Adam "JR" Chandler Jr. is a fictional character from the

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 ...

and

The Online Network Prospect Park is a Hollywood entertainment production company, founded in 2008 by Richard H. Frank, a former executive at the Walt Disney Television, and Jeff Kwatinetz, former CEO of the talent agency The Firm, Inc., and music manager Peter Kat ...

daytime drama ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...

''. He was portrayed by

Jacob Young Jacob Wayne Young (born September 10, 1979) is an American actor and producer. He is a five-time Daytime Emmy Award nominee, winning once in 2002 for his role as Lucky Spencer in the soap opera '' General Hospital'' (2000–2003). He is best kn ...

from 2003 to 2011, prior to Ryan Bittle taking over the role in 2013. Bittle was cast as the new JR on Prospect Park's continuation of ''All My Children''.

Background

The character was introduced on July 3, 1989, as the son of

Dixie Cooney Dixie Cooney is a fictional character from ''All My Children'', an American soap opera on the ABC network. The character was initially portrayed by actress Kari Gibson from her debut in July 1988 until October of that year when she was replaced ...

and her estranged ex-husband,

Adam Chandler Adam Chandler is a fictional character from the ABC and The Online Network daytime drama ''All My Children'', portrayed by David Canary from the autumn of 1983 through his departure on April 23, 2010, and briefly reprising the role for the seri ...

. In March 2004, the character's birth year was revised to July 3, 1983. He is a member of both the powerful and wealthy Chandler and Cooney families, being the son of Adam Chandler and great-nephew of

Palmer Cortlandt Palmer Cortlandt is a fictional character on the long-running ABC soap opera ''All My Children'', played by James Mitchell from 1979 to 2010. A major character until 2002, when health issues forced him to reduce his work load, Mitchell continu ...

. The writers characterized JR as caring, but ruthless if betrayed, explaining the latter by way of his difficult upbringing. The character's softer personality has been attributed to his mother, Dixie Cooney, as well as to his son, AJ, and true love

Babe Carey Arabella "Babe" Carey is a fictional character from the American daytime drama ''All My Children''. She was originally portrayed by actress Alexa Havins, from October 13, 2003, to October 8, 2007, and then by actress Amanda Baker from October 8, 20 ...

(who was killed off by the series in 2008). Credited as significantly complex,Jacob Young TV Guide Interview, ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' (2005-03-22). Retrieved on 2007-12-18 he has been cited as a television

anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform action ...

, and "bad boy," and his struggles with family, romantic partners, and

alcohol addiction Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

have been documented in literature.

Character creation

Actor

, who had been on ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...

'' (

Rick Forrester Rick Forrester is a fictional character from ''The Bold and the Beautiful'', an American soap opera on the CBS network. He was born in 1990 as the son of Brooke Logan and Eric Forrester. Portrayed by several adult actors, he is currently portra ...

) and ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

'' (

Lucky Spencer Lucky Spencer is a fictional character from the ABC Daytime soap opera, ''General Hospital''. He is the son of Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura Spencer (Genie Francis). His birth having been announced on-screen in 1985, a ten-year-old Lucky was ca ...

) prior to joining ''

'', stated that he had good instincts, but that he "was young and kind of doe-eyed to the world" then. It was not until the actor stepped into the ''All My Children'' role of JR Chandler that his acting range became more focused. He started to use tools he learned in classes and felt that his acting became more refined because of it. With his portrayal of JR, he explained how this factored in: "They twisted JR in a completely different direction," he stated. "They started off with JR not respecting his father and having a lot of elements of his mother in him. He was much softer. Then they started toying with it and couldn't believe what was coming out of me. I'd always been the nice, honorable guy; I'd never been the character who was stirring the pot." JR's rich lifestyle was something that Young noted not being familiar with, stating that the JR persona did not come to him until he would put on the suit. "They put me in these nice designer suits, and I suddenly feel like a million bucks. Then I take that million-buck feeling and go a little sinister with it." One aspect of JR's personality is "devious tones" sometimes present in his dialogue. "When the character is in a good mood and has the upper hand, he has all these one-liners," Young relayed. When working with former ''All My Children'' co-star

Alexa Havins Alexa Carole Havins (born November 16, 1980) is an American actress. She first came to prominence in 2003, when she became the originating actress in the role of Babe Carey Chandler on the soap opera ''All My Children''. Her role as the flawed b ...

