The Wolek family are fictional characters from the American soap opera ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...

'' present at its debut in 1968. The Woleks were created as a working-class reflection of the affluent

Lord family The Lord family are fictional characters from the American soap opera '' One Life to Live''. They were introduced in the show's July 15, 1968 debut episode on ABC, and featured for the entirety of its run until the series ended on August 19, 2013 ...

, and storylines focused on the shared relations of the two families. The

Polish American Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing about 2.83 ...

family is formed around the relationships of Dr. Lawrence "Larry" Wolek, a leading

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

character that appears from the debut episode July 15, 1968 through May 28, 2004.

Generations

First generation

* Anna Wolek (

Doris Belack Doris Belack (February 26, 1926 – October 4, 2011) was an American character actress of stage, film and television. Life and career Belack was born in 1926 in New York City, the younger daughter of Isaac and Bertha Belack, Jewish immigrants ...

, Kathleen Maguire, Phyllis Behar)
Original character. Born off-screen early 1940s as of 1968. Sister of Vince and Larry, distant cousin of Karen and Jenny. * Vincent "Vinny" Wolek (

Antony Ponzini Antony Ponzini (June 1, 1933 – December 30, 2002) was an American actor. Some of Ponzini's credits include roles on soap operas ''The Edge of Night'', '' Another World'', and being a member of the original cast of ''One Life to Live'' as Vince ...

Jordan Charney Jordan Charney (born April 1, 1937) is an American character actor. Many of his earliest roles were on daytime television, with appearances in numerous soaps. Jordan created the role of creepy Julian Dark in the early to mid-1960s on the CBS so ...

, Michael Ingram)
Original character. Born off-screen mid-1940s; dies onscreen July 9, 1981. Brother to Anna and Larry, distant cousin of Karen and Jenny. * Lawrence "Larry" Wolek (Paul Tulley, Jim Storm,

Michael Storm Michael Storm (born August 9, 1939) is an American musician and actor. Music career After playing in a folk music trio called the Other Singers, Storm founded the Good Time Singers, a band formed to replace the New Christy Minstrels on ''The ...

)
Original character. Born off-screen late 1940s. Brother of Anna and Vince, distant cousin of Jenny and Karen. *

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 ...

(Kathryn Breech,

Julia Duffy Julia Margaret Duffy (née Hinds; June 27, 1951) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She began her career in television, appearing in minor guest roles before being cast in the role of Penny Davis in the series ''The Doctors (1963 ...

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 ...

)
Born off-screen early 1950s. Sister of Jenny, distant cousin of Anna, Vince and Larry. * Jennifer "Jenny" Wolek (

Katherine Glass Katherine Glass (born January 11, 1947) is an American actress best remembered for her television work in the 1970s. Career Glass was raised as a Roman Catholic in New Haven, Connecticut."Kathy takes a day at a time" by Jon-Michael Reed, ''The ...

Brynn Thayer Brynn Thayer is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Jenny Wolek on the television soap opera ''One Life to Live'' from 1978 to 1986, which earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. Career Thayer is best known for her ...

)
Born off-screen mid-to-late 1950s; dies off-screen 1997. Sister of Karen, distant cousin of Anna, Vince and Larry.

Second generation

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. Cast ...

(

Catherine Burns Catherine Burns (September 25, 1945 – February 2, 2019) was an American actress of stage, film, radio and television. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in ''Last Summer'' (1969). Early ...

, Amy Levitt, Jane Alice Brandon, Dorrie Kavanaugh, Jennifer Harmon)
Born off-screen 1951 to Jim Craig and unnamed mother, adopted by Anna Wolek Craig. *

Daniel Wolek Daniel Wolek is a fictional character on the American soap opera ''One Life to Live''. He is the only son of original characters Larry Wolek and Meredith Lord. Background and storyline Daniel, nicknamed "Dan" or "Danny," is born onscreen November ...

(Timothy Waldrip,

Steven Culp Steven Bradford Culp (born December 3, 1955) is an American actor. Culp appeared in films '' Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday'' (1993), ''James and the Giant Peach'' (1996), ''The Emperor's Club'' (2002), and most notably in the 2000 politica ...

, Ted Demers, Joshua Cox, Michael Palance, and child actors)
Born onscreen November 17, 1971, to Larry Wolek and Meredith Lord Wolek; birth year changed to 1966 as of 1983.

Third generation

Megan Craig Riley Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (''margarítēs''), Latin ''margarīta'', "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in W ...

(child actors)
Born onscreen December 2, 1974, to Cathy Craig and Joe Riley; dies onscreen October 3, 1975.

Introduction

When the Wolek family is first introduced at the inception of ''One Life to Live'', Dr.

