Premise
This half-hour serial was promoted as television's first fully integrated daytime soap. It focused on the relationship between two Chicago families: the Whitmores and the Marshalls. Their association began several decades ago when Vivian Potter was housekeeper and nanny for Rebecca Whitmore and her three children: Laura (Gail Ramsey), Stephanie (nicknamed Sam) (Kelly Rutherford), and J.D. Vivian's young daughter, Ruth (Joan Pringle) lived with her in the Whitmore mansion.
Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the most populous city in Illinois, as well as the third most populous city in the United States. With an estimated population of 2,716,450 (2017), it is the most populous city in the Midwest. Chicago is the principal city of the Chicago metropolitan area, often referred to as Chicagoland, and the county seat of Cook County, the second most populous county in the United States. The metropolitan area, at nearly 10 million people, is the third-largest in the United States.
Kelly Rutherford is an American actress. She is known for her television roles as Stephanie "Sam" Whitmore on the NBC daytime soap opera Generations (1989–1991), as Megan Lewis on the Fox primetime soap opera Melrose Place (1996–1999), and as Lily van der Woodsen on The CW series Gossip Girl (2007–2012).
Joan Pringle is an American former actress. Pringle is perhaps known for her roles on General Hospital (1963), The White Shadow (1978), and Original Sin (2001). One of Pringle's best known roles was portraying vice principal Sybil Buchanan in the TV series The White Shadow. During the third and final season her character was promoted to principal.
When Ruth grew up, she married Henry Marshall (Taurean Blacque, James Reynolds), who owned and operated five moderately successful ice cream parlors. With Ruth's urging, Henry enlisted the help of business mogul Martin Jackson (Rick Fitts), who marketed Marshall's ice cream nationwide. The move proved so successful that Ruth was able to buy the Whitmore mansion. Ruth and Henry had three children, Chantal (Sharon Brown, Debbi Morgan), a lawyer, Jacquelyn Marshall Rhymes, a homemaker and mother, and Adam (Kristoff St. John), a junior executive with the Hale Hotel chain. Living with the Marshalls was Ruth's mother, Vivian (Lynn Hamilton).
James Reynolds is an American dramatic actor. He is best known for portraying the role of Abe Carver on Days of Our Lives, for which he won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2018.
Rick Fitts is an American television and film actor.
Deborah Ann Morgan is an American film and television actress. She played the role of Angie Baxter–Hubbard on the ABC soap opera All My Children for which she was the first African-American to win the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1989. She is also known for her roles as the Seer in the fourth and fifth seasons of Charmed. In film, she received critical acclaim for her performance as Mozelle Batiste-Delacroix in Eve's Bayou (1997).
Like Ruth Marshall, Rebecca Whitmore (Pat Crowley; Dorothy Lyman) also had a challenging past to overcome. Unknown to Rebecca, her ex-husband Peter (Ron Harper) stole her inheritance, and abandoned her. Determined to move forward with her life, a middle-aged Rebecca enrolled in law school and succeeded in becoming one of the nation's leading attorneys. When the serial premiered, her daughter Laura was married to advertising executive Trevor McCallum. Realizing that Trevor was cheating on her, Laura ended the marriage. They had an adult daughter, Monique (Nancy Sorrell).
Dorothy Lyman is an American television actress, director and producer. She is most commonly known for her work as Gwen Frame in Another World and in All My Children as Opal Sue Gardner, as Rebecca Whitmore in Generations, and on the sitcom Mama's Family as Naomi Harper.
Ronald Robert Harper is an American television and film actor. He resides in California and continues to act.
Nancy Sorrell is an English model, actress and television presenter from Chigwell.
Although Rebecca was saddened by the break-up of her oldest daughter's marriage, she was happy to see her granddaughter, Monique, marry photographer Jason Craig. Soon after their marriage, Jason inherited a multimillion dollar fortune, making him a murder target. Rebecca's youngest daughter and Monique's aunt, Stephanie; nicknamed Sam (Kelly Rutherford), accepted a position as model and spokesperson for the upscale Hale Hotel chain. Sam was a seductive, slightly promiscuous young woman initially, and was having an affair with one of her college professors, Rob Donnelly (George Deloy). As time went on however, Sam matured into a warmer, more responsible person and became one of the show's most popular characters. Sam's boss, the dastardly Jordan Hale, expressed an interest in Sam that went beyond business. Police detective Kyle Masters (Robert Torti) was also wildly attracted to Sam.
Robert Felix Torti is an American actor.
Doreen Jackson (Jonelle Allen), a recovering drug addict, was married to Martin Jackson. Following a brief fling with Adam Marshall, Doreen found herself pregnant. Before their daughter, Danielle, was born, the relationship died. When he discovered the affair, a vengeful Martin tried to destroy Adam's life, but Doreen gathered damning evidence against Martin and his numerous ruthless business dealings over the years and threatened to expose him if he ever tried to harm Adam again. She would eventually use that information to help Henry and Ruth drive Martin out of the country when he tried to take over Marshall's Ice Cream. Martin kidnapped Danielle, attempting to flee with her, but Adam and Sam stopped him and he was forced to leave without her to save himself. Doreen next took up with her doctor, Daniel Reubens (Richard Roundtree). He resurfaced in Chicago in 1990 with his daughter, Maya Davis - alias Diana Reubens (Vivica A. Fox)- after falsely being accused of killing his wife.
Jonelle Allen is an American actress, singer, and dancer.
Richard Roundtree is an American actor and former model. Roundtree is noted as being "the first black action hero" for his portrayal of private detective John Shaft in the 1971 film Shaft, and its sequels, Shaft's Big Score! (1972) and Shaft in Africa (1973), along with a cameo appearance as the character in the 2000 film Shaft, which starred Samuel L. Jackson as the nephew of the original John Shaft. For his performance in Shaft, Roundtree was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor in 1972.