(ex-

), Young would often shock Havins with the character's words. To make sure she was unaware of how he was going to deliver a crass line, he would keep it hidden uring rehearsal "You can break the wording down and make it a little more offensive," he cited. "And I try to nail that because that's what JR's supposed to do." The writers were looking for an actor who could truly radiate the essence of

's son and felt that taking JR down the path of darkness would help with that. Young, the actor chosen as best suited for the part, detailed the transition: "They wanted it to be 'like father, like son,' so I watched

David Canary David Hoyt Canary (August 25, 1938 – November 16, 2015) was an American actor. Canary is best known for his role as ranch foreman Candy Canaday in the NBC Western drama ''Bonanza'', and as Adam Chandler in the television soap opera ''All My ...

's (Adam) mannerisms and delivery. I tried to mold those into my own, enough to where I could be his son. They started writing my dialogue like his. He has some one-liners that are pretty funny. David is as big a goofball as I am onset. He's like, 'Here's my boy!' We have a great dynamic together." Young's portrayal of JR propelled the character into one of the show's more popular and hated characters.

Storylines

1989–2011

JR is born in 1989 as the son of

and

. Throughout his life, he has been involved with

Amanda Dillon Amanda Dillon is a fictional character from the American daytime television soap opera '' All My Children''. She is the daughter of police officer/detective Trevor Dillon and longtime series villain Janet Marlowe aka "Janet from Another Planet"; ...

Kendall Hart Kendall Hart is a fictional character from ''All My Children'', an American soap opera on the ABC network. The character was portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar from February 24, 1993, to July 3, 1995, and by Alicia Minshew from January 2002 unt ...

, Annie Lavery, and mainly linked to

and

Marissa Tasker Marissa Tasker is a fictional character on the soap opera, ''All My Children''. She was portrayed by Brittany Allen from April 21, 2009, to December 21, 2010, and by Sarah Glendening from December 27, 2010, to September 23, 2011. Character histor ...

. JR and Babe - who have been married three times to each other - produce a son,

AJ Chandler AJ Chandler also known as Adam "AJ" Chandler III is a fictional character from the American serial drama, ''All My Children''. From April 29 to September 2, 2013, the role has been portrayed by Eric Nelsen. Casting The role of AJ Chandler was o ...

, in 2004 and are involved in a three-way baby switch storyline. Bianca Montgomery's daughter

Miranda Montgomery Miranda Montgomery is a fictional character from the American serial drama, '' All My Children''. Casting and characterization On February 19, 2013, it was believed that actress Jordan Lane Price was to be cast as a SORASed Miranda on the Pros ...

is switched to Babe and JR, while their own child is given to

Kelly Cramer Kelly Cramer is a fictional character on the long-running ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live''. The role was originated by actress Gina Tognoni, who debuted on February 17, 1995, and played the character in her last appearance on August 24, 2011. ...

(of

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 ...

). Kelly's recent pregnancy ends in stillbirth and given to Bianca. Eventually, the truth is revealed and Miranda goes back to Bianca, while AJ is returned to Babe/JR, and finally, Kelly Cramer deals with the death and the situation. In 2009, Babe dies from injuries of a tornado and JR later gets involved with Babe's twin sister and AJ's aunt

, who he later married. They divorce in 2010, and in 2011, Marissa starts dating Bianca. That same year, his mother is revealed to be alive, along with his uncle,

Stuart Chandler Stuart Chandler is a fictional character on American daytime drama '' All My Children''. He was a member of the powerful and wealthy Chandler family. He was portrayed by David Canary from October 1984 to May 28, 2009, and for a brief return dur ...

. A devastated JR becomes drunk and arrives with a gun at Brooke and Adam's party, where a shot is heard.

2013

It is revealed that JR has been in a coma for five years. On the night that changed Pine Valley five years ago (the

series finale), the drunken JR was about to shoot someone, but David Hayward intervened; JR pulled the trigger and shot someone in the house, while David shot JR and put him in a coma. It is revealed on May 2, 2013, that JR shot and killed

, his ex-wife (David's daughter).

References