Tony Lord is a fictional character from the 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 ...

'' One Life to Live''. The elder child of

Victor Lord Victor Dalby Lord is a fictional character and patriarch of the Lord family from the American soap opera '' One Life to Live''. An original protagonist on the series, Victor is introduced in the first episode as the preeminent mass media magna ...

and brother to heroine

Victoria Lord Victoria Lord is a fictional character and matriarch of the Lord family on the American soap opera ''One Life to Live'', played for over 41 years by six-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning actress Erika Slezak. The character was created as one of th ...

, actor George Reinholt originated the role in April 1975. The character was featured continually through 1979, from 1981 to 1983, and last appeared in episodes in 1987.

Casting and impact

George Reinholt transitioned from his popular leading role as

Steve Frame ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's '' Another World'' to the newly created role of "Tony" on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''One Life to Live'' in 1975. Reinholt's move was spurred after the actor voiced his displeasure with scripts on ''AW'' and he posed for a nude

centerfold The centerfold or centrefold of a magazine is the inner pages of the middle sheet, usually containing a portrait, such as a pin-up or a nude. The term can also refer to the model featured in the portrait. In saddle-stitched magazines (as opp ...

, prompting NBC to fire the actor on the expressed grounds of breaching a contractual

morals clause A morality clause (also known as a morals clause, bad boy clause or bad girl clause) is a provision within instruments of a contract which curtail, or restrain, or proscribe certain behavior of individuals or party(s) to the contract. A moral clau ...

. Regarded as a preeminent soap opera star of the

1970s File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War ...

, Reinholt's move to ABC was considered a major get for the show garnered by ''One Life''s consulting producer, creator, and former ''AW'' head writer

Agnes Nixon Agnes Nixon ( Eckhardt; December 10, 1922 – September 28, 2016) was an American television writer and producer, and the creator of the ABC soap operas ''One Life to Live'', ''All My Children'', as well as ''Loving'' and its spin-off '' The Ci ...

. Reinholt debuted on ''OLTL'' amid fanfare in April 1975. He was soon joined by fired fellow ''AW'' actor and off-and-onscreen girlfriend Jacqueline "Jacquie" Courtney, who played Alice Matthews on the NBC series and created the role of ''OLTL''s Pat Ashley. Reinholt eventually left the series in 1977 after his soap opera repairing with Courtney failed to match the popular acclaim of their prior onscreen romance. Philip MacHale was recast to the role in June 1977, and both MacHale and the role departed fictional Llanview in 1979. The role of Tony reappeared on the series in March 1981 played by newcomer Chip Lucia, who went on to play the character through September 16, 1983. MacHale returned in the role for dream sequences involving onscreen sister Viki for episodes in March and April 1987.

Storylines

Prodigal son

In 1970, it is revealed Victor sired a secret son during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

with his sister-in-law Dorothy Randolph. Victor (originally Ernest Graves) never met the child, and embarked on a search for him. The assumed cousin of central heroine Victoria "Viki" Lord Riley (

Erika Slezak Erika Alma Hermina Slezak (; born August 5, 1946) is an American actress, best known for her role as Victoria "Viki" Lord on the American daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live'' from 1971 through the television finale in 2012 and again in the ...

), Tony Harris (Reinholt) arrives in Llanview in April 1975 in search of his birth father. Dr. Dorian Cramer (

Nancy Pinkerton Nancy Pinkerton Peabody (May 7, 1940 – March 4, 2010) was an American actress. Pinkerton is perhaps best known as the original actress to play Dr. Dorian Lord on the ABC daytime soap opera '' One Life to Live'' from 1973 to 1977, a period wh ...

) and philandering married boyfriend Dr.

Mark Toland Mark Toland is a fictional character from the American soap opera ''One Life to Live''. He was portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones (credited as "Tom Lee Jones") from February 1971 until the character's onscreen death in 1975. Character background A you ...

( Tom Lee Jones) are first to recognize Tony as Victor's estranged son. Tony and Victor (

Shepperd Strudwick Shepperd Strudwick (September 22, 1907 – January 15, 1983) was an American actor of film, television, and stage. He was also billed as John Shepperd for some of his films and for his acting on stage in New York. Early years Strudwick was ...

onward) eventually learn of their relation and reunite but Dorian, hoping to maintain her hold on Victor's fortune, manipulates events to make father and son bitter enemies. By 1976, the feud between Victor and Tony worsens, and Dorian persuades Victor to make her a main beneficiary of his will. Sensing his mortality, however, Victor softens towards Tony and father and son reconcile. with Tony adopting his father's surname. In 1976, Tony Lord begins a romance with fragile

Cathy Craig Cathy Craig is a fictional character on the American soap opera '' One Life to Live''. Introduced onscreen in January 1969, the character role is the first ongoing antagonist to lead heroine Victoria Lord and last appears in November 1978. Cas ...

(Jennifer Harmon), whom he marries March 19. Cathy soon becomes pregnant with Tony but miscarries. Overwrought over the death of the stillborn child, Cathy begins to lose touch with reality and rages over the pregnancy news of archrival Viki with husband Joe Riley (

Lee Patterson Lee Patterson (March 31, 1929 – February 14, 2007) was a Canadian film and television actor. Life and career Patterson was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, as Beverley Frank Atherly Patterson. He attended the Ontario College of Art and ...

). Meanwhile, new ''Banner'' editor and Tony's ex-girlfriend Patricia "Pat" Ashley (

Jacqueline Courtney Jacqueline Courtney (born Sharon Courtney; September 24, 1946 – December 20, 2010) was an American actress best known for her work on daytime soap operas. Courtney's initial appearance on television came in 1951 when she performed on WAAT in ...

) arrives in Llanview was still in love with him, but chooses to keep her distance from him. Pat soon confides in boss Viki that her young son, Brian Kendall (Steve Austin), was Tony's son and Viki's nephew. Soon, Pat decides to fight for Tony but uncovers him to be married. Desperate to guarantee that she would inherit the Lord fortune, Dorian continues to alienate Victor from his son. But Tony soon discovers Dorian's machinations and tells his father; when Victor confronts his wife, Dorian admits that she'd known Tony's true identity from the beginning. Luckily for Dorian, a sudden stroke leaves Victor unable to speak. As Dorian schemed to keep him from recovering, Victor suffers a second stroke as he struggled to tell Viki what Dorian planned, dying onscreen June 16, 1976. To everyone's surprise, Dorian was named executrix of Victor's will, and Tony was excluded altogether. Viki gives birth to Joe's son Kevin Lord Riley, but soon Tony's wife Cathy kidnaps the child. When delusional Cathy is found, she has no memory of taking the infant or where she had left him. Tony and Pat soon decide to no longer ignore their feelings for each other and consummate their feelings. By 1977, the loss of their son Kevin had taken its toll on Joe and Viki's marriage, with Dorian doing all she could to keep the couple separated. But when Cathy finally remembers enough to reveal to Tony (MacHale) where Kevin could be found, Joe and Viki reconcile and Cathy departs Llanview.

Pat and later life

Tony stays with Cathy until he feels she is able enough to handle a separation; in the meantime, Pat tells Tony that Brian was his son. When Tony and Cathy split, he and Pat engage to marry, but Brian hates Tony and reacts negatively to the news of the impending nuptials. When Pat's assumed dead husband Paul Kendall ( Tom Fuccello) appears in Llanview very much alive, she sadly tells Tony she was welcoming Paul back into her life for Brian's sake. But soon after, Pat and Tony resume their affair. Pat finally tells Brian that Tony is his father in 1978, and an upset Brian runs out into the street, where he is hit and killed by a car driven by Talbot Huddleston (Byron Sanders) with

Karen Wolek Karen Wolek is a fictional character appearing on the American soap opera ''One Life to Live'' between May 1976 and February 1983. The role was most notably performed by Judith Light beginning in November 1977. Karen ultimately departs for an of ...

(

Judith Light Judith Ellen Light (born February 9, 1949) is an American actress. She made her professional stage debut in 1970, before making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''A Doll's House''. Her breakthrough role was in the ABC daytime soap opera ...

) riding along as a passenger. Tony and Pat's relationship falls apart in the aftermath of Brian's death, and Tony leaves Llanview in 1979. He (Lucia) later returns in 1981 and befriends

Bo Buchanan Beaufort Oglethorpe "Bo" Buchanan is a fictional character from the American soap opera '' One Life to Live''. Casting and awards Robert S. Woods created the character of Bo in November 1979. Woods originally screen tested for the recast of Rich ...

( Robert S. Woods). Tony and Pat soon reunite, marrying August 27, 1982. In 1983, Pat receives the news that Tony had been killed on assignment for ''The Banner'' in

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

by a terrorist group; the widow soon leaves Llanview to accept a job in Chicago. However, Tony's body or physical remains were never actually recovered.

References

External links

Tony Lord profile – SoapCentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lord, Tony One Life to Live characters Television characters introduced in 1975 Fictional reporters Fictional businesspeople Male characters in television