1989

With Nina gone from his life, Cliff was drawn to Angie Hubbard, gtill grieving over the untimely loss of her beloved Jesse. She also found herself sharing time with the mysterious Remington, who was revealed to be a former FBI agent. Angie’s budding relationship with Remy bothered Cliff more than he let on. He realized he was falling in love with her. Mounting an offensive, Cliff suggested to Angie that she see him exclusively and she agreed. After Cliff and Angie got engaged and began to plan their wedding, Nina returned to Pine Valley. It wasn’t her intention to break up Cliff and Angie. She came back seeking Cliff ’s expert medical opinion because her son, Michael, was gravely ill. In the process of saving Michael’s life, Cliff and Nina discovered what they always suspected, that Michael was Cliff ’s son, not Matt’s. The revelation shattered Nina’s marriage to Matt, but it brought Nina and Cliff together again.

View Complete Summary for "All My Children" 1989

In a heartfelt moment, Nina admitted to Angie that she still loved Cliff. Nina’s mother Daisy, who had recently returned to Pine Valley, helped Cliff realize he was lying to himself by denying his love for Nina. Giving Cliff up wasn’t easy for Angie, but she knew Cliff and Nina were destined to be together. In a beautiful garden ceremony at Cortlandt Manor, they married for the fourth time, leaving to start a new life in Denver. Palmer was doubly devastated. Not only was he losing his daughter, but after the wedding, Daisy turned down his proposal of marriage and departed for France, leaving him alone once again.

Meanwhile, Adam had Brooke, but their marriage suffered when she was unable to give him the son he wanted so desperately. Pretending he wanted to adopt a child was easy for Adam, but producing his own blood heir required a strategy. Adam had oneand her name was Dixie Cooney. In 1989, Dixie left Cortlandt Manor and her Uncle Palmer to work for his long-time nemesis and neighbor, Adam Chandler. She was hired as the nanny for Brooke’s daughter Laura. After the child was killed by the drunk driver, Dixie stayed on as a servant in Adam’s employ. Dixie was beautiful and, unlike Brooke, fertile. She was also falling hopelessly in love with Adam Chandler. Adam swept Dixie off her feet and slept with her in the Chandler boathouse. His plan had worked: Dixie became pregnant, and Adam secretly plotted to adopt her baby when it was born. Brooke would never know it was his. But when her baby boy was born, Dixie refused to give him up. She demanded Adam make a choice between her and Brooke. Adam told Dixie she was his choice. Brooke overheard the entire exchange and was disgusted. She packed her bags and went to Pine Valley’s hot-shot attorney, Jackson Montgomery, who helped her win half of Adam’s fortune. Scrambling to secure his legacy, Adam promised to marry Dixie.

Tad Martin was one person who refused to accept Adam’s actions at face value. After being dumped by Barbara Montgomery, who had since split with Tom, the resilient Tad found himself falling in love with Dixie. He knew she cared for him but there was a problem with her husband, Adam Chandler.

In the second part of his sinister plan, Adam attempted to drive Dixie insane and get her to commit herself to Laurel Hill, a mental institution.

If his plan was successful, Adam Junior would be solely Adam’s. Fortunately, Tad realized what Adam was up to and helped Dixie escape from the hospital. Armed with a Caribbean divorce, Dixie married Tad. Before the bride and groom departed in a hail of rice and good wishes, Dixie tossed her bouquet, which was grabbed by Tad’s recently returned mother, Opal Gardner Purdy.

In February 1989, Cindy Chandler lost her valiant fight with AIDS. Stuart Chandler dedicated a panel to the AIDS quilt in her memory and promised to raise her son Scott with love and care. In the weeks before her death, Cindy reconciled with her twin sister Karen who was as wild and irresponsible as Cindy was sweet and sincere. Karen Parker’s stay in Pine Valley was brief. In August, she kidnapped Dixie and Adam’s baby. With a million dollar ransom in hand, she was nabbed by Tad as she tried to flee the country.

