all my marriages, divorces, affairs, murders, and resurrections

ALL MY MARRIAGES,
DIVORCES, AFFAIRS, MURDERS,
AND RESURRECTIONS
1970
1971
THE
FOUR
FAMILIES
of Pine Valley,
ROM A NCE
MARRIAGE
Dr. Joe, a widower;
his children, good
girl Tara, kid Joey,
and young
professional Jeff;
his mother, Kate;
and his attorney
brother, Paul.
ta r a
m a rt i n
ROM A NCE
Goody
twoshoes!
Love
triangle!
CHIL D
December-May
romance!
l i nc
t yler
M A RRI AGE
DIE S
MARRIAGE
DIVORCE
Shotgun
wedding!
MARRIAGE
A F FA IR
Pregnancy
Miscarriage!
Teen
prostitute!
don na
be ck
DI VORCE
PREG N A NC Y
Miscarriage!
dr .
ch r ist i na
k arras
gunman!
M A RRI AGE
She’s just bored!
➽ In the midst of Jason
Maxwell’s murder
trial, Erica’s mother,
Mona, takes a truth
serum while on the
stand and remembers
that she is the killer.
MURDE R
DI VORCE
She aborted
without telling
him!
ja son
ma xwell
e r ic a
k ane
DI VORCE
da n
k e n n ic o t t
ROM A NCE
Ex–NFL
star!
Virginity taken—his!
➽ At first an amoral bad girl
Early seventies
Right from the start, All My Children exhibited a
trademark style—society melodrama leavened with
socially conscious melodrama. The first season
kicked off with a convoluted paternity story line—
Phil Brent’s parents were not who he thought they
were!—but the show quickly made itself a soap for the
culture-war era, with major story lines on Vietnam,
abortion, fertility problems, and drug abuse.
M A RRI AGE
ru t h
m a rt i n, n é e
br e n t
CHIL D
Adopted
foundling!
ta d
m a rt i n
ROM A NCE
drug dealer
Eddie rapes and
impregnates
Brooke, who has
an abortion.
Inspired by the anti-hero films of the era, AMC
added a host of unsavory characters to the cast.
Prostitutes, pimps, and two-bit criminals
began to share story lines with far more
respectable Pine Valley–ites. Two standouts
were teen prostitute Donna Beck, who became
one of the show’s major heroines, and pimp
Billy Clyde Tuggle, a major villain.
ROM A NCE
Incest narrowly
avoided!
mark
da lt on
Secretly
Erica’s
half-brother!
Head shots indicate the arrival of major characters; time lines are for enduring story lines; dotted lines signal temporary disappearances;
arrows suggest a departure from Pine Valley or a fade into soap-opera irrelevance. Disclaimer: This is a condensed history.
p h oto g r a p h s co u r t e s y o f a b c
A F FA IR
carrie
s a n de r s
M A RRI AGE
He’s got a
secret wife!
e ddi e
dor r a nce
PREGN A NC Y
Abortion!
Don’t worry,
it’s just sex!
Sybil while broken up
with Nina. When
Sybil threatens to
give up their baby for
adoption, her
boyfriend Sean
threatens her on
Nina’s father’s behalf.
Nervous, Sean
accidentally shoots
Sybil and then leaves
her to bleed to death.
Early eighties
ROM A NCE
Erica’s
dastardly
lover!
dies
Smoke
inhalation!
➽ Cliff impregnates
kent
bog a r d
CHIL D
A F FA IR
CHIL D
rape ROM A NCE
She’s taking
birth
control!
A F FA IR
DI VORCE
CHIL D
MURDE R
ROM A NCE
DI VORCE
pa l m e r
joh n
A F FA IR
Because they
think they’re
going to die!
se a n
c u da h y
Nurse
obsessed
with Cliff!
A F FA IR
M A RRI AGE
r ay
g a r dn e r
First love!
December-May
romance!
jim
j e f f e r son
br a n don
k i ngl e y DI VORCE
➽ Ruth Martin is
Mid-seventies
Shoots
himself
accidentally!
ROM A NCE
s y bi l
t hor n e
R A PE
raped and put in a
coma by Ray Gardner,
her adopted son Tad’s
biological father. After
being imprisoned,
Ray escapes by
digging his way out.
Later, he tries to bomb
the Martins’ house
but chooses to kill
himself rather than
harm his daughter.