Larry Wolek Larry Wolek is a fictional character from the American soap opera ''One Life to Live'', played for List of longest-serving soap opera actors#United States, 35 years by actor Michael Storm. Storm is the second longest running cast member of the ABC ...

is presented as the youngest of an

upwardly mobile Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between Social stratification, social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location ...

clan of siblings who live in a rough-and-tumble west Llanview apartment building directly opposite Llanfair housekeeper

Sadie Gray Sadie Gray is a fictional character from the American soap opera ''One Life to Live'', played by Broadway actress and singer Lillian Hayman from 1968 to 1986. Sadie regularly sings at special functions and occasions during her appearance on the ...

(

Lillian Hayman Lillian Irene Hayman (July 17, 1922 – October 25, 1994) was an American actress and singer. Career Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Hayman graduated from Wilberforce University with a BA before she began her career in the Broadway theatre. Sh ...

). Larry's siblings are shown to be elders Anna Wolek, sibling matriarch and Llanview Hospital volunteer, and

Vince Wolek Vince Wolek is a fictional character from the American soap opera, ''One Life to Live''. Actor Antony Ponzini originated the role from the debut episode in 1968 through 1975, and briefly reappeared in 1987. Casting Vincent was created by series c ...

, an auto mechanic. The mother and father of the three original Woleks are deceased at the show's inception, and the two older siblings personally and financially sacrifice to enable Larry to pursue his expensive dream of being a doctor. Anna sacrifices for her brother's medical career selflessly, but their brother Vince is shown as being particularly resentful of the prestige and opportunity a medical career affords

resident physician Residency or postgraduate training is specifically a stage of graduate medical education. It refers to a qualified physician (one who holds the degree of MD, DO, MBBS, MBChB), veterinarian ( DVM or VMD) , dentist ( DDS or DMD) or podiatrist ( ...

Larry and the studying doctor's romantic relationship with

Meredith Lord Meredith Lord is a fictional character from the American soap opera ''One Life to Live''. Actress Trish Van Devere originated the role of Meredith from the series television pilot, pilot aired July 15, 1968 through December 1968. Meredith was then ...

, the daughter of

Llanview Llanview, Pennsylvania is the fictional setting for the long-running American soap opera ''One Life to Live''. The city exists in the same fictional universe as cities from other existing or defunct ABC daytime dramas, including Pine Valley, Penn ...

media mogul

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 magnate ...

. After Meredith's death, Wolek distant cousins and siblings

Jenny Jenny may refer to: * Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people * Jenny (surname), a family name Animals * Jenny (donkey), a female donkey * Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of ...

and

arrive in fictional Llanview the mid-1970s. Larry and Karen marry after a whirlwind courtship and romance, but she later

cuckold A cuckold is the husband of an adulterous wife; the wife of an adulterous husband is a cuckquean. In biology, a cuckold is a male who unwittingly invests parental effort in juveniles who are not genetically his offspring. A husband who is aw ...

s him when she becomes a prostitute and the two divorce. Jenny engages in a series of romances from the late 1970s through the 1980s.

Family tree

, - , , - , , - , style="text-align: left;", Notes:

Descendants

, - , style="text-align: left;", Unknown Wolek (distant relative; deceased) Unknown Wolek (deceased) c. Anna Wolek m. Jim Craig 969-1981; dissolved ac.

(biological child of Jim and his deceased first wife) c.

eceased 1981 m. Wanda Webb 975-1981; dissolved c.

Karen Martin Karen Lesley Martin (born 24 November 1974) is a female retired English international javelin thrower. Athletics career She represented England and won a silver medal in the javelin, at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. H ...

969; divorced m.

970-1973; dissolved(deceased) c.

. 1971 c. ''Unnamed daughter'' tillborn 1971 m.

977-1979; divorced m. Laurel Chapin 985-1986; dissolved(deceased) Unknown Wolek (deceased) c. Jenny Wolek eceased 1997 m. Tim Siegel issolved 1976 m.

Brad Vernon Brad Vernon is a fictional character from the American soap opera '' One Life to Live''. Character background Casting Actor Jameson Parker was cast on-the-spot by ''OLTL'' executive producer Doris Quinlan for the role of Brad following an encount ...

978-1981; divorced c. '' Mary Vernon'' tillborn 1979 m. Peter Janssen 981-1982; dissolved(deceased) m. David Renaldi 984-199?; dissolved(deceased) c.

977-1979; divorced, - , style="text-align: left;", Notes , - , style="text-align: left;",

References

External links

Wolek family tree – SoapCentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolek Family One Life to Live families Television characters introduced in 1968 Fictional Polish-American people