Having lost much of his memory, Travis alienated himself from Erica and took up with his former wife Barbara. When he discovered he had a life-threatening brain tumor, Travis left town to have an operation, telling his loved ones that he was going through a midife crisis. What Travis didn’t know at the time was that Barbara was pregnant with his child. Labeling Travis irresponsible for leaving so suddenly, Tom Cudahy encouraged Barbara to tell everyone Tom was the father of her baby. Overwhelmed by Tom’s selflessness, Barbara accepted his proposal of marriage and continued to keep her pregnancy a secret from Travis. Midway through their wedding ceremony, Barbara went into labor. The scene shifted to Pine Valley Hospital where, between contractions, the ceremony continued. Seconds after marrying Tom, Barbara Montgomery Cudahy gave birth to an angelic baby girl named Molly.

By the time their relationship had cooled considerably, Julie and Nico made the startling discovery that their marriage was invalid. When a pregnant Julie lost their baby, the marriage crumbled. Julie left for Washington and, out of the blue, Nico married Cecily Davidson. There was a reason for this unlikely union. Cecily was set to marry Sean Cudahy, but just before their wedding she overheard Sean and her mother Bitsy engaged in seductive conversation. Cecily was furious but decided to wait until the wedding ceremony to unleash her wrath. When she did, Sean and Cecily were finished. Cecily was determined to get sweet revenge against her mother. She turned to Nico Kelly for help, informing him that if he married her, she would instantly come into her trust fund and they’d both be rich. This was strictly a business arrangement. In fact, Nico and Cecily were incompatible. After a quarrelsome honeymoon in New York, they started married life together in separate rooms.

No matter how much they tried to deny it, this odd couple was falling in love and before long were sharing the same bed. Nico and Cecily soon realized they were made for each other and flew to Hawaii for a romantic second wedding. Upon their return, they decided to leave Pine Valley for good.

Jeremy’s newfound son, David, discovered his true love when he met Palmer’s sweet and naive niece, Melanie, who had arrived in Pine Valley from West Virginia in the winter of 1989. Meeting in the Cortlandt stables, David and “Lanie,” as she was called, marveled at their common experiences. It was clear to everyone these two kids brought out the best in each other, which disturbed Uncle Palmer. Then tragedy struck when David’s mother, Marissa, who was in cahoots with Palmer to break up Jeremy and Natalie, fell down a flight of stairs after a frenzied altercation with Natalie. David arrived on the scene in time to witness the horror. Overwhelmed with bitterness, he turned away from his father and Lanie. Lanie soon found a sympathetic ear in Trask Bodine, a poor but handsome student she was tutoring at Pine Valley University.

Erica’s only dream was to have her father’s love. Eric Kane, the noted movie director and infamous philanderer, had left his wife and daughter when Erica was only nine. Mona, who was always there for Erica, was never as important to her as the father who wasn’t. Though years had passed, Erica was most reminded of her father when she took young Bianca to the circus and visited Barney the clown. Erica suspected Barney was her father, and when the circus left town, she set out to find him and investigate further. Erica joined the circus in Texas in order to get close to him. When Erica confronted Barney, he admitted being her father. After an emotional reunion, Eric explained he had faked his death for financial reasons. Erica welcomed him back into her life, her home and even her company, giving him a five percent share of Enchantment. But Eric sold his stock to Erica’s worst enemy, Natalie Hunter, betrayng his daughter once more before he walked out of her life again. By now Erica had embarked on a new romantic trail with Travis’s brother, Jack.

To cap off the year, Adam held an elaborate masked ball at the Chandler Mansion. This elegant soiree was designed to herald the lord of the manor’s most triumphant career achievement. Little did he know that behind one of the many masks lurked Palmer Cortlandt, about to darken his brightest hour. Palmer revealed to the assembled guests that his own recent business exploits had culminated in ownership of Adam Chandler, lock, stock and barrel. Palmer’s shocking decaration led to Adam’s professional demise and a lengthy stay at Pine Valley Hospital. Adam recovered from a massive stroke while he ruminated over his sudden downfall.

Source: All My Children: The Complete Family Scrapbook


1989 Episodes / Clips: