Abe Carver is a fictional character on the long-running American

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

''. Actor

James Reynolds James or Jim Reynolds may refer to: Arts and entertainment * James Reynolds (artist) (1891-1957), American writer, painter, illustrator, set designer and costume designer *James Reynolds (actor) (born 1946), American actor *James Reynolds (composer ...

has played the character since he originated it on the series in 1981, and is currently the fifth longest serving actor on the show. The role is one of the longest-running

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

characters in American soap operas. The character was created by head writer

Pat Falken Smith Patricia Falken Smith (January 21, 1926 – May 19, 2001) was a television writer, best known for her being head writer of several soap operas, including ''General Hospital'' and ''Days of Our Lives''. Positions held '' Where the Heart Is'' * ...

. Abe is the widowed husband of

Lexie Carver Lexie Carver is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera, ''Days of Our Lives'', created by head writer Leah Laiman. The role has been played most notably by actress Renée Jones, who appeared in the role from 1993 until departing in 2012. She i ...

, daughter of international crime lord,

Stefano DiMera Stefano DiMera is a fictional character from the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', played by Joseph Mascolo. Created by Pat Falken Smith, Stefano was introduced on January 18, 1982 as the father of Tony DiMera ( Thaao Penghlis) looking to expa ...

. He is the father of Brandon Walker and

Theo Carver Theo Carver is a fictional character from '' Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network. Created under head writer Dena Higley, Theo was born onscreen in 2003. The character was portrayed by two sets of twins and three child a ...

and the adoptive father of

Lani Price Lani Price is a fictional character on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', played by Sal Stowers. On September 25, 2015, Lani was introduced by co-head writers Josh Griffith and Dena Higley as a rookie police officer, who is revealed to be th ...

Storylines

Abe grows up in Salem with his siblings, Theo, Jonah and Karen. His passion for justice starts young, but amplifies after Theo is killed by a crooked police officer. Abe joins the Salem Police Department determined to rid the city of filth, including international crime lord,

. Abe is also the police officer who investigates

Anna Brady Anna DiMera is a fictional character on the NBC daytime drama, ''Days of Our Lives''. She was introduced as the estranged wife of Roman Brady and the biological mother of his daughter, Carrie Brady. Created by head writers, Margaret DePriest and Sh ...

's claim that she was sold into white slavery. She reports the existence of her secret Swiss bank account to her husband,

Roman Brady Roman Brady is a fictional character from the long-running NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. The role was originated in 1981 by Wayne Northrop, who played the role until 1984 and from 1991 to 1994, and is currently being portrayed by series ve ...

. Abe starts a relationship with Nikki Wade, but this is cut short after he stands her up at a débutante ball in favor of heading up a drug bust. He is also in two short-lived relationships with Dr.

Valerie Grant Valerie Grant is a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and s ...

and singer

Tamara Price A list of notable characters from the NBC soap opera '' Days of Our Lives'' that significantly impacted storylines and debuted between January 1, 1980, and the end of 1989, in order of first appearance. DJ Craig Donald Craig Jr., known as "DJ" ...

. Before Abe's promotion to police chief, he meets and marries Lexie Brooks. Over the years, their marriage gets compromised due to Lexie being the daughter of Stefano. His next major storyline involves the Aremid wedding of Peter Blake and

Jennifer Horton Jennifer Horton is a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network, currently played by actress Cady McClain. Jennifer was created by scriptwriter Pat Falken Smith, and executive producer Betty Corday. ...

. Abe is caught up in the investigation of

Tony DiMera Tony DiMera is a fictional character from the American soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', played by actor Thaao Penghlis on and off from November 6, 1981, until October 24, 1985, and from July 19, 2007, until April 1, 2009. One of the character's ...

's murder. Abe and Lexi go to Paris to find

Marlena Evans Marlena Evans is a fictional character on the NBC daytime drama, ''Days of Our Lives'', a long-running serial about working life in the fictional town of Salem. She has been played by actress Deidre Hall since 1976, but the character was absent fr ...

when Stefano kidnapped her. They end up finding and saving Marlena and catching Stefano but are unable to prosecute him, because only Stefano has a drug that can save Roman's life. Abe, Lexi, and John Black help break Stefano out of jail and later he is pardoned for his crimes after returning to Salem with the drug Roman needed. Later, Abe and Lexie adopt baby Isaac, thinking he is the child of DiMera henchman

Wilhelm Rolf A list of notable characters from the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' that significantly impacted storylines and debuted between January 1, 1990, and the end of 1999. Stephanie Johnson Stephanie Johnson was created by head writer Richard J ...

