Palmer Cortlandt
Encyclopedia
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 1982, when health issues forced him to reduce his work load, Mitchell continued to appear regularly on the show until May 2007 when he left due to poor health. Mitchell made his final on air appearance as Palmer Cortlandt on January 5, 2010. Less than 2 weeks later, on January 22, Mitchell died at the age of 89.
James Mitchell earned seven Daytime Emmy
nominations, all in the Lead Actor in a Drama Series category, for his portrayal of Palmer Cortlandt.
In 2010, Palmer Cortlandt was ranked #11 on ABC Soaps in Depth 's list of Soaps' 50 Naughtiest Bad Guys.
Palmer married Donna Beck in 1981. By the end of 1982, he was having an affair with his ex-wife and Nina's mother, Daisy. Palmer and Donna divorced in 1983, and Palmer and Daisy re-married and they were happy for a few years. In 1984, Ross Chandler came to Pine Valley. Ross was Palmer's illegitimate son by Lottie Chandler, Adam and Stuart's deceased sister. Later that year, Ross's ex-wife, Cynthia Chandler Preston, and her son, Andrew Preston, came to Pine Valley. After Palmer and Daisy divorced, Palmer and Cynthia married and he adopted Andrew (Cynthia originally claimed that Ross was Andrew's father but it was later proven that he was not). Palmer and Cynthia divorced in early 1986 and he disowned Andrew after it was revealed that Cynthia and Andrew had plotted and caused the death of Alexander Hunter in a horse riding accident (Andrew cut the stirrups, causing Alex to fall from the horse). In early 1986, Andrew took full blame to protect his mother and went to prison for killing Alex. Cynthia then left Pine Valley. Palmer and Daisy remarried but by 1988, they had divorced and Palmer married his nurse, Natalie Hunter (Alex Hunter's widow), after she nursed him back to health. Palmer and Natalie divorced soon after as she had an affair with Ross and he couldn't quite get over losing Daisy.
In 1989, Palmer got a whole new family when his nieces, Melanie and Dixie, and his nephew Will moved in with him. Palmer became a father figure to Dixie and tried to keep her away from marrying Tad Martin. Despite his plotting, it failed but Palmer fell in love with Opal Gardner, whom she affectionately called "Old Coot", and they married on Thanksgiving Day, 1990.
Palmer lost all his money in June 1992. He and Opal ran a restaurant called the Cluck-Cluck Chicken Shack to become wealthy again. In 1995, Palmer slept with Janet Green
and Opal left him and dated Seabone Hunkle. But the Cortlandts' love survived and they reconciled. In late 1998, the marriage crumbled into ruins and they divorced a year later.
Despite divorcing Opal, Palmer never stopped loving her. He was briefly married in 2000 to a drug lord, Vanessa Bennett, but the marriage ended when she perished over a waterfall. Palmer wants to reconcile with Opal but she was now in love with a young musician.
In 2002, Dixie was killed in a car crash and Palmer was left devastated. Her death nearly caused him and Opal to reunite. But he was led astray again in 2004 by Krystal Carey but she married his archrival Adam Chandler in 2005. In 2006, Palmer was devastated to learn Dixie had staged her own death in 2002 and lied to everyone. But he got over his hurt and reconciled with his beloved niece and stood by her as she was wrongly accused of murder. They spent a wonderful Christmas together in late 2006.
In early 2007, Dixie was murdered. Palmer was grief stricken and lashed out at Kenny Alden when he was suspected of being Dixie's killer. Later, when the real killer turned up, Palmer had a heart attack and had to miss the trial. Palmer and Opal bonded again. During late 2007 and into 2008, Palmer was off-screen as his grief over losing Dixie made him shut himself from the world. He did reappear in early 2008, to help Erica Kane out of prison. He later reached out to Opal when her son was nearly killed and appeared at the end of the year to welcome his son Petey back to Pine Valley.
In early 2009, Palmer invested with a shady banker and was forced to leave town when he went broke. He was last seen onscreen in September 2008.
On January 5, 2010, Palmer was seen again on Hayley Santos' documentary about Pine Valley. In it, he proclaimed he knew Opal still loved him and with a smile made it plain he still loved her.
Palmer secretly returned to Pine Valley in April 2010 but he suffered a fatal heart attack on April 19 before making his return known. Jake, who had recently taken over as Palmer's doctor from Joe, found Palmer in his room at the Valley Inn. Palmer had returned to town a few weeks earlier and Daisy was on the way to see him when she got the message he had died. Residents of Pine Valley gathered at midnight and lit candles to honor Palmer. Participants included: Opal, Daisy, Nina, Tad, Kathy, Krystal, Erica, Jackson, Kendall, Angie, Jake, Brooke, & Adam. Jake also said that Joe & Ruth would do the same.
Palmer's beloved niece, Dixie, welcomed him into Heaven.
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 long-running 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...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
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...
, played by James Mitchell
James Mitchell (actor)
James Mitchell was an American actor and dancer. Although he is best known to television audiences as Palmer Cortlandt on the soap opera All My Children , theatre and dance historians remember him as one of Agnes de Mille's leading dancers...
from 1979 to 2010. A major character until 1982, when health issues forced him to reduce his work load, Mitchell continued to appear regularly on the show until May 2007 when he left due to poor health. Mitchell made his final on air appearance as Palmer Cortlandt on January 5, 2010. Less than 2 weeks later, on January 22, Mitchell died at the age of 89.
