Kate Martin | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All My Children character | |||||||||
Portrayed by | Christine Thomas (1970) Kate Harrington (1970) Kay Campbell (1970–85) |
||||||||
First appearance | January 5, 1970 | ||||||||
Last appearance | May 30, 1985 | ||||||||
Created by | Agnes Nixon | ||||||||
Profile | |||||||||
Occupation | Housewife | ||||||||
Residence | Pine Valley, Pennsylvania | ||||||||
|
Husband | Henry Martin (1927–59) |
---|---|
Sons | |
Grandsons |
|
Granddaughters |
|
Kate Martin is a fictional character on the soap opera, All My Children. She was played by Christine Thomas for three weeks in January 1970, then by Kate Harrington from January to July 1970, and finally by Kay Campbell, from August 1970 to April 1985.
She was the matriarch of the Martin family, wife of Henry Martin and mother of Joe and Paul Martin. She was usually found in the kitchen cooking some of her famous recipes or offering sensible advice to Tad.
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 her daughter-in-law, Helen; and the devastating news that her son, Paul, was missing in action in Vietnam. Her elder son, Joe, 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. Phoebe Tyler came to Kate with an idea to set up her daughter, Anne 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 Parker into the Martin household. She passed on the reins of Martin matriarch to Ruth after her wedding to Joe. In Ruth, she did not only gain a new daughter-in-law, but a new best friend.