Todd and Blair Manning
Encyclopedia
Todd Manning and Blair Cramer are fictional characters and a supercouple
from the ABC
daytime drama One Life to Live
. Todd
was originated by Roger Howarth
and later portrayed by actor Trevor St. John
. On August 17, 2011, St. John's character was revealed to be Todd's identical twin brother, Victor Lord Jr., conditioned to believe he was Todd and assume Todd's identity. Blair
has been portrayed by Kassie DePaiva
since the couple's inception.
The couple is often called "T&B" or "TnB" (for Todd and Blair) by fans on Internet
message boards. Their popularity led to a nomination at the Daytime Emmy Award
s, cited as one of television's top couples. An often tempestuous but loving relationship, the two have been titled "hands down the most brilliantly complex couple on daytime".
Michael Malone
detailed the varying elements, what he set out to create, and how the couple eventually evolved:
In a 2001 interview, when asked if Todd and Blair are soulmates, actress Kassie DePaiva
, portrayer of Blair, stated "Yes. Their connection is so deeply rooted. Less is more with them. They don't even need dialogue to speak. What they don't say speaks volumes."
at a party in May 1993. After being sentenced to prison for eight years, Todd develops a burning desire to seek revenge on the two women he holds responsible for his jail time, Nora Gannon
(his attorney who threw the case when she discovered that Todd was guilty) and Marty. After escaping from prison, Todd causes more terror when he holds a knife to Nora, who is blind at the time, and threatens to rape her. Nora is able to escape the attack when Bo Buchanan
arrives in time to save her, and Todd flees. In time, Todd's run from the law soon ends on the night of the annual Costume Ball at a place called Serenity Springs. Bo is able to corner Todd and Todd has no other choice but to surrender. In a bizarre twist of fate, Todd is given a pardon after saving the lives of Marty and Tina and Cord's
two children, C.J. and Sarah
. But Todd's trouble is only beginning.
After becoming a free man once again, Todd faces his next obstacle: A string of rapes in Llanview become a thorn in his side, as all suspicions are pointing to him. After doing some detective work on his own, Todd is able to find out that the true culprit is his old fraternity brother, Powell Lord III. After a showdown with Powell, Todd finally has a sense of the pain he caused Marty and sincerely apologizes to her for the rape. The next shockwave to hit Todd is the sudden death of his father, Peter Manning. It is a bittersweet goodbye to the man who abused him as a child, but upon his death, Todd learns something even more startling. It is in his mother's old letters that he learns that he was adopted, and that there is also a large sum of money for him. Schemers David Vickers
and Dorian Lord
discover that Todd Manning is really an heir to none other than Victor Lord, and is worth an estimated $30 million.
In 1994, Todd's love life takes an unexpected turn as well, after he meets up with the very conniving Blair Daimler, who later learns of his "hidden" Lord fortune. Blair first meets Todd at Rodi's Bar. She goes there to lose her problems in a couple of drinks, which is exactly the same reason Todd is there. They bond almost immediately, become friends, and before long, they are making love. Their intimacy with each other is "no strings attached". It is after Blair discovers the truth about Todd being the Lord heir that she sets her plan into motion of marrying him. Blair tells Todd she is pregnant with his child, which starts out as a lie, but to the amazement of Blair, is actually true. They marry in 1995 and she becomes pregnant on their wedding night. It is not long after their wedding that Todd finds out that he is Victor Lord's son, and is now worth 27.8 million dollars. Trouble hits Todd again when he finds out that Blair knew all along about his inheritance. Todd files for divorce from Blair, who had already lost the baby she had been carrying. Todd is unaware that Blair has become pregnant a second time, and is keeping it a secret from him. Ironically, during the course of their marriage, Blair has fallen for Todd after all.
In fall 1995, Todd and Blair reconcile, and once again became man and wife, ready to start a real family with their unborn daughter. Unfortunately, their happiness is very short-lived, as tragedy is about to strike again. Wanting to set things right with the woman he raped, Todd takes a short trip to Ireland
in order to track down Marty to tell her that the young girl she knows named Paloma is dying of AIDS
. Todd helps Marty and her new friend, Patrick Thornhart
, out of a jam. After being mistaken for Patrick, Todd is shot, stuffed into the trunk of a car, and driven off of a cliff. Meanwhile, back in Llanview, Blair hears the terrible news that her husband is dead. In her grief, Blair blames Marty, accusing her of wrapping Todd around her finger and playing on his guilt, even fearing that Todd had only loved her out of a vague resemblance to Marty. Blair struggles to carry her daughter, Starr
, to term, but manages to deliver her, becoming a single mother in the process. Her vengeance against Marty eventually sends her straight into the comforting arms of a jilted Patrick Thornhart. Little does Blair know that one of her nights of passion with Patrick is witnessed by none other than her "dead" husband Todd.
By mid-1996, Todd has "come back from the dead" and spies her in a clinch with Patrick. He is repulsed at her carrying Patrick's baby, and angrily engineers a kidnapping of Starr. The town rallies behind Todd and Blair over Starr's "disappearance", and Todd slowly softens towards Blair as she fears for their daughter. Starr is "rescued" with no one the wiser. A problem arises when it is discovered that Starr now needs a bone marrow transplant. Blair and Patrick's unborn baby is a match. A few weeks before delivery of the child, however, Patrick and Blair are slammed into head-on by another car (driven by Blair's cousin, Kelly Cramer
, which sparks a rivalry that never truly fades away), killing Blair's unborn son "Brendan". Blair lapses into a coma, while a scheming Alex Olanov
steps in as the unlikely donor to save Starr's life. Blair wakes up long enough to cast Todd from her life, having discovered that he is behind Starr's kidnapping, then she has a severe stroke. While Blair recuperates, Todd refocuses his attentions, and sues for custody of Starr.