James Mitchell earned seven Daytime Emmy
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
nominations, all in the Lead Actor in a Drama Series category, for his portrayal of Palmer Cortlandt.
In 2010, Palmer Cortlandt was ranked #11 on ABC Soaps in Depth 's list of Soaps' 50 Naughtiest Bad Guys.
Brief Character History
Palmer first appeared in 1979 as a powerful businessman who always made sure he had control of everything in his life, including his daughter Nina. When Nina went blind due to diabetes and fell for her doctor, Cliff Warner, Palmer convinced Nina that she wasn't right for Cliff. Despite his plotting, he failed and in 1980, Nina and Cliff married. The couple eventually left Pine Valley in 1989 due to Palmer's continued pressures.Palmer married Donna Beck in 1981. By the end of 1982, he was having an affair with his ex-wife and Nina's mother, Daisy. Palmer and Donna divorced in 1983, and Palmer and Daisy re-married and they were happy for a few years. In 1984, Ross Chandler came to Pine Valley. Ross was Palmer's illegitimate son by Lottie Chandler, Adam and Stuart's deceased sister. Later that year, Ross's ex-wife, Cynthia Chandler Preston, and her son, Andrew Preston, came to Pine Valley. After Palmer and Daisy divorced, Palmer and Cynthia married and he adopted Andrew (Cynthia originally claimed that Ross was Andrew's father but it was later proven that he was not). Palmer and Cynthia divorced in early 1986 and he disowned Andrew after it was revealed that Cynthia and Andrew had plotted and caused the death of Alexander Hunter in a horse riding accident (Andrew cut the stirrups, causing Alex to fall from the horse). In early 1986, Andrew took full blame to protect his mother and went to prison for killing Alex. Cynthia then left Pine Valley. Palmer and Daisy remarried but by 1988, they had divorced and Palmer married his nurse, Natalie Hunter (Alex Hunter's widow), after she nursed him back to health. Palmer and Natalie divorced soon after as she had an affair with Ross and he couldn't quite get over losing Daisy.
In 1989, Palmer got a whole new family when his nieces, Melanie and Dixie, and his nephew Will moved in with him. Palmer became a father figure to Dixie and tried to keep her away from marrying Tad Martin. Despite his plotting, it failed but Palmer fell in love with Opal Gardner, whom she affectionately called "Old Coot", and they married on Thanksgiving Day, 1990.
Palmer lost all his money in June 1992. He and Opal ran a restaurant called the Cluck-Cluck Chicken Shack to become wealthy again. In 1995, Palmer slept with Janet Green
Janet Dillon
Janet Dillon is a fictional character on the daytime soap opera All My Children...
and Opal left him and dated Seabone Hunkle. But the Cortlandts' love survived and they reconciled. In late 1998, the marriage crumbled into ruins and they divorced a year later.
Despite divorcing Opal, Palmer never stopped loving her. He was briefly married in 2000 to a drug lord, Vanessa Bennett, but the marriage ended when she perished over a waterfall. Palmer wants to reconcile with Opal but she was now in love with a young musician.
In 2002, Dixie was killed in a car crash and Palmer was left devastated. Her death nearly caused him and Opal to reunite. But he was led astray again in 2004 by Krystal Carey but she married his archrival Adam Chandler in 2005. In 2006, Palmer was devastated to learn Dixie had staged her own death in 2002 and lied to everyone. But he got over his hurt and reconciled with his beloved niece and stood by her as she was wrongly accused of murder. They spent a wonderful Christmas together in late 2006.
In early 2007, Dixie was murdered. Palmer was grief stricken and lashed out at Kenny Alden when he was suspected of being Dixie's killer. Later, when the real killer turned up, Palmer had a heart attack and had to miss the trial. Palmer and Opal bonded again. During late 2007 and into 2008, Palmer was off-screen as his grief over losing Dixie made him shut himself from the world. He did reappear in early 2008, to help Erica Kane out of prison. He later reached out to Opal when her son was nearly killed and appeared at the end of the year to welcome his son Petey back to Pine Valley.
In early 2009, Palmer invested with a shady banker and was forced to leave town when he went broke. He was last seen onscreen in September 2008.
On January 5, 2010, Palmer was seen again on Hayley Santos' documentary about Pine Valley. In it, he proclaimed he knew Opal still loved him and with a smile made it plain he still loved her.
Palmer secretly returned to Pine Valley in April 2010 but he suffered a fatal heart attack on April 19 before making his return known. Jake, who had recently taken over as Palmer's doctor from Joe, found Palmer in his room at the Valley Inn. Palmer had returned to town a few weeks earlier and Daisy was on the way to see him when she got the message he had died. Residents of Pine Valley gathered at midnight and lit candles to honor Palmer. Participants included: Opal, Daisy, Nina, Tad, Kathy, Krystal, Erica, Jackson, Kendall, Angie, Jake, Brooke, & Adam. Jake also said that Joe & Ruth would do the same.
Palmer's beloved niece, Dixie, welcomed him into Heaven.