Amnesiabecomes a
busboy!
DI VORCE
MURDE R
brook e
e ngl ish
be n n y
s ag o
DIE S
A F FA IR
Crime of passion!
A F FA IR
The Tylers’
naughty niece!
c on n i e w i l k e s,
a .k . a . si lv e r k a n e
M A RRI AGE
joe
m a rt i n
The only
good
marriage
in Pine
Valley!
Falsely accused
of rape!
gr e g
n e l son
While
undercover!
M A RRI AGE
MARRIAGE
t om
c u da h y
j e s se
h u bb a r d
jenn y
g a r dn e r
Highschool
sweeties!
CHIL D
Given up for
adoption,
then
kidnapped
back!
DI VORCE
They elope!
pa l m e r
c ort l a n d t
Stillborn!
ROM A NCE
M A RRI AGE
Black
supercouple!
A F FA IR
And Palmer’s
ex-wife!
PREGNANCY
With her mom’s
best friend!
a ngi e
ba xter
Silver Kane, shows up in
Pine Valley and begins an
affair with Erica’s lover
Kent Bogard, before it’s
revealed Silver is actually
con woman Connie Wilkes.
After Erica accidentally
kills Kent, Silver, the only
witness, claims Erica did it
on purpose. Erica goes on
the run, disguised as a nun.
Self-made
rich man!
Renew
vows!
MARRIAGE
MURDE R
m a ry
k e n n ic o t t By a random
A F FA IR
38 n e w y o r k | s e p t e m b e r 2 6 , 2 0 1 1
MIA
again!
Donna Beck arrives in the
hospital after being thrown
out of a car by her pimp.
She elopes with Chuck
Tyler, her doctor. Donna
becomes convinced she’s
pregnant, but it turns out
her pimp sterilized her
years before. Donna
undergoes reverse
sterilization, then is hit by
a train and forgets the past
three years of her life,
including Chuck, despite
being pregnant with his
child—who is stillborn.
1983
da is y c ort l a n d t, a .k . a .
mon iqu e jon v i l
➽ Sixteen-year-old
M A RRI AGE
mona
k ane
Abortion!
played indelibly by a young
Susan Lucci, Erica soon becomes
the show’s diva heroine, the only
character featured in all 40
seasons. In her first hefty story
line, weeks after Roe v. Wade, she
has TV’s first legal abortion—she
doesn’t want to give up modeling.
MARRIAGE
k e l ly
c ol e
1982
➽ Erica’s long-lost sister,
Actually
Nina’s longlost mother!
DI VORCE
➽ Two-timing
PREG N A NC Y
The Martins’
total-square
doctor son!
MURDE R
Pregnancy
Hysterical!
marriage
The Tylers’
type-A kid!
Shotgun wedding!
Attempted!
Phil and Tara’s
love child; Phil
A F FA IR doesn’t know
he’s the father—
at first.
Margo has a face-lift to seduce
him—the real-life actress, Eileen
Letchworth, healed from her own
surgery on-camera. When Paul
wants to go back to his ex-wife,
Anne Tyler, Margo fakes a
pregnancy and tries to buy a
baby on the black market.
When this scheme fails, Margo
attempts to kill Anne using
carbon monoxide.
jeff
m a rt i n
1981
Short, arrives to tell her their divorce never went through:
Kitty’s a polygamist. Hal blackmails Kitty into using her
boutique as a drug front for cocaine-laced soap. She and Linc
divorce and remarry; she dies in his arms but is replaced by
an identical twin sister, Kelly Cole, a pill-addicted nightclub
singer. Linc falls in love with her, and after she gets off death
row for the murder of her drug-dealer boyfriend, they marry.
Dies of
SIDS!
M A RRI AGE
A F FA IR
➽ Infatuated with Paul,
marriage
1980
MURDE R
➽ Chuck raises
little
ph i l
A F FA IR
ch uck
t yler
blood Phoebe; her
estranged husband,
Charles; their
accomplished adult
children, Anne and
Linc; and their
spoiled grandson,
Chuck.
Back from
the dead!
1979
Car bomb!
m a rg o
fla x
M A RRI AGE
Shotgun
wedding!
➽ Phil Brent almost
THE
MARTINS
M A RRI AGE
She’s arrested in
a drug sting!
Miscarriage!