Todd marries his lawyer, Téa Delgado
, in 1997 to help him win custody of Starr, which he does. Téa originally marries Todd because of the money he has paid her, but the two become much closer, and eventually Todd admits that he is in love with Téa and proposes true marriage. Like Todd and Blair, Todd and Téa fall in love and marry "for real". Todd hires Blair to work for him again and tries to prove Bo guilty for the murder of Georgie Phillips to get revenge on the Buchanans. When the evidence starts making Todd look guilty, he kidnaps everyone involved with Georgie and holds them all at the Buchanan lodge, determined to make the real murderer confess and thereby clear himself. Rachel Gannon
finally confesses to Georgie's murder, and Todd runs off, taking Téa with him. In a rage, after Téa angrily taunts him for kidnapping her, he hits her. She later turns the tables on him when she knocks him out with a shovel, calls the police and has him arrested.
Todd escapes soon after, says goodbye to Starr, and corners Téa in a cabana. Sam Rappaport
, Todd's former mentor and longtime father-figure, goes in to talk to Todd and learns that Todd was raped at age 14
by adoptive father Peter Manning. When Sam tries to introduce this fact in court, Todd collapses and goes into a catatonic state. When he awakes, he appears to have DID
(split personalities), like his sister Viki. The personality called "Tom", a more childlike and gentle personality, is in control and is determined to have Téa give him a second chance. She eventually admits that she is still in love with him. After an apparent "integration" of Todd's newfound "alters", Todd and Téa soon marry again, but at the reception, Starr unknowingly plays a tape over the country club's loud speakers on which Todd confesses that he has been faking the DID to avoid criminal prosecution. Todd quickly leaves town in 1998 and Téa files for divorce.
Blair becomes romantically involved with her past lover, Max Holden
. Some time later, Blair finds out that Max has been sleeping with Skye Chandler
and faking the brain damage everyone thinks he was recently saddled with. She tries to get revenge by destroying Max and Asa, using the dummy corporation "B&B United", which she forms with Ben Davidson
. But Blair does not leave Max until Todd Manning shows back up in town, in 2000, determined to win Blair back. This, after he returned earlier in the year for Téa. Just as Blair starts to forgive Max for sleeping with Skye and they are reconciling, Todd makes sure that Max finds out about Blair's plot against him. Max throws Blair out, and she goes crazy, literally "seeing red" and shoots Max in the back. Todd helps Blair hide the evidence of the crime and pin the blame on Skye. Blair accepts Todd's marriage proposal and they make love. Todd rushes Blair's divorce through by bribing a judge and the couple plan to marry in the near future.
But this marriage is not to be. Max and Skye, bent on revenge, set them up, making it appear as though Blair has slept with Max the night before her wedding to Todd. They drug Blair, making sure that Todd sees them together. Todd does not let on to Blair what he thinks he saw until the wedding itself. His voiced laced with hostility, he announces to everyone that he cannot marry Blair because she is the one who shot Max in the back. Blair is stunned at Todd's betrayal and cannot understand why he is doing this. She later forces Max, at gunpoint to tell her what he has done. Blair goes to Todd to tell him the truth, but it is too late. Todd has already made a deal with the DA and has turned in the clothes Blair wore the night of the shooting, in return for a deal where he is spared jail time. Blair is arrested for shooting Max and is put in jail. In the hope that he will testify on her behalf to keep her and her baby out of jail, she lies when she tells Max that she is pregnant with his child. Blair is unaware, however, that she really is pregnant. She later discovers this when Max drags her to the hospital for a pregnancy test — except, she privately discovers that she is pregnant with Todd's child. Max agrees to testify on her behalf, but Starr locks him in Asa's wine cellar on the day of the hearing so that he never makes it there. Instead, Todd testifies that Blair was totally out of her mind the day that she shot Max. The judge sends Blair to St. Ann's instead of to jail and she sees her mother there. After talking with Addie, Blair realizes that Todd had actually been trying to help her by keeping her out of jail. Blair wonders if she should try again to tell Todd the truth.
Blair goes back to Max and they plan on marrying since Blair is carrying Max's baby. But Blair, knowing that the child is actually Todd's, wrestles with the truth. She flies down to Mexico
to have the child, since she is afraid that Todd will take the baby away the same way he took Starr. But Todd follows her to Mexico. There, Todd delivers her baby, unaware that it is his. Todd thinks it is Max's and arranges for Blair's midwife, Paloma Sanchez, who also owns the hacienda, to "get rid" of the child. The child is given to David Vickers, who takes the baby and gives it to a rich couple in Texas
.
This whole time, Blair thinks her baby is actually dead, since Todd tells her it is. Blair thinks that Todd will be upset when he finds out the baby "she let die" was his, so she tells Starr not to tell him. Todd and Blair plan to marry again, but are both haunted by the secrets they are keeping from each other involving the baby. Finally, one of them cracks, before they can go through with the ceremony. Blair reveals to Todd that the baby that "died" was his. Todd is shocked and scrambles to get their child back. When they finally marry for the third time in 2002, Todd presents the baby to her on their wedding night as a gift, telling her it was an "adopted" child.Blair almost finds out the truth several times, when David pops up, demanding more cash, and when Paloma comes to town, trying to tell Blair in broken English that the baby is alive after all.
All throughout 2002, the secrets surrounding Jack
's birth and identity cause disaster to literally hang over Todd and Blair's marriage. Gabrielle Medina, whom Blair hates, finds out that the child is alive, and blackmails Todd into giving her a job. Blair thinks that Gabrielle is blackmailing him because Todd has gone through some "illegal procedures" in "adopting" their baby. But Todd's deception is discovered when baby Jack develops aplastic anemia, just like Starr had, and Todd has to bring Alex Olanov to town to, once again, be the bone marrow donor. Sam Rappaport, learning from Nora that Alex had been Starr's bone marrow donor too, puts everything together and tells Blair the truth, that Jack is her biological son and that Todd lied.
Blair is furious with Todd, and she hires bodyguards to keep him away from the baby. She and Sam secretly take the family away to Hawaii
to get away from Todd. But the bodyguards are working for Todd and he follows them to Hawaii and plans to kidnap the kids. However, he runs into former love Téa Delgado there. Téa warns Blair about Todd's plans, and she is able to bring Starr and Jack safely back to Llanview. Once there, Blair decides to repay Sam for his help by getting his "true love", Nora, back for him by seducing Troy MacIver and making Nora break up with Troy.
Blair's plan fails and Troy and Nora find out what she had been trying to do. Sam is angry at first, but forgives her because she was only trying to help him. Sam and Blair grow closer during Todd's absence (they don't know that he is stranded on a deserted island with Téa) and Blair begins to depend on him more and more. He helps her through signing her divorce papers from Todd. When Todd returns to town, Blair is worried that he will try to steal her children again, and calls the police when she finds him alone with Jack. She struggles with her feelings for Todd.
Blair runs an expose of a mob family in The Sun, which brings death threats against her. She does not take them very seriously until one day in the park her daughter's nanny, Suzanne, is shot and killed by a hitman
who thinks she was Blair. The hitman comes face to face with Blair when she rushes to Suzanne's side, but the sound of approaching sirens causes him to flee. Blair is taken to a local police station, where Sam, Cassie Callison (who is in town to see Viki) and Todd go to see her. They come up with a plan to protect her. They will tell everyone she has lost her mind and was sent to a clinic in Switzerland
. In reality, she will stay at Todd's penthouse where she can hide and still be with her children. Sam and Blair grow closer, but eventually she realizes that Todd is the only man she has ever really been in love with. She comes back to the penthouse and after they both admit they love each other, she forgives him for what he did to Jack and they make love. After Todd saves Blair from the hitman, who is arrested, Todd surprises Blair by calling Rev. Andrew Carptenter, summoned to come over and marry them right away. Sam is suspicious about Todd "saving" Blair and decides to investigate further into Suzanne's death. During the middle of Todd and Blair's marriage ceremony, Sam shows up at the penthouse with a very much alive Suzanne in tow and interrupts the wedding.
Blair moves back into the Cramer mansion and recoils from Todd's latest betrayal. She demands that he stay away from her and their children. Soon after, the reprehensible Mitch Laurence
attempts to kidnap Starr in order to have a hold over Todd. Blair catches him in the middle of the act and beggs him to take her instead. He does, chaining her up in an abandoned theater. Todd rescues her, but she is still ambivalent about their relationship. Before she can come to a decision, Todd mysteriously disappears. Meanwhile, her confidante and close friend Sam Rappaport is shot and killed while watching over a sleeping Blair. After initial speculation towards Todd, the blame shifts to Blair. Blair senses immediately that Mitch is involved. Frustrated beyond the breaking point, Blair knocks Mitch out, drags him to Llanfair and plans to shoot him as payback for all he has done to her and Todd, but a just-back-in-town Dorian stops her. Blair is cleared when she, Troy MacIver, and the cops realizes that Mitch must have manipulated an unstable Lindsay Rappaport
into killing Sam, as she thought he was Troy. Lindsay confesses and is sent to St. Ann's. Dorian (whose only reason for marrying Mitch is to bring him down and get his money) and Blair works with her to kidnap and use Jessica Buchanan
, Mitch's daughter with Viki, as bait for Mitch. Mitch fall off a cliff while attempting to get her back.
Blair breaths easy for a brief moment, and has Todd legally declared dead to free up his funds. She learns she will co-own the Sun with Viki and act as editor-in-chief until Starr is in her 20's. She also turns down Troy's romantic overtures. This all happened 2002 to mid-2003. Blair is jarred when a mysterious stranger shows up in town a little later claiming to be Mitch's brother. This man, Walker "Flynn" Laurence, is secretly working with Mitch, but sides with Blair when he learns of his brother's long list of crimes. Blair and Dorian take a shine to him, and Blair agrees to make him a reporter at The Sun. Blair finds herself the prime suspect in yet another murder when Mitch is killed days after his arrest. Blair, not realizing she is being manipulated by Walker, begins to suspect Dorian as the killer.
The killer is actually Jessica, and Walker is trying to protect her. With that resolved, Walker and Blair grow closer and closer. Blair is also being pursued by Kelly's husband, Kevin Buchanan
. Not wanting to break up their marriage or give in to her lust for him, Blair flings herself into a relationship with Walker. Walker surprises her by rushing a wedding. She initially hesitates, but finally agrees. Todd is finally gone from her life, she feels, not realizing that Todd is actually standing right beside her (or so she thinks until it is revealed eight years later in August 2011 that this "Todd" is actually Victor Lord, Jr., the real Todd Manning's biological twin, who has been brainwashed into thinking he is Todd by their mother, Irene Manning).
After being brutally beaten and left near death by Mitch's goons, Todd convinced doctors to make him over to resemble Mitch's brother, Walker. As Mitch had not seen Walker in several years, Todd was able to fool him, along with all of Llanview. (In reality, Walker was a mobster who operated in Atlantic City, and the mastermind behind Todd's plastic surgery.) Kevin is the first to discover the secret, but keeps quiet for Blair's sake. When Blair realizes Todd's scheme, all hell breaks loose. She refuses to let him near their children and divorces him. Extremely drunk on New Year's Eve
, 2003, Blair has a sleazy roll in the sheets with Kevin. Disgusted with herself, she prepares to leave the Palace Hotel. Todd spots her, realizes what her rumpled clothes mean, and follows her home, to her bedroom.
2004 opens with pure chaos when Blair accuses Todd of rape. She files charges, as well as custody papers. Throughout the trial, Todd goes easy on her, and Blair stays to her story, even as old nemesis Marty Saybrooke returns to town to testify and tell the court she feels that Todd is innocent. Soon after Todd's prison conviction, Blair passes out. She is suffering from a brain tumor
. She realizes that she may have been wrong about what happened that night with Todd. As Todd gets a retrial (due to a juror's hearing aid
not working), Blair ponders changing her story, not knowing of Todd's plan to tear her credibility to shreds during the new trial. With all the facts out in the open, Todd is exonerated. He still wants Blair back, but she is still unsure of their relationship. Blair is even more suspicious of Todd's new found closeness with Kelly, not knowing that Todd is helping her cover an illegal adoption of a baby to get back at Kevin. Starr is an emotional wreak over eveything that has happened during the rape trial and her parents try to reassure her of things, though she still wants Todd and Blair back together.
After a fire at the community center, Blair finally sees that she is still in love with Todd, and the two again begin to plan their lives together. But Todd disappeares on the eve of their wedding in December 2004, leaving Blair devastated. At first, she is furious with herself for falling for his lies again, but it is not long before she realizes he has been kidnapped by an insane Margaret Cochran
, who is in love with and obsessed with Todd. Blair sets out to rescue Todd, but ends up being taken prisoner herself. She thinks she has been rescued when Asa Buchanan
appears, but Asa is still angry about Todd and Blair trying to take his home from him a few months earlier. Asa has her committed to a mental institution, where Todd finds her as she is standing on a window ledge. He takes her back to Llanview, where a newly nervous Blair spends most of her time bonding with new next door neighbor, Ginger Foley, and trying to help Todd get over being raped by Margaret. But 2005 does not end well for the couple.
Blair meets the new doctor in town, Spencer Truman
, when Jack needs to have an emergency tracheotomy
performed. Blair and Spencer become fast friends, and their friendship helps her deal with Todd's arrest for the murders of Margaret Cochran and their unborn child, which Todd is convicted of and sentenced to prison for in early 2006. She and Todd eventually split over her growing belief that Todd committed the murders. This also strains her relationship with her daughter, Starr, who believes Todd is completely innocent. Spencer and Blair eventually become lovers, but Blair cannot let Todd out of her heart, and is heartbroken when he will not speak to her shortly before his execution. Blair watches as Todd is executed for the murders of Margaret Cochran and their infant son, and is shocked, as is everyone else, to learn that Margaret is alive and well. Blair feels horrible for believing, even for a moment, that Todd had been guilty. Seeing his lifeless body, she begs him to forgive her. With strained expertise, Todd is quickly brought back to life by Spencer, after Detective John McBain
, Natalie Vega, and David Vickers bring a very much alive Margart Cochran into the room where the execution was held. Todd refuses to forgive Blair.
Blair, however, refuses to give up on Todd. Determined to prove her love and loyalty to him, she embarks on a Mata Hari
-like plan to prove that Spencer is the one behind everything. Spencer is eventually jailed. But halfway through the trial, he fakes insanity, including intentionally repeatedly banging his head on a table in his cell and writing WHORE, referring to Blair, on a wall in the cell with his own blood. He goes as far to hire Marty Saybrooke, who is now a psychologist, to be his doctor; they have several sessions together, and she testifies in court that "in her professional opinion, Dr. Truman is not mentally stable, not fit to stand trial". By this time, Blair has yet to earn Todd's forgiveness, but she is keeping from him the fact that the she has just discovered that she is a few months pregnant with his second son. As a result of Marty's testimony, Truman is sentenced to go to a mental facility instead of jail time. Furious over this, Todd kidnaps him on his way to Wingdale, and holds him captive while performing Chinese water torture
on him, in a building for about a week to get Spencer to confess where his son (by Margaret) is. But 2006 goes just as it came — with all hell breaking loose. Blair gets in an accident when Truman lures her to the building and when she arrives, she finds Todd and Truman fighting on the roof. She gets in the middle of them, as Todd pushes Spencer off the building, accidentally pushing Blair off as well. They hit the ground, three stories below. After her accident, which caused her to miscarry her and Todd's unborn child, Todd forgives her, and immediately plans on proposing to her yet again when she awakes from her coma
. Todd proposes to Blair in early 2007, but she turns him down, saying that they are "toxic" to each other and that they just do not work. When Blair gets out of the hospital, she, Starr and Jack move to La Boulaie with Dorian. In a futile attempt to get over Todd, Blair has sex with Cristian Vega
, who in turn is trying to get over Evangeline Williamson
. It does not work for either, and although the two become good friends, Blair remains in love with Todd.
Acting on a tip from Spencer Truman's ex-patient Miles Laurence, Todd decides to travel to Chicago in the hopes of finding the infant son he had with Margaret Cochran. Blair follows him onto the plane, determined to help. Still heartbroken over their breakup and hurt by Blair's tryst with Cristian, Todd is angry, but still allows Blair to stay with him. The two began a search for the baby, but are soon separated. Todd is stabbed by a mysterious stranger and disappears. A desperate and scared Blair searched for him for months, but she turns up nothing. Eventually, it is revealed that Todd is being drugged and held by a young man named Hunter, who had been hired by Miles Laurence. Hunter's girlfriend turns out to be none other than Sarah Roberts, Todd's niece. Once a horrified Sarah realizes that her uncle is near death, she secretly calls Blair and reveals Todd's whereabouts. By the time Blair gets back to Chicago, Hunter has taken the unconscious Todd and dumped him back in Llanview on Miles' doorstep. In turn, Miles hauls Todd down to the storage room of his apartment building and continues to drug him. After several days, Miles' stepson Cole Thornhart
(boyfriend to Todd and Blair's daughter, Starr, and son to Marty) accidentally stumbles upon Todd. Miles begins blackmailing a frightened Cole, telling him that if he tells anyone about Todd, then Cole's mother, Marty, will go to jail for killing Spencer Truman. Torn between his loyalty to his mother and his love for Starr, Cole remains silent, but eventually confesses what he knows to his mother and to the police. By this time, Miles has dumped a drugged Todd in the woods, and then instructs Hunter to drag him to a sleazy motel. It is here that Blair and John McBain finally find Todd boozed up, drugged, naked, and in bed with a prostitute named Kandi who claims she had been partying with him for weeks. A furious Blair does not buy Kandi's story, and rushes Todd to the emergency room.
The Manning family, complete with Blair, Todd, Starr, and Jack are reunited at the hospital while Todd recovers from his injuries. Todd remembers little of his 12-week ordeal, but once he learns that Miles is responsible for his plight, he vows revenge. Blair lets Todd know she wants to reconcile with him, and Todd softens towards her. Todd and Blair are upset over what happened before Chicago with Cristian and Evangeline, and know they have a lot to work out. Luckily, for the first time in a long, they seem to be on the same page.
Todd and Blair later become closer and nearly kiss. Unfortunately, in court, though Miles is charged with attempted murder for what he did to Todd, the judge throws out the case. Todd and Blair are furious, but can do little about it. They go to the Women of the Year Ceremony together, where things get chaotic as usual, and Lindsay Rappaport (who wins the award) is revealed to be Spencer's murderer. Todd and Blair make sure to cover this revelation in the Sun. After the ceremony, they celebrate their hot front page story, but the mood is ruined when Miles shows up with information regarding where Todd's son is. Todd, sure that his son is dead, becomes angry and does not believe him, which leads to Todd beating Miles up. Miles, realizing that he has to get the truth to Todd some way, goes to Blair and tells her the truth and gives her proof. It is all there in writing — Tommy Mcbain is Todd's son.
When Marcie McBain is at large with his son, on December 20, 2007, Todd announces that "Tommy" will be renamed "Sam Manning," in honor of his deceased mentor and friend, Sam Rappaport
. It is not long afterward that his son is returned to him. Interestingly, Marcie is on the run with Todd's son for almost four months and Blair helps him deal with it. They reconnect during this time, and after a while, Blair comes clean and tells Todd she still loves him.
Todd and Blair bring Sam home, everyone deals with adjustment issues, including Blair, who wonders if she will be able to raise Sam as her own son. Blair even starts having visions of Margaret, which she eventually tells Todd about. Todd is concerned and they talk about their issues, leading to Todd telling Blair that he loves her and wants a real marriage with her. The two make love and are reconciled once more. But in 2008, Starr becomes pregnant by Cole after the "move" Todd was going to have for protection. After Starr and Cole run away, they are found by John, Blair, and then later by Todd. Todd punches Cole and accidentally pushes Starr down the stairs. After Blair finds out that Starr is pregnant, Blair cuts Todd out of their lives for making Starr's life miserable.
Téa Delgado returns to Llanview, PA in late 2008 and begins a relationship with Todd shortly thereafter in 2009. Upon discovering Todd and Téa's growing closeness, Blair launches a plan to win Todd back from Téa. After a good effort and intricate plotting on her part, including having sex with Todd in Dorian's cabana, conspiring to defraud Téa and blackmail, Todd chooses Téa to Blair's chagrin. After being kidnapped by Ross Rayburn (the unintended result of her latest scheme to break up Todd and Téa) alongside Todd and Téa's daughter, Danielle, Blair concedes defeat.
When a man appears in town in summer 2011 who has Todd's old face, it is revealed that the man who has been posing as Todd for the last eight years is not really Todd but rather his long-lost twin brother, Victor Lord Jr. Irene had twin boys but brainwashed Victor to take over Todd's life to aid her secret agency with many mission throughout the world. With the revelation that her long-lost love has returned, Blair and Todd may find themselves drawn to each other again, while Téa is currently married to Victor. Todd blamed Blair for not knowing that Victor wasn't him and for letting him near their children and that he fought to get back to her. With the knowledge that Todd has returned and the man she thought was Todd is actually Victor, Todd and Blair are still legally married because Victor was "Todd" during their divorce and remarriage.
, and in 2001, were nominated for About.com
's couple of the year title. In 2002, Todd and Blair were named the top One Life to Live all-time romantic couple by magazine Soaps In Depth
. They are one of the most avidly watched supercouples.
Before Todd and Blair's supercouple status was indefinite, the pairing was often in direct competition with rival couple Todd and Téa, an alternate romantic pairing for Todd. This created an intense rivalry between the two fanbases, which became known as the "T&B vs. TnT" wars. The "T&B vs. TnT" wars were some of the genre's most notorious Internet
battles, and left writers and producers with the task of deciding which couple would be the "true love" couple. In addition, viewers enjoyed the battles between Blair and Téa, which became one of soap opera's most entertaining rivalries.
While Todd is the town rapist (having raped Marty Saybrooke in college), Blair herself is the product of rape (as her mentally ill mother was raped and impregnated by an unnamed hospital attendant).
Todd and Blair were the original founders of "The Most Pathetic Club" in which they competed for the title of "Most Pathetic." They had their first real meeting at Rodi's Bar in 1994; Blair was drinking at the bar when Todd came up and asked if the seat next to her was taken. The writers also scripted Todd and Blair as best friends before the two ever became involved romantically.
The couple have been legally married three times on the series (once on the beach in Key West, Florida
, once in St. James' church, and once in Dorian's living room at La Boulae). They divorce three times, and their marriage in 2003 is declared null and void because Todd concealed his identity and referred to himself as Walker Laurence during the ceremony. The couple attempts to marry additional times, but each attempt is thwarted in some way, either by themselves or a third party. The most recent of their failed marriage attempts occurs in 2004 when Margaret Cochran shoots and kidnaps Todd before the ceremony. However, the couple finally manage to marry once more in September 2007. Although the marriage is legal, it is also part of a "business" deal, as Todd and Blair agree to marry in the hopes of making Todd look better in the custody fight for Tommy, his son by his rapist, Margaret. Blair demands 5 million dollars from Todd to act the part of faithful wife (a reference to when Todd paid Téa 5 million dollars to marry him), and he agrees to pay her that amount.
Supercouple
A supercouple or super couple is a popular or financially wealthy pairing that intrigues and fascinates the public in an intense or even obsessive fashion...
from the 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...
daytime drama One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
. Todd
Todd Manning
Thomas Todd Manning is a fictional character from the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live. Created by writer Michael Malone, the role was originated in 1992 by actor Roger Howarth. In 2003, Howarth departed from the series and the role was recast with actor Trevor St. John as Todd, initially written...
was originated by Roger Howarth
Roger Howarth
Roger Howarth is an American actor. He portrays Todd Manning on the daytime drama One Life to Live, a character which became an iconic fixture in the genre's medium, and earned Howarth a Daytime Emmy Award...
and later portrayed by actor Trevor St. John
Trevor St. John
Trevor Marshall St. John is an American actor. He portrayed Todd Manning/Victor Lord Jr. on the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live, and has starred in various prime time shows and film.-Career:...
. On August 17, 2011, St. John's character was revealed to be Todd's identical twin brother, Victor Lord Jr., conditioned to believe he was Todd and assume Todd's identity. Blair
Blair Cramer
Blair Cramer is a fictional character on the American daytime drama One Life to Live...
has been portrayed by Kassie DePaiva
Kassie DePaiva
Kassie DePaiva is an American soap opera actress and singer. She was credited prior to 1996 as Kassie Wesley.-Private life:...
since the couple's inception.
The couple is often called "T&B" or "TnB" (for Todd and Blair) by fans on Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
message boards. Their popularity led to a nomination at the Daytime Emmy Award
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...
s, cited as one of television's top couples. An often tempestuous but loving relationship, the two have been titled "hands down the most brilliantly complex couple on daytime".
Writing
Todd and Blair's creation as a couple is described as factoring in several aspects of their own personalities, as well as their individual life experiences. In an interview, former One Life to Live head writerHead writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...
Michael Malone
Michael Malone
Michael Malone is an Emmy Award-winning American author and television writer, born in Durham, North Carolina. He is best known for his work on the ABC Daytime drama One Life to Live, as well as for his best-selling works of fiction Handling Sin , Foolscap , and murder mystery First Lady...
detailed the varying elements, what he set out to create, and how the couple eventually evolved:
Todd and Blair were a great deal alike, two bad apples, two lost souls: conniving, deceitful, wounded and hiding the wounds for all they were worth behind a smart and sexy facade. Both were very much on guard against ever being susceptible to love. (A ScarlettScarlett O'HaraScarlett O' Hara is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and in the later film of the same name...
and RhettRhett ButlerRhett Butler is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.-Role:In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the Twelve Oaks Plantation barbecue, the home of John Wilkes and his son Ashley and daughters Honey and India Wilkes...
match-up, to use my perennial GWTWGone with the Wind (film)Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
analogy that used to drive Josh GriffithJosh Griffith-Career:During the WGA strike, he took over as Head Writer of CBS Daytimes The Young and the Restless. To do this, he accepted Financial core status with the WGA. Maria Arena Bell, a former writer at The Bold and the Beautiful and daughter-in-law of Y&R creator William J...
crazy. I loved the movie, he didn't.) The idea for Todd/Blair came from wondering what would happen if two tricksters set out to trick each other, with no genuine thought of romance, and what if the ultimate trick was on them and they fell in love? In the beginning, Blair was trying to marry Todd for his money before he found out he was the heir to the Lord fortune, and Todd was trying to hurt any and everybody in town. Slowly they learned how much they had in common — both had rotten childhoods that left them with deep insecurities, both had rotten reputations in Llanview (and deserved them), both were willing to go to any lengths to get what they wanted — the safety of immense wealth, the thrill of somebody else's spouse, social acceptance by those who'd rejected them.
As soon as we put them together, the chemistry between Roger and Kassie was wonderful and we knew they would work as a couple. But deepest down, we planned to play that Blair was still in love with MaxMax Holden (One Life to Live)Max Holden is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. He was most popularly portrayed by James DePaiva.-Storylines:Max Holden came to Llanview in 1987 and as soon as he got there, he became involved in a love triangle with two women, Tina Lord Roberts and Gabrielle Medina....
. That old flame was going to flare up and start fireworks as she and Todd started to fight over the ultimate prize of their daughter, StarrStarr ManningStarr Irene Manning is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. Portrayed by Kristen Alderson since 1998, Starr is the oldest child of Todd Manning and Blair Cramer, and was originally known for her mischievous behavior, exacerbated by her parents' volatile...
. Different producers, network folk, different writers took their story other places. — Michael Malone
In a 2001 interview, when asked if Todd and Blair are soulmates, actress Kassie DePaiva
Kassie DePaiva
Kassie DePaiva is an American soap opera actress and singer. She was credited prior to 1996 as Kassie Wesley.-Private life:...
, portrayer of Blair, stated "Yes. Their connection is so deeply rooted. Less is more with them. They don't even need dialogue to speak. What they don't say speaks volumes."
Storyline
When Todd first appears on the show, in December 1992, he is an arrogant, cruel fraternity brother who leads his gang of "brothers" to participate in the brutal rape of Marty SaybrookeMarty Saybrooke
Dr. Margaret "Marty" Saybrooke is a fictional character on the American daytime drama One Life to Live. The role was originated by Susan Haskell, who portrayed Marty from January 24, 1992 through September 16, 1997 and made brief appearances on February 16, 2004 and February 2005...
at a party in May 1993. After being sentenced to prison for eight years, Todd develops a burning desire to seek revenge on the two women he holds responsible for his jail time, Nora Gannon
Nora Hanen
Nora Hanen Buchanan is a fictional character on the long-running American soap opera One Life to Live. The role was originated by Hillary B. Smith in September 1992.-Casting:...
(his attorney who threw the case when she discovered that Todd was guilty) and Marty. After escaping from prison, Todd causes more terror when he holds a knife to Nora, who is blind at the time, and threatens to rape her. Nora is able to escape the attack when Bo Buchanan
Bo Buchanan
Beaufort Oglethorpe "Bo" Buchanan is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live.-Casting and awards:The role was originated in 1979 by Robert S. Woods, who briefly left the series in 1986 but returned in 1988, and currently portrays the role...
arrives in time to save her, and Todd flees. In time, Todd's run from the law soon ends on the night of the annual Costume Ball at a place called Serenity Springs. Bo is able to corner Todd and Todd has no other choice but to surrender. In a bizarre twist of fate, Todd is given a pardon after saving the lives of Marty and Tina and Cord's
Cord Roberts
Cordero "Cord" Roberts is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. The role was originated in 1986 by John Loprieno, who left the series in 1992 and then returned from 1993 through 1997...
two children, C.J. and Sarah
Sarah Roberts
Sarah Victoria Roberts is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. She is the daughter of Tina Lord and Cord Roberts.-Casting:...
. But Todd's trouble is only beginning.
After becoming a free man once again, Todd faces his next obstacle: A string of rapes in Llanview become a thorn in his side, as all suspicions are pointing to him. After doing some detective work on his own, Todd is able to find out that the true culprit is his old fraternity brother, Powell Lord III. After a showdown with Powell, Todd finally has a sense of the pain he caused Marty and sincerely apologizes to her for the rape. The next shockwave to hit Todd is the sudden death of his father, Peter Manning. It is a bittersweet goodbye to the man who abused him as a child, but upon his death, Todd learns something even more startling. It is in his mother's old letters that he learns that he was adopted, and that there is also a large sum of money for him. Schemers David Vickers
David Vickers
David Vickers Buchanan is a fictional character from the daytime soap opera One Life to Live, portrayed by Tuc Watkins.-Appearances:...
and Dorian Lord
Dorian Cramer Lord
Dr. Dorian Lord Buchanan is a fictional character and matriarch of the Cramer family on the American daytime drama One Life to Live, most notably portrayed for nearly three decades by Robin Strasser...
discover that Todd Manning is really an heir to none other than Victor Lord, and is worth an estimated $30 million.
In 1994, Todd's love life takes an unexpected turn as well, after he meets up with the very conniving Blair Daimler, who later learns of his "hidden" Lord fortune. Blair first meets Todd at Rodi's Bar. She goes there to lose her problems in a couple of drinks, which is exactly the same reason Todd is there. They bond almost immediately, become friends, and before long, they are making love. Their intimacy with each other is "no strings attached". It is after Blair discovers the truth about Todd being the Lord heir that she sets her plan into motion of marrying him. Blair tells Todd she is pregnant with his child, which starts out as a lie, but to the amazement of Blair, is actually true. They marry in 1995 and she becomes pregnant on their wedding night. It is not long after their wedding that Todd finds out that he is Victor Lord's son, and is now worth 27.8 million dollars. Trouble hits Todd again when he finds out that Blair knew all along about his inheritance. Todd files for divorce from Blair, who had already lost the baby she had been carrying. Todd is unaware that Blair has become pregnant a second time, and is keeping it a secret from him. Ironically, during the course of their marriage, Blair has fallen for Todd after all.
In fall 1995, Todd and Blair reconcile, and once again became man and wife, ready to start a real family with their unborn daughter. Unfortunately, their happiness is very short-lived, as tragedy is about to strike again. Wanting to set things right with the woman he raped, Todd takes a short trip to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in order to track down Marty to tell her that the young girl she knows named Paloma is dying of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. Todd helps Marty and her new friend, Patrick Thornhart
Patrick Thornhart
Patrick Thornhart is a fictional character on the daytime soap opera, One Life to Live. He was played by Thorsten Kaye from October 1995 to September 16, 1997, and an unknown actor by June 3, 2011 to June 6, 2011.-Storylines:...
, out of a jam. After being mistaken for Patrick, Todd is shot, stuffed into the trunk of a car, and driven off of a cliff. Meanwhile, back in Llanview, Blair hears the terrible news that her husband is dead. In her grief, Blair blames Marty, accusing her of wrapping Todd around her finger and playing on his guilt, even fearing that Todd had only loved her out of a vague resemblance to Marty. Blair struggles to carry her daughter, Starr
Starr Manning
Starr Irene Manning is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. Portrayed by Kristen Alderson since 1998, Starr is the oldest child of Todd Manning and Blair Cramer, and was originally known for her mischievous behavior, exacerbated by her parents' volatile...
, to term, but manages to deliver her, becoming a single mother in the process. Her vengeance against Marty eventually sends her straight into the comforting arms of a jilted Patrick Thornhart. Little does Blair know that one of her nights of passion with Patrick is witnessed by none other than her "dead" husband Todd.
By mid-1996, Todd has "come back from the dead" and spies her in a clinch with Patrick. He is repulsed at her carrying Patrick's baby, and angrily engineers a kidnapping of Starr. The town rallies behind Todd and Blair over Starr's "disappearance", and Todd slowly softens towards Blair as she fears for their daughter. Starr is "rescued" with no one the wiser. A problem arises when it is discovered that Starr now needs a bone marrow transplant. Blair and Patrick's unborn baby is a match. A few weeks before delivery of the child, however, Patrick and Blair are slammed into head-on by another car (driven by Blair's cousin, Kelly Cramer
Kelly Cramer
Kelly Cramer is a fictional character on the long-running daytime soap opera One Life to Live, most notably portrayed by Gina Tognoni, who first appeared in the role February 17, 1995 and left on August 24, 2011.-Casting:...
, which sparks a rivalry that never truly fades away), killing Blair's unborn son "Brendan". Blair lapses into a coma, while a scheming Alex Olanov
Alex Olanov
Alexandra "Alex" Olanov is a fictional character from the long-running ABC soap opera One Life to Live...
steps in as the unlikely donor to save Starr's life. Blair wakes up long enough to cast Todd from her life, having discovered that he is behind Starr's kidnapping, then she has a severe stroke. While Blair recuperates, Todd refocuses his attentions, and sues for custody of Starr.
Todd marries his lawyer, Téa Delgado
Téa Delgado
Téa Delgado is a fictional character from the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live. The role was portrayed by Florencia Lozano from January 27, 1997 to March 2, 2000 and briefly in 2002; Lozano returned to the role once again on December 5, 2008.A stern but passionate personality, the character has...
, in 1997 to help him win custody of Starr, which he does. Téa originally marries Todd because of the money he has paid her, but the two become much closer, and eventually Todd admits that he is in love with Téa and proposes true marriage. Like Todd and Blair, Todd and Téa fall in love and marry "for real". Todd hires Blair to work for him again and tries to prove Bo guilty for the murder of Georgie Phillips to get revenge on the Buchanans. When the evidence starts making Todd look guilty, he kidnaps everyone involved with Georgie and holds them all at the Buchanan lodge, determined to make the real murderer confess and thereby clear himself. Rachel Gannon
Rachel Gannon
Rachel Gannon is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. The daughter of attorneys Nora Hanen and Hank Gannon, the role was originated and most notably portrayed by actress Ellen Bethea.-Casting:...
finally confesses to Georgie's murder, and Todd runs off, taking Téa with him. In a rage, after Téa angrily taunts him for kidnapping her, he hits her. She later turns the tables on him when she knocks him out with a shovel, calls the police and has him arrested.
