List of One Life to Live characters introduced between 1968–1979


This is a list of characters from the ABC Daytime soap opera, One Life to Live, that began their run between the show's pilot episode and the end of 1979.

Becky Lee Abbott

Becky Lee Abbott is a fictional character on the ABC Daytime soap opera One Life to Live. The role was originated by Jill Voight in February 1977, a role she played through December 1978. Mary Gordon Murray stepped into the role in August 1979 and played Becky until May 1985. Murray later made several guest appearances in 1986, 1988, 1996, 1998 and from November 15 to 19, 2001.
When Becky Lee was first shown, she was an aspiring country-and-Western singer. She was later signed to the record company owned by Asa Buchanan. Her first husband had been Luke Jackson, and she later married Richard Abbott. She and fellow singer Johnny Drummond often worked together. She became attracted to Bo Buchanan, and they conceived a son. Bo would not marry her, so Bo's father Asa Buchanan married her.
Becky later had amnesia, and she met the Wilde family in the mountains.

Pat Ashley

Patricia "Pat" Ashley Lord is a fictional character on the ABC Daytime soap opera One Life to Live. The role was played by actress Jacqueline Courtney from the character's inception in April 1975 continually through its onscreen departure in December 1983.
Pat was the twin sister of Maggie Ashley and the daughter of Helena Ashley. Her son, Brian Austin, was the illegitimate son of Tony Lord and the grandson of Victor Lord. Brian was later killed.
Pat dated Clint Buchanan, Bo Buchanan, and Adam Brewster.

Steve Burke

Steven "Steve" Burke is a fictional character on the ABC Daytime soap opera One Life to Live. The role was originated by actor Bernard Grant in August 1970, who played the character continually through 1975.

Herb Callison

Herbert "Herb" Callison is a fictional character on the ABC Daytime soap opera One Life to Live. The character was played by actor Anthony Call from its inception in 1979 through its last regular appearance in 1992. Call reprised the role in 1993.
Herb gains notoriety upon serving as the Llanview District Attorney during the Marco Dane murder trial against Victoria "Viki" Lord Riley. Viki who was ultimately acquitted, and which resulted in the shocking revelation that Karen Wolek was a prostitute involved with client and actual murderer Talbot Huddleston.
Upon marrying Dorian at Llanfair in 1981, he adopts her daughter Cassie Reynolds, who soon takes her stepfather's surname as he adopts her. Herb and Dorian divorce in 1985, though the two remain close friends. Herb departs fictional Llanview in 1992, returning briefly for Christmas episodes in December 1993.

Melinda Cramer

Melinda Cramer is a fictional character on the ABC Daytime soap opera One Life to Live. The character debuted on April 30, 1973 with leading series antagonist Dr. Dorian Cramer. She last appeared onscreen on August 2, 2004, and died off-screen February 28, 2010.
Sisters Melinda and Dorian arrive in fictional Llanview in 1973. Mentally disturbed Melinda stabs Dorian's lover, Mark Toland, in 1974, leading to her institutionalization.
A recovered Melinda returns to Llanview in 1978, but soon sabotages Dorian's new relationship with Dr. Peter Janssen, wanting him for herself. Melinda seems to win when she and Peter elope, but her obsessive-compulsive behavior returns. Resuming her career as a concert pianist, Melinda practices day and night, putting a strain on her marriage to Peter. She becomes more unbalanced when a failed audition put a close to her musical ambitions. In 1979, Melinda checks herself into the Compton Clinic. Dorian then has Melinda declared mentally incompetent; by 1980, Peter hopes to marry Jenny Wolek Vernon, but couldn't divorce Melinda until she was mentally stable. After threatening Jenny with a letter opener and sinking further into psychosis, Melinda returns to the clinic in 1981. She is seen again briefly in 1983, as Herb Callison visits her in order to learn the truth about Dorian's past with David Reynolds.
Melinda returns again in 1987 after Dorian's departure, and moves into Dorian's penthouse with Dorian's daughter Cassie Callison. Melinda witnesses the murder of mobster Alec Crown by Dr. Donald Lamarr and testifies against him. She gets a job working at the Banner, and helps solve several criminal activities in Llanview. Melinda has a relationship with Jon Russell, and leaves town herself in 1989.
It is later discovered that Melinda has returned to living in a sanitarium, now in California. Her daughter Kelly Cramer moves to Llanview in 1995. Melinda herself returns to Llanview in 1997, briefly, before leaving once again, choosing to return to the sanitarium.
In 2004, her daughter Kelly visits her while she is now living in Boston, in a different sanitarium.
On March 1, 2010, Cassie returns to Llanview to inform Dorian of Melinda's offscreen death. Although the Cramer family originally believed Mitch Laurence and Allison Perkins to be the culprits of Melinda's death, it was later revealed that Elijah Clarke, the husband of her niece Blair, actually was responsible for her death. According to him, she had recognized him from a photograph in the newspaper, and threatened to warn her niece about his murderous past.

