" Wolek (born mid-1940s; death 1981)
  • Wanda Webb [dissolved by his death]
• Lawrence "Larry" Wolek (born late 1940s)
  • Meredith Lord [widowed]
  • Laurel Chapin [widowed]
• Karen Wolek (born early 1950s)
• Jennifer "Jenny" Wolek (born mid-to-late 1950s; legal death 1997)
  • Tim Siegel [widowed]
  • Peter Janssen [widowed]
  • David Renaldi [legally dissolved 1997]

Third generation

• Cathy Craig (born 1951; adopted)
• Daniel Wolek (born November 17, 1971; changed to 1966)
• Unnamed girl (stillborn; November 17, 1971; changed to 1966)
• Mary Vernon (stillborn; November 1, 1979)

Introduction

When the Wolek family is first introduced at the inception of One Life to Live, Dr. Larry Wolek is presented as the youngest of an upwardly mobile clan of siblings who live in a rough-and-tumble west Llanview apartment building directly opposite Llanfair housekeeper Sadie Gray (Lillian Hayman). Larry's siblings are shown to be elders Anna Wolek, sibling matriarch and Llanview Hospital volunteer, and Vince, an auto mechanic. The two older siblings personally and financially sacrifice to enable Larry to pursue his expensive dream of being a doctor; Anna does so selflessly, but Vince is shown as being particularly resentful of the prestige and opportunity a medical career affords Larry, in particular in his romantic relationship with Meredith Lord, the daughter of Llanview media mogul Victor Lord.^[5]

After Meredith's death, Wolek distant cousins and siblings Jenny and Karen Wolek arrive in fictional Llanview the mid-1970s. Larry and Karen marry after a whirlwind courtship and romance, but she later cuckolds him when she becomes a prostitute and the two divorce. Jenny engages in a series of romances from the late 1970s through the 1980s.

Family tree

Descendants

Unknown Wolek (distant relative; deceased)
 Unknown Wolek (deceased)
  c. Anna Wolek
   m. Jim Craig [1969-1981; dissolved]
    ac. Cathy Craig (biological child of Jim and his deceased first wife)
  c. Vince Wolek [deceased 1981]
   m. Wanda Webb [1975-1981; dissolved]
  c. Larry Wolek
   m. Karen Martin [1969; divorced]
   m. Meredith Lord [1970-1973; dissolved] (deceased)
    c. Daniel Wolek [b. 1971]
    c. Unnamed daughter [stillborn 1971]
   m. Karen Wolek [1977-1979; divorced]
   m. Laurel Chapin [1985-1986; dissolved] (deceased)
 Unknown Wolek (deceased)
  c. Jenny Wolek [deceased 1997]
   m. Tim Siegel [dissolved 1976]
   m. Brad Vernon [1978-1981; divorced]
    c. Mary Vernon [stillborn 1979]
   m. Peter Janssen [1981-1982; dissolved] (deceased)
   m. David Renaldi [1984-199?; dissolved] (deceased)
  c. Karen Wolek
   m. Larry Wolek [1977-1979; divorced]

References

External links

• Wolek family tree – SoapCentral.com