1986

To Erica’s immense relief, Kantu the Tibetan monk leader released Jeremy from his vow of celibacy. For the first time Jeremy felt free to be with the woman he loved without the burden of the overwhelming sense of guilt that had plagued him for months. But there was more trouble on the horizon for the lovers. Though married to Jeremy’s father, Natalie had eyes only for Jeremy. The last woman she wanted to have him was Erica. To make matters worse, Natalie learned she was pregnant–with Alex’s child.

View Complete Summary for "All My Children" 1986

In her new role as editor-in-chief of Tempo, Erica visited Canada to interview celebrated author R. L. Peyton. Alex Hunter accompanied her. He was the last man Erica expected to make a pass at her, but Alex did, despite his married state. Disgusted I by his gall, Erica rebuffed him, escaping in his Land Rover. Driving through the most rural part of Canada, Erica was suddenly trapped by a rocky landslide. She managed to escape serious injury and make her way to Peyton’s cabin, but with the phone lines down, she couldn’t establish contact with the outside world. Alex, too, was missing and presumed dead. Jeremy and Natalie joined a fruitless search for their loved ones.

While Jeremy grieved, Natalie used the situation to her advantage. She got him drunk and slipped into bed beside his sleeping body. The next morning, she convinced him that they had made love. Though Jeremy had no memory of the encounter, he was forced to believe his seemingly sincere stepmother.

Jeremy rejoiced when Erica was found alive. Alex also survived the Canadian landslide and returned to Pine Valley, but within weeks, his life would come to an abrupt end. During a fox hunt, Alex fell off his horse and died. When it was discovered that the foot strap of his saddle had been cut, the authorities and Natalie cried foul play. She tried to blackmail Erica with phony evidence that Jeremy committed the murder. But Jeremy was proven innocent when the killer was revealed as young Andrew Cortlandt. Andrew had attempted to sabotage Ross Chandler’s mount, but at the last minute, Alex and Ross switched horses. Alex, with his weakened heart, fell to his death.

With Alex Hunter’s demise, the pregnant Natalie pursued Jeremy with renewed fervor. He was engaged by now to Erica, but Natalie surprised him with news she was pregnant with his baby. Jeremy was stunned and felt compelled to marry her, leaving Erica in the lurch. Before long, Erica and Jeremy had rekindled their love affair. When Natalie discovered them in their secret hide-away making love, she went after Erica with a gun.

Jeremy arrived on the scene just as the disabled elevator they were in gave way and was about to plunge downward. Jeremy could save only one woman at a time and was torn about who to rescue first. Because of her pregnancy, Jeremy pulled Natalie up first, but returned too late to save Erica. Fortunately, Tom Cudahy was able to grab Erica before the elevator collapsed. Natalie may have won that round, but Erica, as usual, had the last word. Erica revealed that Natalie’s marriage to Jeremy was a fraud. They were married by an actor Erica had hired to play a minister.

Recovering from the mental illness that had forced her to be institutionalized, Nina Cortlandt Warner became infatuated with a most unlikely man, Benny Sago. Nina and Benny were a source of strength for each other. Benny, whose marriage to Donna had grown strained with time, was drawn to Nina’s innocence and warmth. Though Nina swore she loved Benny, he was reluctant to give his heart to the rich young heiress. Benny remained loyal to his marriage and told Nina nothing could come of their mutual admiration. Dejected by Benny’s rejection, Nina joined Daisy and departed on a long cruise.

Meanwhile, the enchanting Dr. Amy Stone became interested in Cliff . With Nina gone, he soon fell in love with Dr. Stone. When Nina returned, Amy overheard her saying she still loved Cliff . To dissuade everyone from that idea, Nina began to date Matt Connelly. Cliff and Amy decided to spend a weekend on Martha’s Vineyard–but so did Nina. After Amy’s arrival was delayed, Cliff and Nina met accidentally on the beach and shared a romantic afternoon filled with laughs, tears and joy. As they were going their separate ways, both Nina and Cliff refused to admit that they were still very much in love. When Amy and Cliff announced their engagement plans, Nina stoically congratulated them. And when Nina broke up with Matt, Matt angrily confronted Cliff. He called Cliff on his feelings for Nina and forced him to see they still loved each other. Matt’s words hit home. Realizing the depth of his feelings, Cliff couldn’t bear to go through with his marriage to a woman he didn’t love. he gently broke the news to Amy.

Deeply upset, Amy ran out in the street and was struck down by a drunken driver. As she clung to life, Dr. Joe Martin called on Pine Valley Hospital’s most skilled surgeon to save her life: Cliff Warner. Amy’s injuries were too massive. Her death devastated Cliff. Nina stood by and helped Cliff pick up the pieces of his shattered life. After reuniting in Maine, Cliff and Nina became engaged to marry for the third time. Soon after their spectacular black and white wedding at New York’s Tavern on the Green, Cliff departed for a special medical mission in Hong Kong, promising to be back soon.

