MARCH 1976
All My Children
Written by : Agnes Nixon
Produced by : Bud Kloss
Although hospital aide - formerly Dr. David Thornton had told Ruth Martin that he loved her, she insisted that their closeness was a result of "a need for comfort in our loneliness," and the fact that they shared David's secret. Of all the people in Pine Valley, only Ruth knew David had been a surgeon in the Vietnam War and gave up practicing as a doctor when he couldn't save his brother's life under combat operating conditions. She knew, too, that he had been married and had gotten a "Dear John" letter the week before he was due to come home. David had replied that Ruth couldn't use that as an excuse for facing the fact of their growing relationship any longer. "No more games. No more dissection of David Thornton, before and after." She told him that the kind of love he was talking about was not possible because she was married and loved her husband very much, and that in time she and Dr. Joe Martin would "work things out." When she told David that they could share a friendship, "either that or nothing — I mean it" , David arranged a date with Helen Barnes, a nurse at Pine Valley, and Ruth told him that she could turn out to be the right girl for him. To herself she said, "I love you David, I can never tell you that, but I do love you."
Soon after Tara Martin Tyler's divorce from Chuck became final, her son Little Philip suffered a frighteningly severe asthmatic attack,which was diagnosed by her father Joe as psychosomatic in origin. Although Tara had planned to marry Philip Brent as soon as his divorce from his wife Erica was settled so that they could be a family once again. On the eve of Philip's leaving for Vietnam, he and Tara, unable to find a minister or a Justice of the Peace to marry them, exchanged vows in a small chapel. Philip was mistakenly reported killed and Tara, pregnant with Phil's son, accepted Chuck Tyler's offer to marry her and raise her son as his own , it was evident to Tara that they would have to make some adjustments for little Philip's sake. Tara appealed to Ruth to try to convince Philip that she was not trying to get Chuck and little Philip together for any other reason than the boy's physical and emotional health. However, when Tara learned that Erica had agreed to divorcing Philip and dropped her threat of telling Phoebe Tyler of the boy's true parentage, she agreed that she needed Philip's help and wanted to be married.
When Phillip told his father Nick Davis that he intended to give up his job at the Chateau so that he could work regular 9 to 5 hours to be with Tara and his son, Nick reminded him that he had a very good thing in his job at the Chateau and the security it represented. Telling him that jobs were not so easy to come by, Nick pointed out that upon her remarriage, Tara's alimony would stop and that unemployment checks soon ran out. Philip returned to Tara's feeling shaky and insecure. He said he didn't trust his own feelings, that he didn't know if he was right or wrong about anything, anymore. He told Tara that he thought he was pressured her too much and only made things rougher for her by not seeing beyond himself. He maintained that it was too soon, that it would only confuse the boy to "have me around the house when he's not reconciled to Chuck's leaving." He pressed her by saying, "Tell the truth, Tara, you're not sure we should be married, are you?"
Kitty Tyler had told Erica's mother, Mona Kane that Erica had been more candid with Kitty about her relationship with Lincoln, and that Erica almost admitted that she was trying to promote herself as a suitable future wife for him. When Lincoln visited Kitty to bring her the news of the finalizing of her divorce from Al Shea, he asked Kitty to marry him. Once again she refused Lincoln but told him of his mother Phoebe's offer to Al to try to keep them apart. Linc told Kitty that he loved her and saw no future without her. When Kitty said that Linc could have a future with Erica, Linc assured her that the idea was laughable to him, although maybe not to his mother.
Erica met with the publicity manager from Lacey's Department store. She was told that because of a merger Lacey's had re-evaluated their publicity campaign and although they had no fault to find with her personally they were invoking a four week cancellation clause in her contract. Out of a job, she quit her radio station job at the first of the year to concentrate on Lacey's full time and had been replaced there -, Erica went to Linc and told him that she would have to remain married to Phil though Lincoln told her that the papers had been filed and they were awaiting a court date. He warned her that Philip could counter-sue and probably would. Erica told Linc that she used up her savings and the large salary from Lacey's so far, to pay off Philip's debts. He told her that with her talent and reputation she could command other high paying positions. She reminded him that in Pine Valley there were no more opportunities equal to the ones she lost and that she was determined to stay there. Lincoln apologized to her for his attitude and asked if he might take her for a drink.
Also by way of an apology Chuck Tyler presented "Jane Doe," his mystery patient, with a large heart shaped box of chocolates. Chuck had tricked her into admitting that her "amnesia" was selective, and therefore probably a sham, by showing her some X-Rays of herself and pointing to an old scar undoubtedly from childhood. Impulsively she blurted out her memory of the incident. - The girl was brought in after being found by the side of a road into town. Police suspected she had been thrown from a speeding car: the ambulance driver surmised from her clothes and make-up that she was a Prostitute.
At home where Chuck was with his grand-mother Phoebe at the Tyler mansion, Chuck welcomed young Brooke, Phoebe and Charles' 18 year old niece. Brooke had hoped to transfer to the University but when her parents turned thumbs down on her plans for her own apartment, the possibility of her staying with Phoebe was raised. Insisting that she had to talk it over face to face with Brooke's parents, Phoebe invited them down for a visit and Charles agreed to be there, cancelling an evening with Mona Kane whom he had resumed seeing socially. When he arrived and the couple had already gone, though no fault of Phoebe's, he told her that her company "would be a bore" and accused her of being already "quite drunk." Brooke expressed shock to learn that they were separated but Chuck assured her that her presence couldn't hurt the situation and might be good for Phoebe.
Tara told Philip that she was just as confused as he about what was right. She believed they made the right decision for the two of them, but that rushing into marriage might not be the best thing for their son. Philip decided that they should go ahead with their plans when Tara reassured him of her love for him, and he took the day off to look for a job. When Philip told Nick that he had taken a job managing a car wash, Nick was insulted. He told him that if anything else went wrong in his career, "don't come crawling back to me." Nick turned down Philip's offer to work out two weeks' notice. After Phil left, Paul arrived and told Nick that Erica had backed out of the divorce.
Anne Tyler arrived at the hospital to ask Ruth to lunch, and Joe urged Ruth to go along with Anne, promising to take a raincheck on his and Ruth's own luncheon plans. Anne asked Ruth to be her attendant at her wedding to Paul, the final decree from Margo arrived in the mail. She told Ruth that Paul was probably going to ask Joe to be his best man and asked if they did the wrong thing by asking the two of them. Ruth said Joe would be pleased, that they were trying to work out their differences, but she added that she felt an awful gulf growing between them, which she felt powerless to stop.
APRIL 1976
All My Children
Written by : Agnes Nixon
Produced by : Bud Kloss
On the night of a Medical Association dance which Dr. Joe Martin and his wife Ruth planned to attend together in hopes of making the evening a start toward resolving their estrangement, Tara, Joe's daughter, called to summon Joe to attend his grandson little Philip, who had had a severe asthmatic attack. Some days later, at home, Joe expressed to Ruth a wish that they could go to St. Croix where his brother Paul and his wife Anne, newly re-wed, were honeymooning. When he hinted that Ruth and he no longer needed occupy separate bedrooms Ruth told him that she was not ready to resume marital relations. Ruth had fallen in love with hospital aide David Thornton, a former physician who gave up practicing medicine when he couldn't save the life of his younger brother under combat conditions in Vietnam. Ruth alone, in Pine Valley, knew of David's past life and he had told her that with her help he could resume his dedication to surgery.
When Joe pressed her for a date for their vacation plans so that Dr. Charles Tyler could set up a staff schedule he asked her to consider taking a trip to Europe which they had been talking about over the years. He told her, "we need to get away together" to "get back what we've lost these past few months." Ruth replied that she believed that it would only heighten the tension between them. Dr. Martin insisted that something had changed between them and that although Ruth assured him that the missed opportunity of their evening out together wouldn't matter he was aware that "something" had happened and that they were "right back in the middle of that stupid stalemate." He admitted that his attitude was largely responsible for their estrangement. Ruth agreed that they would take the same time off as usual but suggested that they spend their vacations separately. When he asked if she was sure that they were doing the right thing, she replied, "I can't pretend to something I don't feel."
As a result of little Philip's latest attack, Tara had consented to take him to Arizona to a dude ranch for asthmatic children. Both she and Philip Brent, little Philip's natural father, accepted Dr. Chuck Tyler's offer to finance the trip for the sake of the boy's health, though Phil stipulated that Chuck's offer be considered a "loan." On the eve of Philip's leaving for Vietnam, he and Tara, unable to find a minister or a Justice of the Peace to marry them, exchanged vows in a small chapel. Philip was mistakenly reported killed and Tara, pregnant with Phil's son, accepted Chuck Tyler's offer to marry her and raise her son as his own. Chuck and Tara were then divorced.
Upon hearing of Tara's prospective plans, Erica Kane Brent remarked to Tara that she "can't help wondering if all this is necessary or if you're just trying to keep my husband – Philip - impoverished." Goaded, Tara told Erica that Chuck would be paying, Tara and Philip were planning to marry when Philip was free until Erica announced that having lost a lucrative modeling job she decided to cancel her plans for divorcing Phil. and Erica remarked admiringly, "a clever woman never has one fish out of the frying pan without another on the hook," but added, "Watch out. This kind of manipulation takes an expert where men are concerned. You have a lot to learn."
When Erica overheard a conversation between Kitty and Lincoln Tyler to the effect that although Kitty still was determined not to remarry Lincoln she still cared for him and she felt he was vulnerable and should be aware that Erica might be trying to promote herself, with Phoebe Tyler's blessing, as the next Mrs. Lincoln Tyler, Erica, furious, ordered Kitty out of her house. Later Erica apologized to Linc and he offered to represent her in her efforts to seek support from Philip based on the "friendship" that Erica was always referring to, and out of sympathy for the fact that Erica was not working. He added that he would tolerate no further interference in his and Kitty's affairs and warned her that she might wind up representing herself in court. He told her he was on his way to a trip out of town, and, for the present, did not intend to think about her or her case.
Linc’s trip to check out the possibility of establishing a law practice in King's Row was based on his decision to move from Pine Valley, out of the sphere of his mother's influence, in the hopes that Kitty would join him in the future. He received a visit from an angry and indignant Kate Martin who told him that Phoebe had made a concerted effort to undermine Kitty's self confidence as manager of Anne Tyler's Boutique and had spread the word that due to Kitty's inaptitude the Boutique had gone down hill and was featuring second rate selections.
Nick Davis, although sympathetic to both Kitty and Linc, had been moved to tell Kitty to whom he was once married: "You and Phoebe Tyler have a lot in common — both set yourselves up as a judge of what's best for Linc."
Moved by a visit from a woman seeking her runaway daughter, "Jane Doe" made a collect call to Chicago. The call was not completed because the woman who answered was drunk and incapable of realizing the significance of the call. However, by tracing the number given, the staff of Pine Valley Hospital knew the identity of their mystery girl, "Donna Beck." Later a frightened Donna received a phone call of her own from the man who beat her and threw her from a moving car, who told her "Tomorrow sure, your poppa's comin to see you, sugar." Waking from a nightmare Donna cried out and Chuck held her and tried to calm her down. She said that she had to get away because "this time he's really gonna kill me" but refused to talk about who "he" is or describe him. Chuck warned her that if she tried to walk her leg might never heal and promised to spend the night outside her room. After another call, in a panic, Donna, attempted to leave the hospital and Carolyn Murray, R.N. found her at the bottom of a flight of stairs where she collapsed and fell. She telephoned Dr. Frank Grant as he and his wife Nancy celebrated belatedly their sixth anniversary.
Social worker, Nancy Grant, prevailed upon by her husband, agreed to talk to Donna. When she asked Donna how she lived in Center City, Donna answered, "Oh, come on, you know what I am”. She said she came from a home with a drunken mother, a step-father who attempted to seduce her; that she ran away from home when she was thirteen, "and I've been a hooker ever since." When she told Nancy, "the pay's good," Nancy asked, "how much of that is yours?". Nancy talked about the possibility of finishing her education at night school and told her that if Donna wanted to change, something could be worked out. As she left, Nancy told Donna, "You really aren't alone — please try to remember that." Nancy told Frank that what everyone on the staff surmised - except Chuck - was true and that the man Donna was so afraid of was most likely one of her Johns or a pimp. Just then Caroline Murray came up to tell Frank that there was a man in Donna's room who refused to leave – the man, "Ty" brought Donna a fur trimmed neglegee, and an offer to make her his "top woman", shruggling off her attempted murder with: "You know the rules. You don't talk to the competition".
Frank threatened to call the police suggesting "impairing the morals of a minor" as a possible charge and Tyrone who insisted he was "family", just visiting a friend and intended to come back, told Frank, "cool that temper before you do any doctorin' on that little girl there. Wouldn't want to slap you with a malpractice suit."
Later Donna equated Chuck's profession - of medicine - with her own. "You've got something people need so you sell it to them for a price. It's the same with me." When Chuck suggested that Donna could have Ty prosecuted she said she wouldn't do that: "I'm not afraid of him. He's a friend of mine, who 'lent' me money when I needed it." Ty, she insisted, had put every cent she had ever made into a savings account for her, "in my name," and "spends his own money on presents", for her .
Caroline Murray entered Donna's room to find her wearing the negligee from Ty. After Caroline told her that she didn’t think it was very healthy for a young girl to associate with a man like Ty, Donna said: "I don't care what anyone thinks. He's my man and I love him." Later with Frank in the room, Caroline brought in an enormous basket of flowers. Donna told them "I told you he wouldn't forget me." Frank asked her how she could go on deceiving herself and told her that Ty was only concerned that she didn’t press charges against him. He told Chuck that the police had confirmed Donna's age. She had just turned seventeen, and after her hospitalization, she faced a home for juvenile detention. He warned Chuck that Ty could seek to become Donna's nominal guardian and asked him, if he were Donna and had a choice between going back to Ty and going to the Juvenile Detention Center, "what do you think" she would do?
Kitty Shea Tyler stood up to Phoebe Tyler to the extent that when Phoebe telephoned her and told her to "make it your business to come to a conference at the Tyler home" Kitty replied that, if it was important to her, she could come to see Kitty at Mona Kane's. After Kitty heard of Linc's plans to leave town, she called him. When Kitty mentioned Nick's re-marks about the two of them trying to run Lin-coln's life, he told her he thought Nick was right. He told her that both he and Kitty were acting like a couple of fools and allowing his mother to stampede them into something neither of them wanted. He told her that his plans for a partnership in King's Row couldn’t be acted on till mid-summer, and they agreed to stay in Pine Valley for the time being and try to work things out, with Linc promising not to push or pressure Kitty.
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