. Isaac is actually the son of

Bo Brady Beauregard Aurelius "Bo" Brady is a fictional character from the NBC daytime soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''. The role has been most notably portrayed by Peter Reckell, who originated the role on May 3, 1983. Creation and Casting Created unde ...

and

Hope Brady Hope Williams Brady is a fictional character from '' Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network. Created by writer William J. Bell, she was portrayed by Kristian Alfonso on and off from April 1983 to October 2020. Hope is a mem ...

who was switched at birth by Stefano. Abe is later appalled to learn that Lexie knew of the switch, but hides the truth from him. Abe files for divorce but after Lexie helps Hope, Brady and her son Zack, Lexie and Abe reconcile. Brandon Walker comes to Salem with a deep hatred of Abe. Lexie sleeps with Brandon in a weak moment and becomes pregnant, unsure if Abe or Brandon is the father. It is revealed Abe is the father and Lexie and Abe reconcile for good. Brandon's presence causes issues for Abe until it is revealed that Brandon is Abe's illegitimate son with

Fay Walker The following is an alphabetical list of characters (and their performers) from the NBC soap opera '' Days of Our Lives'', sorted by character surname. A ;Annabelle :Alisa Alapach (2016) ;Artemis : Kwesi Boakye (2007) ;Umar Abboud :Rick Fitts ...

. After some time, Abe and Brandon embrace each other as family, and have since had a good relationship. In 2003, Abe is supposedly dead on the day of Theo's christening, becoming the first victim of the Salem serial killer. Months later, he is revealed to be alive – his death having been faked – on a remote tropical island, Melaswen, which is a complete replica of Salem. He works together with Roman and the others to escape the island. Abe is reunited with Lexie and Theo but goes blind and learns that he is impotent. His anger shines through and he becomes paranoid that Lexie is cheating. Eventually, Abe's eyesight is restored but an anonymous note leads him to a motel where he finds Lexie having sex with his protege, Salem police officer Tek Kramer. Their marriage is in turmoil for a while until Abe uses Lexie in the investigation of her half-brother,

EJ DiMera EJ DiMera is a fictional character from '' Days of Our Lives'', an American soap opera on the NBC network. Created by head writer James E. Reilly and introduced under executive producers, Ken Corday and Tom Langan, EJ is the son of crime boss ...

, and Abe falls back in love with her. They stay together until Lexie disappears on December 29, 2006. Abe's eyesight starts to deteriorate again and he undergoes a second retina transplant. At the same time, Lexie is found in the tunnels under Doug's Place and the DiMera mansion, where

André DiMera André DiMera is a fictional character from the NBC Daytime soap opera, ''Days of Our Lives''. The role was originated in 1983 by Thaao Penghlis when André was introduced as the nephew of Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo). Having undergone plasti ...

has kept her against her will for months. The transplant is successful and Abe returns to work as the Commissioner of the Salem Police Department. In the fall of 2010, Abe returned full-time to the screen. He began investigating the murders of the people of Salem, because he did not want anyone going through what he already had. However, the tables may turn on him when Stefano decided that he was going to frame Abe for the murders. In June 2012, Lexie, who has cancer, died peacefully in Abe's arms. In 2015, Abe finds out that he has a daughter,

, that he fathered with Tamara. In 2021, it was revealed that Lani wasn't his daughter but actually the daughter of Tamara's sister Paulina, and that Tamara had raised Lani as her own child.

Cultural impact

' portrayal of Abe Carver since 1981 has made Abe the longest-running African American character in American

history. Having logged more hours on television than most actors, Reynolds is also a humanitarianDetroit news interview with James Reynold

December 6, 2007. and his work on ''Days of our Lives'' helps continue his work. For his role as Abe Carver, James Reynolds earned a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in 2004, and won the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in 2018.

References

External links

Abe Carver profile - SoapCentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carver, Abe Days of Our Lives characters Fictional African-American people Fictional mayors Fictional American police officers Fictional police commissioners Television characters introduced in 1981 Male characters in television