This was the year Tad Martin seemed finally to have gotten his act together. Though Phoebe Tyler Wallingford still had her doubts about his worthiness to marry her stepdaughter Hillary, she reluctantly tended to the arrangements for their Valentine’s Day wedding. She even set up young Tad with a respectable job at the Pine Valley Bank. Life was good for Tad Martin, but not for long. On Valentine’s Day, the guests gathered at the church for Tad and Hillary’s wedding. With everyone in attendance and the bridal party in place, the question still remained: Where was the groom ? Phoebe grew impatient and declared Tad the same irresponsible scoundrel he’d always been. Hillary was determined to prove Phoebe wrong. She took off through the snow-covered streets of Pine Valley in search of her groom. Without looking, she stepped into the path of a car driven by Edna Thornton Sago and her daughter, Dottie. Barely escaping injury, Hillary passed out in the middle of the street. Tad’s absence wasn’t his fault. That morning, robbers had ransacked the bank, locking him and Robin McCall in the vault. When the calamity was cleared up, Tad and Hillary were finally married in a simple ceremony at the Wallingford Mansion.

In 1986, Pine Valley mourned the passing of Dr. Charles Tyler, who had devoted the last years of his life to charitable work and, of course, to his loving wife Mona. Greg Nelson left town, and a newcomer arrived. She was Julie Rand, a spunky young girl who was adopted by newlyweds Ross Chandler and Ellen Dalton.

On a flight south, longtime rivals Erica Kane and Brooke English were hijacked by a band of kidnappers. Jeremy hired fellow ex-mercenary Matt Connelly to save them, though Jeremy wound up saving them himself–and declaring his love for Erica. While stranded on a private island together, Jeremy delivered Natalie’s son, Timothy.

Still nursing his obsession with Erica, Adam Chandler rigged a paternity test to prove that Jeremy was the father of Natalie’s baby. The deception was soon discovered and Natalie was forced to confess that Alex was the father. Although Jeremy settled an impressive sum on Natalie, she went to work as a nurse for Palmer who was paralyzed after being shot by a thug hired by Adam. Natalie’s presence at Cortlandt Manor was just the situation that the competitive Adam relished. He paid Natalie to spy on Palmer.

Erica had a secret, too. Unknown to anyone, she was hiding her brother Mark in the attic of her home. Mark, who had spiraled downward since the failure of his marriage to Ellen, was now a drug addict. To complicate matters, he had been having an affair with a married woman whose jealous husband, Earl Mitchell, came gunning for him. Jeremy was arrested for killing Earl and was sent to jail, where he was severely beaten. This incident petrified Erica, who was desperate to get him out.

Erica made plans to marry Jeremy in prison, secretly scheming to break him out of jail during the ceremony. She even got Matt to fly a helicopter over the prison at the time. As the minister began the ceremony, Erica suddenly faked a faint and in the ensuing confusion, waved Jeremy to follow her to the prison roof where Matt waited in his chopper to whisk them away to freedom. Jeremy refused to escape, citing the consequences. He chose to remain behind and was freed when Mark Dalton was charged with–and eventually cleared of–Earl Mitchell’s death. Erica, furious and unforgiving, departed from Jeremy’s life forever.

Tad and Hillary moved into a Pine Valley apartment and were immediately unsettled by the arrival of a beautiful young singer, Skye Patterson. She was later revealed to be Adam Chandler’s long-lost daughter. She seductively tempted Tad and infuriated Hillary with her brazen flirtations. But she wasn’t the first sexy young woman to drive a wedge between the newly married Martins. Tad became attracted to Robin McCall, his former bank vault-mate.

Robin’s brother, a slick young con-man named Wade Matthews, arrived in Pine Valley and set his sights on the wealthy Phoebe Tyler Wallingford. Wade succeeded in splitting up Phoebe and Langley. He lured the former Mrs. Wallingford to the Caribbean, where, in a drunken stupor, she became his wife. Back in Pine Valley, he and his girlfriend Shelley plotted to poison Phoebe, but the plan backfired when Shelley tumbled down a staircase to her death. Phoebe was jailed for pushing her, and Wade started selling off her possessions. She soon discovered his treachery after her release from behind bars. When Wade was caught red-handed, he proceeded to drug Phoebe and left her to die. But she survived and Wade was apprehended as he tried to make his way out of town dressed as a woman. When Hillary found out Tad had known of Wade’s scam all along, she exploded, demanding a divorce. With his life in shambles, Tad broke the news to his mother, Ruth, that he had decided to leave Pine Valley. He confided that he needed a fresh start and conceded that his father may have been right; that it was time Tad grew up. With a loving hug, Tad was gone.

Source: All My Children: The Complete Family Scrapbook


1986 Episodes / Clips: