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| Joe Martin | |||||||||||||||||
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| Ray MacDonnell as Joe Martin | |||||||||||||||||
| All My Children | |||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Ray MacDonnell | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | January 5, 1970 | ||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | January 2010 | ||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Agnes Nixon | ||||||||||||||||
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Dr. Joseph "Joe" Martin Sr. is a long-running character on the American soap opera All My Children. Along with his wife Ruth Martin and his former daughter-in-law Erica Kane, he is one of three original characters remaining since the series' premiere episode. The character has been portrayed by actor Ray MacDonnell since the show's first episode on January 5, 1970.
Character History
The Martin family is one of the founding families of Pine Valley. Joe was a widower in January 1970 trying to raise his children, Jeff and Tara, in the Martin family home with the help of his wonderful mother, Kate. Joe fell in love with Ruth Brent, a nurse at Pine Valley Hospital, who was married to an abusive man, Ted Brent. After Ted's death in an automobile accident, Joe and Ruth were married. Together they adopted son, Tad and had a change-of-life baby, Joey. (There was also a son Bobby, who went to the attic in search of his skis and has never been seen or missed since). Joe had a brief attraction to Leora Sanders, a patient of his, who was being abused by her husband, Kirk. Joe and Ruth separated briefly over his feelings for Leora. After the death of his very good friend and co-worker, Dr. Charles Tyler, Joe inherited the position of Chief of Staff at Pine Valley Hospital. Over the years, Joe has helped to build and keep his nuclear family together and more recently has rebuilt the Martin family home which was destroyed during the tornado that almost took Tad's life. Joe has been the solid rock upon which everyone in Pine Valley has turned to at one time or another for sound advice and fatherly love.
Joe's life nearly came to a premature end in July 1997 when, after a heated confrontation with Dimitri, Joe suffered a massive heart attack. Joe was unconscious for a long time and there was fear that he would suffer brain damage from lack of oxygen. Fortunately, there was no brain damage. There was, however, irreparable damage to his heart.
In March 2002, Joe was forced into stepping down as Chief of Staff of Pine Valley Hospital when David threatened to expose some medical mistakes Joe had made. The mistakes were attributed to Joe's age as well as the fact that he was not as up-to-date on the latest medical breakthroughs as his counterparts. As Joe stepped aside, his son, Jake, was named to his former post.
Joe was thrilled to learn the truth from Tad about Josh being Jeff and Erica's son, but reluctantly agreed with Erica that telling Josh might not be the smartest thing. He was even happier when his son, Jeff, came home after a long absence.
On December 18, 2008, Joe was once again forced into stepping down as Chief of Staff of Pine Valley Hospital when David threatened to get his son Jake in trouble for lying to a military officer. Joe forcefully handed over the title of Chief of Staff to David.
On December 3, 2009, Joe announced to Jake that he and Ruth are making plans to retire and thinking of moving. This comes as a complete suprise to Jake, but Joe assures him that he and Ruth will always miss Pine Valley, but it is time for a change.
External links
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