1978
baby
bet h
Real name:
Lincoln!
kitty
sh e a
ph i l
br e n t
dies, discovers his
real parents,
develops amnesia,
interrupts the
wedding of
his true love Tara,
gets drafted,
impregnates Tara
before shipping out,
and then goes
MIA—but only
temporarily.
DIVORCE
DI VORCE
PREG N A NC Y
1977
america’s most histrionic soap opera, ABC’s All My Children premiered in 1970, the story of four families in the Main Line Philadelphia suburb Pine Valley. Over the next 40-plus years, the cast and
drama metastasized, with more than 200 characters and untold plot
twists, love affairs, betrayals, and ponderous looks, dispensed at an
increasingly frenetic pace and balanced, of course, with a high-­minded
interest in social issues. But they always saved time for ghosts.
➽ Kitty marries Linc, but her nefarious first husband, Hal
pau l
m a rt i n
PREG N A NC Y
Miscarriage!
Presumed
dead!
1976
CHIL D
A F FA IR
Linc’s
future soul
mate!
1975
M A RRI AGE
His sperm count
is too low!
A F FA IR
THE
BRENTS
Matriarch Ruth,
and troublemaker
daughter Erica.
Martin, the
uncle with a
thing for nut
jobs!
n ick
dav is
Drafted to
Vietnam!
a nurse; car
salesman Ted;
radical aunt Amy;
and teen heartthrob
Phil.
1974
DI VORCE
A dance
instructor—
and actually
Phil’s dad!
THE
KANES
Single mom Mona
1973
The
uptight
Tyler
tart!
anne
t yler
Pennsylvania.
THE
TYLERS
Meddling blue
1972
Four decades
of ridiculous
melodrama
will come to an
end when All
My Children
goes off the air
this Friday.
By WILLA PASKIN
MURDE R
Accidental!
M A RRI AGE
cl i f f
wa r n e r
Serial
couple!
M A RRI AGE
No. 1!
n i na
c ort l a n d t
The writers doubled down on romance,
launching relationships between
Nina and Cliff and between Jesse and
Angie. The show also returned to high
school with the popular Greg and
Jenny. The setting meant a return to
after-school-special content, too, with
story lines about sexual harassment,
drug abuse, and AIDS.
ta d
m a rt i n
All grown up into
“Tad the Cad”!
pa m e l a
k i ng sl e y
A F FA IR
With his student!
ellen
sh e ph e r d
RE M A RRI AGE
DI VORCE
M A RRI AGE
No. 2!
ROM A NCE
Mother and daughter!
liza
c ol b y
marian
c ol b y
A F FA IR
st e v e
jac obi
PREGN A NC Y
Miscarriage!
DI VORCE
Becomes a
cokehead!
DI VORCE
Single-mom
shopkeeper!
september 26, 2011 | new york
39
1985
1984
1986
1987
1988
1989
1991
1992
Adam’s
sweet
identical
twin!
Kills Angie’s dad!
a ngi e
ba xter
1990
murde r
Arrested for
murder of Zach!
Shot by criminal
Remy Remington!
j e s se
h u bb a r d
st ua rt
ch a n dl er
During her late-stage
AIDS!
➽ Jenny flees to New York after she learns her
DIE S
jenn y
g a r dn e r
di vorce
m a rri age
father is the rapist Ray Gardner and almost
appears in a porno. A version of the video is shown
publicly, and when Greg chases after her, he falls off
a roof and is paralyzed. He pretends he doesn’t love
her, so as not to be a burden, but they soon reconcile
and marry. On the honeymoon, Jenny is blown up
on a jet ski by a jealous ex.
cy nthia
pr e st on
gr e g
n e l son
M a rri age
Di vorce
His son’s ex-wife!
pa l m e r
c ort l a n d t
M a rri age
don na
be ck
sk y e
ch a n dl e r
t om
c u da h y
A f fa ir
rom a nce
murde r
Di vorce
One-night stand!
e r ic a
k ane
a da m
ch a n dl e r
m a rri age
cl i f f
wa r n e r
h i l l a ry
w i l son
ta d
m a rt i n
Preg n a nc y
rom a nce
Miscarriage!
di vorce
do t t i e
t hor n t on
rom a nce
di vorce
chil d
Palmer’s
spunky
niece!
m at t
c on nol ly
rom a nce
Rehab
intervention!
murde r
The show moved on to big
business, introducing two
major new families helmed by
warring industrialists—
Palmer Cortlandt and Adam
Chandler, dueling CEOs and
self-made men from the same
small West Virginia town.
