Spencer Truman

Spencer Truman is a fictional character from the soap opera, ''One Life to Live''. He was played by Paul Satterfield from May 25, 2005, to January 30, 2007. Satterfield reprised the role in the form of a ghost several times in 2007. Austin Williams played a young Spencer in a 2008 storyline in which the characters Bo and Rex find themselves in 1968.''One Life to Live'' recap (7/21/08) - ABC.com

Character history

Dr. Spencer Truman comes to Llanview, Pennsylvania, in 2005; his younger brother, David Vickers, and ex-wife, Paige Miller, are furious to have him back in their lives. They are determined to find a way to get him out of town, but Spencer makes it clear he is not going anywhere.

Spencer performs an operation on Jack Manning that saves the boy's life. Spencer befriends Jack's mother, Blair Cramer, and the two become romantically involved. Blair, however, is still emotionally wrapped up with her ex-husband, Todd Manning. Obsessed with winning Blair's love, Spencer frames Todd for the murder of Margaret Cochran. Throughout Todd's murder trial, Spencer makes Blair question Todd's innocence and seduces her. Todd is convicted of murder and sent to death row. He is actually executed and declared dead when John McBain appears with Margaret, who is actually still alive. Spencer is able to revive Todd. In addition to faking Margaret's death, Spencer had secretly delivered her son, whose biological father is Todd. Spencer blackmailed Paige into helping him and keeping the secret. Spencer had put Todd and Margaret's baby up for adoption, with the boy being adopted by Michael and Marcie McBain, who were unaware of his origins. Spencer had also murdered John's father, Thomas McBain, twenty-five years earlier and had convinced both David and Paige that they had been complicit.

Spencer's true motivation for returning to Llanview is revealed to be a vendetta against Asa Buchanan. David and Spencer's mother, Emma Bradley-Truman, had been one of Renee Divine's bordello girls, and on her deathbed had told Spencer that Asa was his biological father. Spencer vows to destroy Asa's family. Eventually, Blair catches on to Spencer's crimes, and after Todd's failed execution, becomes determined to redeem herself and stop Spencer once and for all. She spies on Spencer, drugging him and recording their conversations in hopes that he will slip up and incriminate himself. Ultimately, Blair and John succeed in getting Spencer jailed. He confronts Asa about his paternity, but a DNA test shows that he is not Asa's son. Spencer appears to suffer a psychological breakdown. He makes an insanity plea, fooling his court-appointed psychiatrist, Marty Saybrooke, into believing that he is unfit to stand trial. Todd abducts Spencer, planning to torture him for information about his missing son, but ends up sending Spencer and Blair off a building rooftop by accident. While recuperating in the hospital, Spencer descends deeper into his own private obsession. He sneaks into Blair's hospital room, drugging her, but is murdered. The killer is ultimately revealed to be Lindsay Rappaport, who had killed Spencer to protect Marcie from losing her adopted son should the truth ever come out that he is actually Todd's son.

After Spencer's death, Miles Laurence, the younger brother of Mitch Laurence, comes to town. Miles had been a longtime patient of Spencer, whose surgical genius had fixed Miles' grotesquely deformed facial features. Miles, having lived his entire life in hospitals and institutions, believed Spencer to be his only friend. He listens to Spencer's posthumous messages and follows Spencer's instructions to take revenge on Spencer's enemies. Miles has Todd assaulted and abducted, and he keeps the secret of Tommy McBain's paternity. After Miles' scheme to force Marty to become his wife falls apart, Miles realizes the extent of Spencer's misdeeds and gives up Spencer's final secret, revealing to Blair that Tommy is Todd and Margaret's missing son.

References

External links

Paul Satterfield as Spencer Truman – ABC.comSpencer Truman profile – SoapCentral.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truman, Spencer
One Life to Live characters
Television characters introduced in 2005
Fictional physicians
Fictional murderers
Male characters in television
Male villains