Jonathan Lavery
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Lavery is a fictional character
from the ABC
daytime drama All My Children
. He has been portrayed by actor Jeff Branson
from June 15, 2004 to December 18, 2007.
Called the "sometimes-villainous Lavery" by newspaper Daily Chronicle
, the character became an ever-evolving fixture in daytime television.
in June 2004 as the younger brother of Ryan Lavery
. Jonathan has just graduated from business school and Ryan hires him to work at the company Cambias Industries. In September 2004, Ryan is shot at a murder mystery party in Zach Slater
's casino by who everyone thinks is Kendall Hart, a woman who Jonathan slept with not long after coming to town. Soon after, Ryan's wife, Greenlee
, is poisoned with overdoses of Antipsychotic medication. Jonathan blames many people for this, including Kendall, Zach, and Ethan Cambias
, all of whom have a vendetta against Ryan. When Jonathan isn't blaming these people, he is involved romantically with Maggie Stone
in a relationship that starts off quite well, ultimately leading to a sudden engagement between them in January 2005. It is then that Jonathan starts to reveal his controlling, abusive side, going as far as to hitting Maggie. In February 2005, Maggie finds the courage to leave Jonathan and soon leaves town with Bianca
and Miranda Montgomery
. That same night, Edmund Grey
is killed in his stables at Wildwind by whom people think is Zach.
It is revealed in March 2005 that Jonathan is responsible for shooting Ryan, poisoning Greenlee, and murdering Edmund. An unhinged Jonathan kidnaps Kendall, Greenlee and Lily Montgomery in April 2005, all in a twisted attempt to "save" Ryan. Ryan discovers his brother's guilt and tracks the women and Jonathan to the cave where Jonathan is keeping them captive. There, Ryan learns that Jonathan has actually killed their brother, Braden, as well and framed him for the crimes. Jonathan is set to kill Greenlee, thus Ryan is forced to shoot his brother to save his wife. The women and Ryan escape, but Jonathan triggers a bomb in the cave and it buries Jonathan under a pile of rubble. Ryan is forced to deal with the guilt associated with killing his own brother. He spirals into depression, convinced that he is as tainted as his two brothers were. In order to protect Greenlee from what Ryan sees as a doomed life with him, he fakes his own death. During this time, Ryan not only finds his long-lost sister, Erin
, but discovers that she has found Jonathan and nursed him back to health. After having Jonathan admitted to a hospital, Ryan and Erin are shocked to learn that their brother has a large brain tumor
, which, along with mis-prescribed anti-psychotic drugs, are deemed responsible for all of his horrible actions since childhood. The tumor is removed, reducing Jonathan's mental state to that of a child, originally said to be age fifteen, but soon noticeably displays a younger age than that of a mid-teenager.
It is during this time that Jonathan befriends Lily, who is autistic. Their unique friendship turns to love, something that unnerves Lily's father, Jackson Montgomery. However, while in New York City
in the spring of 2006, Jonathan and Lily, as Lily has turned age eighteen, marry. Weeks later, a seizure restores Jonathan's adult faculties to him. He decides to keep it a secret so that Lily doesn't feel alone again. And although Amanda Dillon
, Lily's one-time stepsister, finds out, she keeps it a secret as well. Their secret, however, comes to an end in August 2006 when Jackson wants to declare Lily mentally incompetent and Jonathan comes out with the truth. A distraught Lily annuls her marriage to Jonathan, who is heartbroken, but soon comforted by Amanda, who has developed romantic feelings for him.
When Amanda realizes that Jonathan will never be in love with her, she moves on romantically with J.R. Chandler
, for a more sexual relationship, not worrying about love at all. Jonathan moves on romantically with Ava Benton, Lily's half-sister, who happens to be identical to Lily's physical attributes. He becomes engaged to Ava. But on January 16, 2008, Ava tells Amanda at Fusion Cosmetics that they have broken up. Jonathan disappeared from the background. In November 2008, Greenlee thinks that Jonathan has something to do with Emma Lavery
and Annie's kidnappings, but Ryan states that Jonathan is working overseas.
ned on more than one occasion. In 2001, it was stated that Gail Lavery had married Patrick Curry, but later had taken back her maiden name and given it to her children. This was later re-written, as Jonathan's father's name was later revealed to actually be Patrick Lavery.
