Kate Martin (All My Children)
Encyclopedia
- For the character's great-granddaughter and namesake, see Kathy Mershon.
Katherine "Kate" Martin was a fictional character
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...
on the soap opera 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...
. She was known as Kate Martin. She was played by Kate Harrington briefly in 1970 then by Christine Thomas, 1970; and finally by Kay Campbell
Kay Campbell
Catherine "Kay" Campbell was an American actress.Campbell began her career as a model in Chicago. She first rose to fame playing the role of Evey Perkins on the radio serial Ma Perkins from 1945 to 1960. Her first regular televised serial role was as Helene Benedict on The Guiding Light from 1957...
, 1970 to 1985.
She was the matriarch of Martin family. Wife of Henry Martin and the mother of Joe Martin
Joe Martin (All My Children)
Dr. Joseph Henry "Joe" Martin Sr. is a fictional character on the American soap opera All My Children. Ray MacDonnell played the character from the show's inception on January 5, 1970 until his retirement on January 5, 2010. He reprised his role for three episodes in March 2011, and again for two...
and Paul Martin. She was usually found in the kitchen cooking some of her famous recipes or offering sensible advice to Tad
Tad Martin
Thaddeus James "Tad" Martin is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. Tad is portrayed by actor Michael E. Knight. Knight has portrayed the role on and off from 1982 until the series finale in 2011. Tad represents the good on the show All My Children, often butting...
.
Brief Character History
Kate Martin may have had three grandchildren of her own, but she was considered everyone's "Gran" in Pine Valley. Kate suffered many tragedies around the same time, including the death of her husband, Henry Martin, the loss of a daughter-in-law, Helen Martin, and the devastating news that her son, Paul Martin, was missing in action in Vietnam. Her eldest son, Joseph "Joe" Martin, Sr.Joe Martin (All My Children)
Dr. Joseph Henry "Joe" Martin Sr. is a fictional character on the American soap opera All My Children. Ray MacDonnell played the character from the show's inception on January 5, 1970 until his retirement on January 5, 2010. He reprised his role for three episodes in March 2011, and again for two...
, moved his family back to Pine Valley as response to Helen's death. Kate filled the maternal void after Helen's death. With her newfound family, the good news began to flood in. Paul was recovered in Vietnam, and soon set up shop as an attorney in Pine Valley.
Kate tried to keep herself out of the Martin family drama. Tara had turned to her with apprehensions about marrying Chuck Tyler, but Kate could provide no definitive answer. Nor was Kate able to explain why Jeff Martin would rush into a sudden marriage with Erica Kane
Erica Kane
Erica Kane is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children.The character has been portrayed by actress Susan Lucci since the show first aired in January 1970, until the last broadcast television episode aired in September 2011. Erica is considered to be the most popular...
. Phoebe English came to Kate with an idea to set up her daughter, Ann Tyler, with Paul. Kate disapproved of Phoebe's intervention in Tara and Chuck's relationship, and was not about to help her weed in Paul's life. She was not going to play matchmaker to her son, and told Phoebe that she should do the same for her daughter.
Kate welcomed Ruth Martin into the Martin household. She passed on the reigns of Martin matriarch to Ruth after her wedding to Joe. In Ruth, she did not only get a daughter-in-law, but a new best friend.
Kate worried that Joe and Ruth's marriage was doomed. Ruth kept the secret about little Phillip Tyler's paternity for so long. Kate had never seen Joe so angry before either. Kate knew it was best to keep out of their affairs. Instead, she focused her attention on Tad, who was now going to be adopted by the elder Martins.
Kate worried about her son’s marriage. The once peaceful Martin home was at war over Tara and Phil. Kate invited Dan Kennicott to move in with the Martins while he attended Pine Valley University. She hoped his presence would calm Joe and Ruth down enough to speak with each other.
Joe lay near death when he was struck with appendicitis. By his bedside, Kate witnessed Ruth and Joe reconciled. All the Martins came together for the long anticipated Christmas time wedding of Tara and Phil.
When Ruth and Joe learned they were expecting a child, everyone rejoiced. Ruth was concerned over the dangers to the child because of her advanced age. Kate calmed her fears, telling her to wait for test results before making any assumptions about the baby’s health. All the tests indicated that she was going to have a perfectly healthy child. That Christmas, Joseph “Joey” Martin, jr. was born.
Kate caught Tad stealing money from her sugar bowl. Kate confronted him until he admitted he was going to use the cash to buy drugs. His erratic behavior only increased. When he accidentally crashed the family station wagon, Tad decided to run away from home breaking Kate’s heart.
Kate was taking care of Joey when he found Ruth’s gun. She had bought it to protect herself from Ray. Joey accidentally shot Kate, not knowing the gun was real. Luckily, the wound was not life threatening. The accident convinced Ruth to get rid of the gun and not live in fear of Ray’s return.
But Ray was able to manage an early parole. Kate was able to intervene when he came to the Martin home to confront Ruth. That New Year’s Eve, Greg Nelson rushed into the home claiming Ray had planted a bomb to explode under the Martin home. At that moment, an explosion occurred outside. Ray had run away with the bomb after learning his daughter, Jenny Gardner, was staying over at the Martin home.
The Martins welcomed Tad back to Pine Valley.
Her final scenes aired on April 30, 1985 in which she was seen cooking some stew for her grandson, Tad.
On the night of July 15-16, 1985, Kate died in her sleep. All of the Martins returned to say farewell to their beloved grandmother.