Adam was the closest the show
got to a second Erica—a
dominating force, he fathered
nine children (five survived to
adulthood), each with a
different mother—and the
rivalry helped make corporate
intrigue a story-line staple.
Affair with
dad’s wife!
Jeremy’s ex
and also
mother-inlaw!
Accidental!
alex
hunter
chil d
nata l i e
m a r l ow e
M a rri age
Invalid— an actor
was minister!
m a rri age
si lv e r k a n e, a .k . a . a f fa ir
noe l l e k e at on
r a pe
murde r
Erica’s
sister—really
this time!
Presumed
dead!
chil d
40 n e w y o r k | s e p t e m b e r 2 6 , 2 0 1 1
Dies!
M a rri age
chil d
m a rri age
Gloria’s
di vorce
ex! m a rri age
chil d
Bonemarrow
donor!
m a rri age
cr a ig
l aw son
murde r
Self-defense!
barbar a
mon t g om e ry
murde r
Self-defense!
Campaign
manager, and
Erica’s nemesis!
di vorce
Murdered!
di vorce
m a rri age pregn a nc y
Loveless!
chil d
m a rri age
t r e vor
di l l on
di vorce
rom a nce
m a rri age
➽ Jeremy gets permission to break his vow of
celibacy with Erica, but is duped by his
mother-in-law, who drugs him, says he’s her
baby’s daddy, and marries him: Luckily, Erica
hires a fake minister, so the vows are invalid.
m a rri age
ce a r a
c on nor
Molested as a
child!
di vorce
m a rri age
Adopts
teenager!
m a rri age
di vorce
Di vorce
a f fa ir
r a pe
maria
s a n t os
di vorce
m a rri age
Miscarriage!
a f fa ir
de l
h e n ry
m a rri age
e dm u n d
gr e y
Dimitri’s
son!
Maria’s
ex!
di vorce
m a rri age
Gets
preggers!
chil d
Adoption! a f fa ir
Dies in plane
crash
chil d
m a rri age
Maddie
returns!
a f fa ir
a n t on
l a ng
M a rri age
➽ Natalie’s dowdy twin sister, Janet from Another
a f fa ir
Miscarriage!
Pregn a nc y
Edmund’s
doctor wife!
The Hungarian
count’s Pulitzer
Prize–winning
bastard
a f fa ir
brother!
rom a nce
Pregn a nc y
AFFAIR
di vorce
m a rri age
di m i t r i
m a r ick
Hungarian
count!
Ectopic!
M a rri age
Goes to jail for
murdering
Will!
m a rri age
M a rri age
k e n da l l
h a rt
ja n et
gr e e n
di vorce
dr . da mon
lazarre
Playboy
businessman!
rom a nce
➽ Travis is shot at a rally, with a bullet
meant for Erica. The suspect, Noelle, has
retrograde amnesia. She begins dating
Jeremy, who soon learns she is the real
Silver Kane. Silver’s mother Goldie had
hypnotized her to kill Erica, and ends
up shooting a pregnant Erica herself,
before dying in a fight with Silver. Silver
goes to see a shrink, also her ex, who
turns out to be the head of a cult.
a f fa ir
a f fa ir
AFFAIR
to Hayley, begins
sleeping with her
mother.
liza
c ol b y
DIE S
rom a nce
earl
mi tchel l
➽ Alec, engaged
AFFAIR
di vorce
m a rri age
Pretends her
child is his!
Amnesia!
jerem y
hunter
Tibetan monk!
chil d
m a rri age
di vorce
re m a rry
m a rri age
a f fa ir
br i a n
bodi n e
a f fa ir
di vorce
a f fa ir
Stabs Dimitri!
l au r e l
b a n n i ng
di vorce
He and Erica were
never divorced!
m a rri age
di vorce
M a rri age
di vorce
di vorce
M a rri age
di vorce
alec
mci n t y r e
Back in
town!
re m a rri age
#4
Di vorce
M a rri age
m at e o
s a n t os
gl or i a
m a r sh
di vorce
ellen
sh e ph e r d
Mid-Eighties
a f fa ir di vorce
Nina marry four
times in the
eighties; after the
final wedding,
they skip town.
m a rri age
rapist Will is
murdered, and
everyone is a
suspect. (It was
Janet.)
r a pe
chil d
rom a nce
Adopts Mark’s secret
biological child!
ros s
ch a n dl e r
di vorce
➽ Cliff and
murde r r a pe
z ach
gr ay son
mark
da lt on
m a rri age
di x i e
c oon e y
marian
c ol b y
a f fa ir
a f fa ir
Daughter
dies!
re m a rri age Presumed Back from
#3
dead!
the dead!
m a rri age
n i na
c ort l a n d t
di vorce
Amnesia!
m a rri age
brook e
e ngl ish
rom a nce m a rri age
Joins circus!
rom a nce chil d m a rri age
rom a nce
Her third
generation of
Brents!
a f fa ir
With Hayley—also
with her mom!
➽ Blackmailing
rom a nce
a f fa ir
t r av is
mon t g om e ry
de von
shepher d
Con woman
gone straight!
A f fa ir A f fa ir
rom a nce
a f fa ir
Amnesia!
Senate
candidate!
chil d
jack son
mon t g om e ry
m a rri age
di vorce
e lope
m ik e
roy
Kelly Ripa
and her
real-life
husband!
rom a nce M a rri age
will
c ort l a n d t
chil d
Petey!
m a rri age
ch a r l i e
br e n t
m a rrIAGE
1997
Travis’s brother!
ch uck
t yler
Di vorce
killed on Tad and Liza’s popular talk
show when a homophobic intern
attempts to murder Laurel’s gay
brother, who had advised the intern’s
younger brother, Kevin, to come out.
m a rri age
opa l
g a r dn e r
Tad’s wacky
biological
mom!
Interrupted by gun‑toting Nina!
1996
hayley
vaugh a n
ci n dy
pa r k e r
be n n y
s ag o
1995
➽ Laurel Banning is accidentally
she’s actually Erica’s daughter from
a rape at age 14 (Erica had supressed
the memory). Kendall tries to seduce
Dimitri, her mother’s boyfriend,
then falsely accuses Dimitri of rape.
Erica, sorting through her own rape
memories, stabs Dimitri.
Adam’s
rebellious
daughter!
a f fa ir
y von n e
c a l dw e l l
1994
➽ Teenage Kendall Hart reveals
m a rri age
da is y
c ort l a n d t
1993
Planet, arrives in Pine Valley and becomes obsessed
with Natalie’s fiancé, Trevor. When he rebuffs her, Janet
gives herself a makeover to look exactly like Natalie,
traps Natalie at the bottom of a well, and impersonates
her for months, marrying Trevor and becoming
pregnant with his baby. After undergoing radical
plastic surgery, she returns to Pine Valley as Jane Cox.
Car crash!
Early Nineties
AMC globalized, adding the Maricks, a tribe
of Hungarian aristocrats, and the Santoses, a
Hispanic clan. This was perhaps the show’s
most colorful decade, with Sarah Michelle
Gellar as Erica Kane’s vengeful daughter,
Kendall, the particularly bananas saga of
Janet from Another Planet, a hunt for Nazi
art, and a sperm-sample switcheroo.
p h oto g r a p h s co u r t e s y o f a b c
september 26, 2011 | new york
41
1999
1998
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
jonat h a n
l av e ry
va n e s s a
be n n et t
m ik e
roy
Secretly
the drug lord
Proteas!
Last seen in 1985!
AFFAIR
m a rri age
Dies with her
son Leo!
Erica’s face
disfigured!
Soon to be
psychotic!
Shot by
sniper!
di vorce
a f fa ir
2008
a f fa ir
2009
s t il l born
➽ Despite having
j e s se
h u bb a r d
Last seen in 1979!
m a rri age
a f fa ir
m a rri age
Donates his
heart to sister
Kendall!
di vorce
Jailed for insider
trading!
a f fa ir
di vorce
josh
m a dde n
a f fa ir
a da m
ch a n dl e r
di vorce
re m a rri age
Amnesia!
a f fa ir
murde r
di vorce
l e sl i e
c ou l son
donate sperm. Adam
secretly swaps his
sperm instead. It takes
a year for Liza to
realize Adam is
Colby’s father.
brook e
e ngl ish
ta d
m a rt i n
b a be
carey
DIES
di x i e
c oon e y
Murdered by
Bianca!
di vorce
RAPE
a f fa ir
gi l l i a n
a n dr a s s y
Attempted!
a f fa ir
a f fa ir
a f fa ir
DIES
RAPE
di vorce
dav i d
h ay wa r d
a f fa ir
m a rri age
rya n
l av e ry
Falsely
accused of rape!
fr ankie
st on e
misc a rri age
Adam and
Dixie’s
alcoholic son!
rom a nce
a da m
ch a n dl e r j r .