Jonathan's blood type
was written to be A-negative. The character was previously presumed dead, from April 14, 2005 to August 23, 2005 when a bomb exploded in an old mine.
Once Jonathan's adult mindset was restored, but without his previous villainous qualities, his style of wardrobe was changed yet again, this time to reflect that of a more casual look.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
daytime drama All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
. He has been portrayed by actor Jeff Branson
Jeff Branson
Jeffrey Dale "Jeff" Branson is an American actor.-Life and career:Branson was born in St.Louis and originated the role of Jonathan Lavery on the ABC soap opera All My Children on June 15, 2004. Although he was off the air from mid-April until August 2005 while his character was believed dead in an...
from June 15, 2004 to December 18, 2007.
Called the "sometimes-villainous Lavery" by newspaper Daily Chronicle
Daily Chronicle
The Daily Chronicle was a British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the Daily News to become the News Chronicle.-History:...
, the character became an ever-evolving fixture in daytime television.
Storyline
Jonathan Lavery arrives in Pine ValleyPine Valley, Pennsylvania
Pine Valley, Pennsylvania is the fictional setting for the long-running American soap opera All My Children. It is a small suburb of Philadelphia...
in June 2004 as the younger brother of Ryan Lavery
Ryan Lavery
Ryan Aloysius Lavery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children, as portrayed by Cameron Mathison from January 12, 1998 to 2002 and from 2003 to 2011. The character is set to come back in January 2012 when the series returns online...
. Jonathan has just graduated from business school and Ryan hires him to work at the company Cambias Industries. In September 2004, Ryan is shot at a murder mystery party in Zach Slater
Zach Slater
Zachary "Zach" Slater is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. He was portrayed by actor Thorsten Kaye from May 20, 2004 to November 19, 2010; Thorsten returned to the role on August 5, 2011 to September 23, 2011...
's casino by who everyone thinks is Kendall Hart, a woman who Jonathan slept with not long after coming to town. Soon after, Ryan's wife, Greenlee
Greenlee Smythe
Greenlee Smythe is a fictional character from the daytime drama All My Children. She was originally portrayed by actress Rebecca Budig from August 11, 1999 to November 30, 2005, and was portrayed by actress Sabine Singh from April 20, 2007 to January 15, 2008...
, is poisoned with overdoses of Antipsychotic medication. Jonathan blames many people for this, including Kendall, Zach, and Ethan Cambias
Ethan Cambias
Ethan Cambias is a fictional character on the long running ABC daytime soap opera All My Children. He was portrayed by James Scott from 2004 to 2006...
, all of whom have a vendetta against Ryan. When Jonathan isn't blaming these people, he is involved romantically with Maggie Stone
Maggie Stone
Mary Margaret "Maggie" Stone is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was portrayed by actress Elizabeth Hendrickson, who also portrayed Maggie's identical twin sister, Mary Frances "Frankie" Stone. The character comes to Pine Valley in early 2002 after the...
in a relationship that starts off quite well, ultimately leading to a sudden engagement between them in January 2005. It is then that Jonathan starts to reveal his controlling, abusive side, going as far as to hitting Maggie. In February 2005, Maggie finds the courage to leave Jonathan and soon leaves town with Bianca
Bianca Montgomery
Bianca Christine Montgomery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. In June 2010, Christina Bennett Lind replaced Eden Riegel, who portrayed the role from July 2000 to January 2010. Until Riegel assumed the role, the character was portrayed solely by child...
and Miranda Montgomery
Miranda Montgomery
Miranda Mona Montgomery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She is currently portrayed by Mackenzie Aladjem...
. That same night, Edmund Grey
Edmund Grey
Edmund Grey is a fictional character on the ABC daytime drama All My Children. John Callahan portrayed Edmund from April 1992 to March 2005.-Character history :...
is killed in his stables at Wildwind by whom people think is Zach.
It is revealed in March 2005 that Jonathan is responsible for shooting Ryan, poisoning Greenlee, and murdering Edmund. An unhinged Jonathan kidnaps Kendall, Greenlee and Lily Montgomery in April 2005, all in a twisted attempt to "save" Ryan. Ryan discovers his brother's guilt and tracks the women and Jonathan to the cave where Jonathan is keeping them captive. There, Ryan learns that Jonathan has actually killed their brother, Braden, as well and framed him for the crimes. Jonathan is set to kill Greenlee, thus Ryan is forced to shoot his brother to save his wife. The women and Ryan escape, but Jonathan triggers a bomb in the cave and it buries Jonathan under a pile of rubble. Ryan is forced to deal with the guilt associated with killing his own brother. He spirals into depression, convinced that he is as tainted as his two brothers were. In order to protect Greenlee from what Ryan sees as a doomed life with him, he fakes his own death. During this time, Ryan not only finds his long-lost sister, Erin
Erin Lavery
Erin Lavery was a fictional character on the long-running soap opera All My Children, as portrayed by Connie Fletcher from August 8, 2005 to December 12, 2006.- Brief character history :...
, but discovers that she has found Jonathan and nursed him back to health. After having Jonathan admitted to a hospital, Ryan and Erin are shocked to learn that their brother has a large brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
, which, along with mis-prescribed anti-psychotic drugs, are deemed responsible for all of his horrible actions since childhood. The tumor is removed, reducing Jonathan's mental state to that of a child, originally said to be age fifteen, but soon noticeably displays a younger age than that of a mid-teenager.
It is during this time that Jonathan befriends Lily, who is autistic. Their unique friendship turns to love, something that unnerves Lily's father, Jackson Montgomery. However, while in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in the spring of 2006, Jonathan and Lily, as Lily has turned age eighteen, marry. Weeks later, a seizure restores Jonathan's adult faculties to him. He decides to keep it a secret so that Lily doesn't feel alone again. And although Amanda Dillon
Amanda Dillon
Amanda Maureen Martin is a fictional character from the American daytime All My Children. She is the daughter of police officer/detective Trevor Dillon and longtime series villain Janet Marlowe aka "Janet from another planet"; however, Amanda was thought to be the child of her aunt Natalie...
, Lily's one-time stepsister, finds out, she keeps it a secret as well. Their secret, however, comes to an end in August 2006 when Jackson wants to declare Lily mentally incompetent and Jonathan comes out with the truth. A distraught Lily annuls her marriage to Jonathan, who is heartbroken, but soon comforted by Amanda, who has developed romantic feelings for him.
When Amanda realizes that Jonathan will never be in love with her, she moves on romantically with J.R. Chandler
J.R. Chandler
Adam "JR" Chandler, Jr. is a fictional character from the daytime drama All My Children. He was portrayed by actor Jacob Young. Since his teenage years, the character has been commonly known by the nickname "JR", a variation of the suffix "Jr." The series has altered the character's birth date...
, for a more sexual relationship, not worrying about love at all. Jonathan moves on romantically with Ava Benton, Lily's half-sister, who happens to be identical to Lily's physical attributes. He becomes engaged to Ava. But on January 16, 2008, Ava tells Amanda at Fusion Cosmetics that they have broken up. Jonathan disappeared from the background. In November 2008, Greenlee thinks that Jonathan has something to do with Emma Lavery
Emma Lavery
Emma Lavery is a fictional character on the soap opera All My Children. Emma was originally portrayed by Lucy Merriam, later by Emily Alyn Lind. Emma is currently being played by Danielle Parker since August 17, 2010...
and Annie's kidnappings, but Ryan states that Jonathan is working overseas.
Retconning and character background
Jonathan's history has been retconRetcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
ned on more than one occasion. In 2001, it was stated that Gail Lavery had married Patrick Curry, but later had taken back her maiden name and given it to her children. This was later re-written, as Jonathan's father's name was later revealed to actually be Patrick Lavery.
Jonathan's blood type
Blood type
A blood type is a classification of blood based on the presence or absence of inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells . These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates, glycoproteins, or glycolipids, depending on the blood group system...
was written to be A-negative. The character was previously presumed dead, from April 14, 2005 to August 23, 2005 when a bomb exploded in an old mine.
Characterization
Out-lined as handsome and determined, Jonathan was characterized as "fiercely loyal and extremely caring". He was originally detailed to have a volatile temperament due to a brain tumor, and was later changed to be rational and calm when dealing with irrational matters.Wardrobe
Jonathan's wardrobe, his typical style of wearing suits and leather jackets, changed as the character went from villainous to child-like and then to a redeemed hero. The difference in manner was naturally required and significant in the case of Jonathan being written to have the mind of a child while stricken with a brain tumor. The show often dressed him in a simple t-shirt, jeans, tennis shoes, and the character usually wore a baseball cap to impose the innocence of a young boy, who is a typical sports fan. Accompanied with the wardrobe was a stutter of words whenever the character talked.Once Jonathan's adult mindset was restored, but without his previous villainous qualities, his style of wardrobe was changed yet again, this time to reflect that of a more casual look.
Crimes and misdeeds committed
| Crime/Misdeed | Detail |
|---|---|
| Domestic abuse | Girlfriend Larraine Rossiter. |
| Assault | Placed on probation for assault with instructions to undergo anger management |
| Career deception | Lied about getting his MBA. |
| Theft | Bianca's tank top that had Miranda Miranda Montgomery Miranda Mona Montgomery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She is currently portrayed by Mackenzie Aladjem... 's DNA DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in... so it wouldn't be tested against Ethan Cambias Ethan Cambias Ethan Cambias is a fictional character on the long running ABC daytime soap opera All My Children. He was portrayed by James Scott from 2004 to 2006... ' blood type and so that Ryan Ryan Lavery Ryan Aloysius Lavery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children, as portrayed by Cameron Mathison from January 12, 1998 to 2002 and from 2003 to 2011. The character is set to come back in January 2012 when the series returns online... could keep the Cambias fortune. |
| Poisoned | Greenlee Greenlee Smythe Greenlee Smythe is a fictional character from the daytime drama All My Children. She was originally portrayed by actress Rebecca Budig from August 11, 1999 to November 30, 2005, and was portrayed by actress Sabine Singh from April 20, 2007 to January 15, 2008... with an anti-psychosis drug when she was his sister-in-law. |
| Domestic abuse | Slapped Maggie Stone Maggie Stone Mary Margaret "Maggie" Stone is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was portrayed by actress Elizabeth Hendrickson, who also portrayed Maggie's identical twin sister, Mary Frances "Frankie" Stone. The character comes to Pine Valley in early 2002 after the... during an argument. |
| Assault | Bobby Warner. |
| Murder | Edmund Grey Edmund Grey Edmund Grey is a fictional character on the ABC daytime drama All My Children. John Callahan portrayed Edmund from April 1992 to March 2005.-Character history :... . |
| Murder | His brother, Braden Lavery. |
| Murder | Steve, a bodyguard hired to protect Greenlee and Lily. |
| Kidnapping | Greenlee and Lily (and later Kendall) and forced them into a cave. |
| Hostages | Held Greenlee, Kendall and Lily at gunpoint and forced them into a mine where he locked them behind an iron gate. |
| Kidnapping | Arrested for the kidnapping of Adam Chandler III. Later proved innocent. |
| Killed | Shot and killed Terry McDermott while defending Lily. |