Vivica Anjanetta Fox is an American actress, producer and television host. Fox began her career with roles on the daytime television soap operas Days of Our Lives (1988) and Generations (1989–91), subsequently shifting to the prime-time slot starring opposite Patti LaBelle, in the NBC sitcom Out All Night (1992–93). Fox's breakthrough came in 1996, with roles in two box-office hit films, Roland Emmerich's Independence Day and F. Gary Gray's Set It Off.
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC for 41 years, from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and iTunes. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictional suburb of Philadelphia, which is modeled on the actual Philadelphia suburb of Rosemont. The original series featured Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime television's most popular characters. The title of the series refers to the bonds of humanity. All My Children was the first new network daytime drama to debut in the 1970s. Originally owned by Creative Horizons, Inc., the company created by Nixon and her husband, Bob, the show was sold to ABC in January 1975. The series started at a half-hour in per-installment length, then was expanded to a full hour on April 25, 1977. Earlier, the show had experimented with the full-hour format for one week starting on June 30, 1975, after which Ryan's Hope premiered.
Erika Alma Hermina Slezak is an American actress, best known for her role as Victoria "Viki" Lord on the American daytime soap opera One Life to Live from 1971 through the television finale in 2012 and again in the online revival in 2013. She is one of the longest-serving serial actors in American media. She won a total of six Daytime Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Viki, the most of any daytime drama actress.
Susan Seaforth Hayes is an American dramatic actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Julie Williams on the NBC drama Days of Our Lives, and her intermittent portrayal of Joanna Manning on the CBS daytime drama The Young and the Restless. She began playing the role of Julie Olsen Williams on Days of Our Lives in 1968, and is the only actor to appear on the show for all six decades in which it has been on the air. Seaforth Hayes still regularly appears on Days as Julie Olsen Williams.
Judi Evans is an American actress.
Eileen Marie Davidson is an American actress, author, television personality and former model, best known for her performances in television soap operas. Davidson is best known for her roles in soap operas as Kristen DiMera on NBC's Days of Our Lives, and Ashley Abbott on CBS's The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful.
Heather Marie Tom is an American actress best known for her work on various soap operas, with her best known roles being Victoria Newman on The Young and the Restless, Kelly Cramer on One Life to Live and, since 2007, Katie Logan on The Bold and the Beautiful.
Kimberly Anne McCullough is an American actress, television director and dancer. She is best known for her role as Robin Scorpio on the soap opera General Hospital, a role which she originated at the age of 7, playing the character on and off from 1985 to 2001 with a stint in 2004. McCullough later returned to the show in 2005 as a doctor and departed in 2012. She has made sporadic guest appearances since July 2012. However, in August 2013, McCullough signed a contract to return to the series full-time.
Laura Wright is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Ally Rescott on Loving and The City (1991–1997), Cassie Layne Winslow on Guiding Light (1997–2005) and Carly Corinthos on General Hospital (2005–present); the latter garnered her the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2011.
Kristoff St. John was an American actor. From 1991 to 2019, he portrayed the role of Neil Winters on The Young and the Restless, which earned him eleven Daytime Emmy Award nominations, two Emmy Awards, and ten NAACP Image Awards.
Maura West DeFreitas is an American actress. She began her career in 1995, when she was cast Carly Tenney on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns; she remained with the soap until its series finale on September 17, 2010. West later went on to portray the role Diane Jenkins on The Young and the Restless from September 2010 to August 2011. In 2013, she was cast in the role of art dealer Ava Jerome on General Hospital.
Hillary Bailey Smith is an American actress, best known for her daytime soap opera roles as Margo Hughes on As the World Turns and Nora Hanen Buchanan on One Life to Live.
Sarah Joy Brown, sometimes credited simply as Sarah Brown, is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for originating the role of Carly Corinthos on the American daytime drama General Hospital from 1996 to 2001. For the role, she won three Daytime Emmy Awards. In 2008, she returned to General Hospital in a different role, Claudia Zacchara. She exited General Hospital once again in 2009 and began appearing on The Bold and the Beautiful in the newly created role of Aggie Jones.
Julia Barr is an American actress. Barr is most famous for her role on the soap opera All My Children, playing the character of Brooke English. She played the role from 1976 to 1981 and from 1982 to December 20, 2006 and Barr made a special appearance as Brooke on January 5, 2010 as part of the series' 40th anniversary, and returned on February 23, 2010 for a three-month stint until April 23, 2010.
Kathleen Noone is an American actress. She began her career as a singer in nightclubs and performed in musicals in off-Broadway stage, before making her television debut in the CBS daytime soap opera, As the World Turns (1975–76).
Gina Tognoni is an American actress, best known for her work with American daytime soap operas. Her most notable performances include Kelly Cramer on One Life to Live, Dinah Marler on Guiding Light and her current role as Phyllis Summers on The Young and the Restless.
Rebecca Ann Herbst is an American actress, known for playing nurse Elizabeth Webber on the ABC Daytime drama General Hospital, a role she originated on August 1, 1997, and Suzee, an alien, on the Nickelodeon show, Space Cases.
Sam Behrens is an American television actor, best known for his roles as Jake Meyer on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital, Danny Waleska in the CBS prime time soap opera Knots Landing and as Gregory Richards in the NBC daytime soap opera, Sunset Beach. He is of German ancestry on his paternal side.
Robert Gentry is known for his work on several daytime soap operas. He played the role of Ed Bauer on Guiding Light on two different occasions, first from 1966 to 1969, then returned nearly 30 years later to play the role on a recurring basis from 1997 to 1998. He initially left the role to appear on a new ABC soap opera, The Best of Everything.
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given to honor an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role while working within the daytime drama industry.