Devil-may-care
daredevil!
rom a nce
Die s
She’s not
dead!
Poisoned
pancakes!
a f fa ir
chil d
Strong,
silent
millionaire!
di vorce
re m a rri age
di vorce
Babe’s
dad!
chil d
Sperm donor!
REMARRi AGE
di vorce
CHILD
Trained by the
British Secret
Service!
ja k e
m a rt i n
Joey, all
grown up!
➽ Jake gets shot in Chechnya, and
returns to Pine Valley impotent (like
Jake Barnes!). In order to sleep with his
wife Gillian, who is really in love with
Ryan Lavery, Jake takes Libidizone, the
show’s version of Viagra, invented by
David Hayword. David later tests it on
Erica, turning her into a sex maniac.
➽ After Ryan is
presumed dead,
Kendall agrees to be a
surrogate for Greenlee
and Ryan’s embryo.
But when Kendall’s
husband Zach gets
jealous and turns out
the power at the sperm
bank, hoping to
destroy all the
samples, Kendall just
uses Ryan’s sperm to
impregnate herself.
Spike Lavery is born
9 months later.
a f fa ir
REMARRi AGE
murdering her
brother, and
accidentally her
best friend,
Annie has a
psychotic break.
She confronts
Ryan in a
bloody wedding
dress, and then
stabs Erica.
been killed by an oncamera gunshot
wound in 1987 and
appearing as a ghost
a number of times
since, Jesse returns
to Pine Valley—
apparently he was
kidnapped, and his
kidnappers faked
his death. No
explanation is given
for his appearances
as a ghost.
a f fa ir
a f fa ir
a f fa ir
Babe’s twin!
m a r is s a
ta sk e r
a f fa ir
di vorce
a f fa ir
rom a nce
murde r
m a rri age
Dies! m a rri age
Resurrected!
rom a nce
di vorce
a m a n da
di l l on
rom a nce
a f fa ir
Amnesia!
a f fa ir
a f fa ir
chil d
m a rri age
a n na
de va n e
l eo
du pr e s
Dies!
Dies!
m a rri age
gr e e n l e e
sm y t h e
Bighearted
smart-mouth!
The 2000s
A slew of very attractive twentysomethings were
added to a remodeled cast. Many of the new female
characters took an ownership stake in Fusion, a rival
cosmetics company to Erica’s Enchantment, and the
show’s interest in corporate intrigue took on a
distinctly girl-power vibe. But as ratings continued
to fall, there was incentive to make every story line
an “event”: plots about a serial killer, a very
convoluted baby-swap, a redux of the town’s 1994
tornado, and more partner-swapping than ever gave
these years an especially frenzied feel. And they
saved the mass-resurrection plot for last.
Returns!
di vorce
bi a nc a
mon t g om e ry
Anorexia!
r a pe
m a rri age
Vasectomy!
Nefarious genius
doctor!
Erica’s beloved
lesbian
daughter!
rom a nce
rom a nce
m a rri age
chil d
di vorce
m a rri age
Kills his
brother,
Stuart!
Exchanges vows with JR
while dying!
k ry sta l
carey
Attempted!
m a rri age
misc a rri age
a f fa ir
di vorce
a l e x a n de r
c a m bi a s i i, a .k . a .
z ack sl at e r
The bad rom a nce
girl’s back!
m a rri age
performed Erica’s
abortion 30 years ago
didn’t complete the
procedure, we learn.
Instead, he implanted
the fetus in his own
wife. The resulting
child, now a young
man named Josh
Madden, shows up in
Pine Valley and
becomes Erica’s heir.
Babe’s
sexy mom!
k e n da l l
h a rt
Brain
aneurysm!
The decade’s
leading man!
chil d
m ich a e l
c a m bi a s
misc a rri age
di m i t r i
m a r ick
di vorce
MARRIAGE
Hungarian spoiled
princess!
e dm u n d
gr e y
m a rri age
chil d
Accidentally
shot!
re m a rri age
a f fa ir
JR’s bluecollar bride!
Kate dies!
a f fa ir
With a shovel!
➽The doctor who who
liza
c ol b y
➽ Liza asks Jake to
DIVORCE
➽ After
re m a rri age
re m a rri age
Switched for
another baby !
jeff
m a rt i n
rom a nce
2011
re m a rrie d
e r ic a
k ane
chil d
2010
a ngi e
ba xter
ja m i e
m a rt i n
arlene
vaugh a n
a f fa ir
annie
mcde r mo t t
Rehab!
pa l m e r
c ort l a n d t
2007
reveals himself to be violently crazy, having killed his older
brother, kidnapped Greenlee and another woman, and shot
Ryan in a cave rigged to explode. Escaping Pine Valley,
Jonathan begins having seizures; a tumor is responsible for
his behavior. When it’s removed he is left with the mental
capacity of a sweet child, and exonerated.
Ryan’s
dad!
ch r is
sta m p
2006
➽ Claiming to be a Princeton MBA, Jonathan slowly
Ryan’s ultraviolent brother!
opa l
c ort l a n d t
One-night stand!
jack son
mon t g om e ry
2005
a i da n
de va n e
maria
s a n t os, a.k.a.
m au r e e n
g or m a n
rom a nce Back from
the dead with
amnesia!
misc a rri age
rom a nce
m a rri age
m ag gi e
st on e
Goes abroad to
practice medicine!
➽ Michael tries to rape Kendall and her mother Erica, fails, then
successfully rapes and impregnates Bianca, Kendall’s sister.
Bianca murders Michael and delivers his baby in the woods with
the help of Babe, also pregnant, who gives birth soon after. In the
hospital, the women learn Bianca’s new daughter died during the
helicopter rescue, but that Babe’s daughter Bess survived. Babe
realizes that Bess is really Bianca’s baby. Babe flees her own
marriage and goes on the run to One Lift to Live’s Llanview, where
she meets baby Ace, actually the child she thought she lost. After a
rush DNA test, Bess is returned to Bianca, who wakes up from a
coma once the child is placed in her arms.
m a rri age
➽ On the run from
AFFAIR
her pedophile
husband, Annie
McDermott and her
daughter Emma come
to stay with Ryan.
Coincidentally, it
turns out that, thanks
to sperm donation,
Ryan is Emma’s
biological father. They
marry.
a f fa ir
di vorce
chil d
rom a nce
rom a nce rom a nce
m a rri age
Transgendered m a rri age
rock star!
When All My Children debuted, there were 19 soaps on the air.
AMC ranked seventeenth, with a 4.4 ratings share. By the ’78–’79
season, it had become the number one soap, with a 9 ratings share,
and would remain in the top three through the mid-90s, after
which, its ratings would start to precipitously decline. By 2006 the
show was averaging only 3.2 million viewers, and earlier this year,
when its cancellation was announced, All My Children, was pulling
in 2.4 million viewers, a .9 household ratings share, and was the
fourth-ranked soap, of only six.
m a rri age
r e e se
w i l l i a ms
zarf
The End
di vorce
Back
from
Darfur!
Pregnant by
sperm donor
Zack!
b ack- of- t h e-e n v e l ope a l l m y ch i l dr e n
Total seasons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Total episodes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,712
Most marriages . . . . . . . . . Erica Kane, 12
(7 “valid,” and 5 “invalid”)
Pregnancies ending:
In miscarriage . . . . . . . . . . One in three
In live birth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Half
In infant death. . . . . . . . . . . One in four
Most children. . . . . . . Adam Chandler, 9
Most deaths. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dixie, 2
Most resurrections . . . . . . . . . . . Dixie, 2
Most time between death/resurrection.
. . . . . . . . . . . . Jesse Hubbard, 21 years
Least time between death/resurrection.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Babe Carey, 3 years
Most Daytime Emmy nominations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Susan Lucci, 21 (1 win)
p h oto g r a p h s co u r t e s y o f a b c
42 n e w y o r k | s e p t e m b e r 2 6 , 2 0 1 1
september 26, 2011 | new york
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