| Jeff Martin | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| John James as Jeff Martin | |||||||||||||||||||||
| All My Children | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Christopher Lofton (1970) Charles Frank (1970-1975, 1988, 1995) Robert Perault (1976-77) James O'Sullivan (1977-79) Jeffrey Byron (1986-87) John James (2006-07) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Current status | Former; Regular | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1970–79, 1986–88, 1995, 2006–07 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | January 5, 1970 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | May 8, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cause/reason | Left Town | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Agnes Nixon | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Agnes Nixon and Bud Kloss | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Family | Martin Family | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Jeff | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender | Male | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Physician Provided medical treatment to third world countries | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Jeff Martin is a character from the soap opera All My Children, portrayed most notably and for the longest tenure by Charles Frank, most recently portrayed by John James.
Storylines[]
Young medical intern Jeff Martin found himself bewitched by Erica Kane. Erica liked the idea of marrying a doctor. Jeff fell under Erica's spell and the two were married, but trouble soon surfaced. Jeff's salary did not allow for a glamorous lifestyle, and Erica wanted the best out of life. The two started to drift apart, and Jeff began spending more time with Nurse Mary Kennicott.
Erica began to work as a model and became the object of obsession for her agent, Jason Maxwell. Erica's career began to cause strains for Jeff, who turned to Mary for a shoulder to cry on. On the verge of making it as a model, Erica discovered she was pregnant with Jeff's baby. Not ready to care for a baby, Erica had an abortion without telling Jeff she was ever pregnant. When Jeff found out after the fact he was livid. Despite this, Jeff tried to make his marriage work.
Erica and Jeff's rocky marriage continued while Erica began spending more time with Jason Maxwell. Eventually Jeff got sick of arguing with Erica, and the two divorced. Erica, losing hold of Jason, started to use Jeff to incite Jason's jealousy, claiming that Jeff hated him for taking Erica away. Some time later Jason was found dead and Jeff was arrested for the murder. He was eventually cleared when Erica's mother was revealed as the culprit. Finally free, Jeff wed Mary. Their happiness was short lived, as she was later killed by burglars.
Jeff fell in love with Dr. Christina Karras, who was engaged to Dr. David Thornton. David was later killed, and Jeff helped Christina prove she was innocent of his death. The two married and moved out of town, but Christina's demanding ways eventually led to their divorce.
Jeff occasionally visited Pine Valley over the next ten years before getting involved with organizations that provided medical care to third world countries.
Jeff returned to Pine Valley in 2006 when informed by his father Joe that the child they believed Erica had aborted was alive and now in Pine Valley. Jeff attempted to reach out to his son, Josh and in the process rekindled a romance with Erica.
Shortly after Jeff's arrival, Dr. Madden was found murdered. Jeff and Erica had been at odds about whether or not to divulge the truth to Josh, but in his grief, it seemed the perfect time to comfort him as only parents could. Josh didn't receive the news well, and was torn between hating the man who created him, and loving that same man for having treated him like a true son. At first he wanted no part of his real family, and cast doubtful eyes on those he thought might have killed Greg Madden. He was also very smitten with Babe Chandler, something that Erica hated because of what she had done to Bianca.
Finding out they had a son brought Erica and Jeff close again, and their interaction in dealing with Josh began to affect her marriage to Jack. When Erica moved into the Valley Inn for some 'me' time, and failed to return, Jack had her belongings delivered to her hotel room door. Jeff felt encouraged that perhaps he might win Erica back when he began suffering from bouts of malaria and she climbed into bed with him to help quell his fevered shivering.
Josh eventually eased into a relationship with both Erica and Jeff, and escorted his 'new mother' home to spend Christmas with Jack and the family. After a short-lived affair with Erica, Jeff decided to return to his work in Africa.