All My Children
This long-running ABC soap opera revolves around the lives of the residents of the fictional East Coast town of Pine Valley.
The series’ early plotlines focused on rich snob Phoebe Taylor (Ruth Warrick); sensible Dr. Joseph “Joe” Martin (Ray MacDonnell) and his family; and single mother Mona Kane (Frances Heflin) and her prima-donna daughter Erica (Susan Lucci). Lucci and MacDonnell have remained with the program for over 30 years. Erica Kane has become well-known for her many marriages and remains the soap’s trademark character.
Other popular past and present characters include twins Adam and Stuart Chandler (David Canary), Tad Martin (Micheal E. Knight), Ryan Lavery (Cameron Mathison), Palmer Cortlandt (James Mitchell), Julia Santos (Sydney Penny), Jackson Montgomery (Walt Willey), Donna Beck (Francesca Poston, then Candice Earley), and Phil Brent (Richard Hatch, then Nick Benedict). Well-known actors who appeared as regular castmembers include Mischa Barton, Kim Delaney, Josh Duhamel, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Lee Meriwether, and Kelly Ripa.
