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| All My Children Cast Photo: P. Thomas |
The cast of the gone but not forgotten ABC daytime drama, “All My Children,” recently a reunited for a very special episode of “Home and Family,” on the Hallmark Channel.
Susan Lucci, who played Erica Kane on the show for its entire 40 plus year run, joined “Home and Family” hosts Debbie Matenopoulos and Mark Steines, as guest co-host for the week.
Lucci helped set the wheels in motion for the reunion. The 2-hour episode on Thursday was full of nostalgia and love for viewers and was not without some surprises for Emmy-winning superstar herself.
Lucci was joined by former Pine Valleyites Cameron Mathison (Ryan), Eden Riegal (Bianca), Eva LaRue (Maria), Jill Larson )(Opal), John Callahan (Edmund), Kathleen Noone (Ellen), Kim Delaney (Jenny), Lawrence Lau (Greg), Michael Knight (Tad), Peter Bergman (Cliff) and Taylor Miller (Nina). The show highlighted many of “All My Children’s” groundbreaking storylines and showed classic clips from several memorable episodes.
Memorable moments included:
Bianca comes out – Bianca’s storyline where she came out to Erica as gay. Riegel talked about how the episode saved lives and gave many of the show’s viewers the courage to come to their loved ones.
Mark’s Intervention – Another memorable storyline was Mark’s intervention. Erica’s family and friends got together to confront her brother Mark (Mark LaMura) about his drug addiction, a topic that was never before discussed on daytime television.
Erica Kane, Supermodel – Erica’s time as a model was showcased as well with a reel of the photoshoot Lucci did as Erica on location at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
An “All My Children” show wouldn’t be a show without all the love affairs that were shown over the years. “Home and Family” reunited three of “All My Children’s” most memorable love stories by reuniting three super couples — Greg and Jenny, Edmund and Maria, and Cliff and Nina. Taylor Miller, who played heroine Nina Cortlandt, surprised Bergman with her “Home and Family” appearance. Miller flew to Los Angeles just for the show. Clips were shown of their memorable moments and weddings and also viewers got to shed a tear with Greg as he mourned Jenny’s death right at the peak of their love story.
Lucci was surprised by the visits from Larson and Knight, who’s appearance was kept a secret from Lucci until they showed up on stage.
The episode ended with a tribute to the show’s creator, Agnes Nixon, who also created AMC’s long-running sister show, “One Life to Life,” and “Loving” for ABC. Nixon’s son, Bob was in the audience and told TVMusic Networkthat Nixon’s memoir, which she worked on, right up until her death at 93 last year, would be out later this year and is currently available to pre-order. There was also a touching memorial segment remembering all the beloved talent who are no longer with us but them and their characters are always in our heart. Remembered were Nixon and several other deceased AMC favorites, including Frances “Fra” Heflin, Ruth Warrick, Louis Edmonds, Kay Campbell, Mary Fickett, Lee Chamberlin, Larkin Malloy, Matthew Cowles, James Mitchell, David Canary and Eileen Herlie.
“Home and Family” airs weekdays on the Hallmark Channel.