Greg Huddleston

Gregory "Greg" Huddleston is a fictional character on the ABC Daytime soap opera One Life to Live. The role was played by Paul Joynt from 1977 until his final appearance in April 1979.
Greg is Tina Clayton's first boyfriend. His parents are Talbot and Adelle Huddleston.

Talbot Huddleston

Talbot Huddleston is a fictional character on the ABC Daytime soap opera One Life to Live. The role was played by actor Byron Sanders onscreen from May 1977 until April 1979.
A wealthy businessman, Talbot engages in affair with married call girl Karen Wolek. On January 16, 1978, Talbot accidentally ran over and killed Brian Kendall after learned his birth father was Tony Lord, not Paul Kendall. He is arrested on manslaughter charges and last appears in 1979.
Talbot was the father of Greg Huddleston, the first boyfriend of Tina Clayton. Talbot's wife was the alcoholic Adelle Huddleston.

Peter Janssen

Dr. Peter Janssen is a fictional character on the ABC Daytime serial One Life to Live. The role was originated and notably played by actor Jeff Pomerantz, who appeared in the role January 1976 through 1979 and again in 1987. Robert Burton stepped into the role in January 1980 and was subsequently replaced by Denny Albee. Albee appeared onscreen November 12, 1980 through the character's death May 20, 1982.
Dr. Peter Jansen was the third husband of Jenny Wolek, R. N.

Katrina Karr

Katrina Karr is a fictional character on the ABC Daytime soap opera One Life to Live. The colleague of fellow prostitute Karen Wolek, role was portrayed onscreen by actress Nancy Snyder from February 1979 until 1983.
Katrina later leaves her life of prostitution and moves into the boarding house owned and operated by Ina Hopkins. She and Marcello Salta dated.

Kristine Karr

Kristine Karr is a fictional character on the ABC Daytime soap opera One Life to Live that appeared onscreen from November 1, 1979 until 1983.
Brad Vernon engages in an extramarital affair with prostitute Katrina Karr. Katrina conceives a daughter, born the same night as his stillborn daughter to his wife, Jenny Wolek Vernon, onscreen November 1, 1979 at Llanview Hospital. Con man Marco Dane elicits Jenny's sister Karen Wolek to switch Jenny's dead child with Katrina's baby. Katrina long believes her live-born child died in the nursery of the hospital, while Jenny raises a child she and Brad name Mary Vernon. After nearly three years of deception, Karen and Marco tell Jenny the truth about the two children, and Jenny returns Mary Vernon to Katrina. Katrina soon renames the child Kristine Karr, and departs offscreen with the child in 1983.
Con woman Aubrey Wentworth appears in fictional Llanview in 2010, marrying Joey Riley Buchanan, the son of town businesswoman Victoria "Viki" Lord Banks and her deceased former husband Joe Riley born mere months after Kristine Karr. Aubrey reveals onscreen her name, "Aubrey Wentworth," to be an alias for her real name Kristine Karr. As leading Karen Wolek portrayer Judith Light declined to appear on the ABC Daytime finale of OLTL, Aubrey's possible identity as the Kristine Karr born to Katrina and Brad was not divulged onscreen, and Aubrey last appears in December 2011.

Brian Kendall

Brian Kendall is introduced as the eight-year-old son of new Banner reporter Patricia "Pat" Ashley in 1975. Shortly after his introduction, Pat reveals to new boss Victoria "Viki" Lord Riley that her son is, in fact, Viki's nephew and the son of Viki's maternal cousin and newly uncovered brother, Anthony "Tony" Harris Lord. As Pat and Tony become romantically involved, Brian grows to greatly despise her mother's new beau as he pined for his late father Paul Kendall, who apparently died before Brian and his mother relocated to Llanview.
On the episode first-run January 16, after years of speculation, mother Pat confirms Brian's worst suspicions — that Tony is his natural father; revealed out in the streets of the busy Llanview town square by Pat and Tony, a devastated Brian runs out into the street, where he is accidentally hit in a car driven by married businessman Talbot Huddleston in the company of his call girl, also married Karen Wolek. Panicked that their romantic indiscretions would be uncovered, Talbot and Karen decidedly drive away, leaving a severely injured Brian on the road to succumb to injuries. Brian quietly dies without regaining consciousness in Llanview Hospital, mother Pat at his side.