Todd escapes soon after, says goodbye to Starr, and corners Téa in a cabana. Sam Rappaport
Sam Rappaport (One Life to Live)
Samuel "Sam" Rappaport is a fictional character on the long running ABC soap opera One Life to Live. He was originally portrayed by Kale Browne from March 5, 1998 to April 11, 2001. The role was taken over on May 8, 2001 by veteran All My Children actor Laurence Lau, who was made famous for...
, Todd's former mentor and longtime father-figure, goes in to talk to Todd and learns that Todd was raped at age 14
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
by adoptive father Peter Manning. When Sam tries to introduce this fact in court, Todd collapses and goes into a catatonic state. When he awakes, he appears to have DID
Dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
(split personalities), like his sister Viki. The personality called "Tom", a more childlike and gentle personality, is in control and is determined to have Téa give him a second chance. She eventually admits that she is still in love with him. After an apparent "integration" of Todd's newfound "alters", Todd and Téa soon marry again, but at the reception, Starr unknowingly plays a tape over the country club's loud speakers on which Todd confesses that he has been faking the DID to avoid criminal prosecution. Todd quickly leaves town in 1998 and Téa files for divorce.
Blair becomes romantically involved with her past lover, Max Holden
Max Holden (One Life to Live)
Max Holden is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. He was most popularly portrayed by James DePaiva.-Storylines:Max Holden came to Llanview in 1987 and as soon as he got there, he became involved in a love triangle with two women, Tina Lord Roberts and Gabrielle Medina....
. Some time later, Blair finds out that Max has been sleeping with Skye Chandler
Skye Chandler
Skye Chandler Quartermaine is a fictional ABC soap opera character. Skye has been a regular character on ABC's three longest-running soap operas: All My Children , One Life to Live , and General Hospital...
and faking the brain damage everyone thinks he was recently saddled with. She tries to get revenge by destroying Max and Asa, using the dummy corporation "B&B United", which she forms with Ben Davidson
Ben Davidson
Benjamin Earl Davidson is a former collegiate and professional American football player between 1961 and 1972, most notably in the American Football League with the Oakland Raiders from 1964 through 1969, and for the NFL Raiders from 1970 through 1972. He had also played in the NFL for the league...
. But Blair does not leave Max until Todd Manning shows back up in town, in 2000, determined to win Blair back. This, after he returned earlier in the year for Téa. Just as Blair starts to forgive Max for sleeping with Skye and they are reconciling, Todd makes sure that Max finds out about Blair's plot against him. Max throws Blair out, and she goes crazy, literally "seeing red" and shoots Max in the back. Todd helps Blair hide the evidence of the crime and pin the blame on Skye. Blair accepts Todd's marriage proposal and they make love. Todd rushes Blair's divorce through by bribing a judge and the couple plan to marry in the near future.
But this marriage is not to be. Max and Skye, bent on revenge, set them up, making it appear as though Blair has slept with Max the night before her wedding to Todd. They drug Blair, making sure that Todd sees them together. Todd does not let on to Blair what he thinks he saw until the wedding itself. His voiced laced with hostility, he announces to everyone that he cannot marry Blair because she is the one who shot Max in the back. Blair is stunned at Todd's betrayal and cannot understand why he is doing this. She later forces Max, at gunpoint to tell her what he has done. Blair goes to Todd to tell him the truth, but it is too late. Todd has already made a deal with the DA and has turned in the clothes Blair wore the night of the shooting, in return for a deal where he is spared jail time. Blair is arrested for shooting Max and is put in jail. In the hope that he will testify on her behalf to keep her and her baby out of jail, she lies when she tells Max that she is pregnant with his child. Blair is unaware, however, that she really is pregnant. She later discovers this when Max drags her to the hospital for a pregnancy test — except, she privately discovers that she is pregnant with Todd's child. Max agrees to testify on her behalf, but Starr locks him in Asa's wine cellar on the day of the hearing so that he never makes it there. Instead, Todd testifies that Blair was totally out of her mind the day that she shot Max. The judge sends Blair to St. Ann's instead of to jail and she sees her mother there. After talking with Addie, Blair realizes that Todd had actually been trying to help her by keeping her out of jail. Blair wonders if she should try again to tell Todd the truth.
Blair goes back to Max and they plan on marrying since Blair is carrying Max's baby. But Blair, knowing that the child is actually Todd's, wrestles with the truth. She flies down to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
to have the child, since she is afraid that Todd will take the baby away the same way he took Starr. But Todd follows her to Mexico. There, Todd delivers her baby, unaware that it is his. Todd thinks it is Max's and arranges for Blair's midwife, Paloma Sanchez, who also owns the hacienda, to "get rid" of the child. The child is given to David Vickers, who takes the baby and gives it to a rich couple in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
This whole time, Blair thinks her baby is actually dead, since Todd tells her it is. Blair thinks that Todd will be upset when he finds out the baby "she let die" was his, so she tells Starr not to tell him. Todd and Blair plan to marry again, but are both haunted by the secrets they are keeping from each other involving the baby. Finally, one of them cracks, before they can go through with the ceremony. Blair reveals to Todd that the baby that "died" was his. Todd is shocked and scrambles to get their child back. When they finally marry for the third time in 2002, Todd presents the baby to her on their wedding night as a gift, telling her it was an "adopted" child.Blair almost finds out the truth several times, when David pops up, demanding more cash, and when Paloma comes to town, trying to tell Blair in broken English that the baby is alive after all.
All throughout 2002, the secrets surrounding Jack
Jack Manning (One Life to Live)
John "Jack" Cramer Manning is a fictional character on the American soap opera, One Life to Live. He is the first-born son and second child of Todd Manning and Blair Cramer.-Casting:...
's birth and identity cause disaster to literally hang over Todd and Blair's marriage. Gabrielle Medina, whom Blair hates, finds out that the child is alive, and blackmails Todd into giving her a job. Blair thinks that Gabrielle is blackmailing him because Todd has gone through some "illegal procedures" in "adopting" their baby. But Todd's deception is discovered when baby Jack develops aplastic anemia, just like Starr had, and Todd has to bring Alex Olanov to town to, once again, be the bone marrow donor. Sam Rappaport, learning from Nora that Alex had been Starr's bone marrow donor too, puts everything together and tells Blair the truth, that Jack is her biological son and that Todd lied.
Blair is furious with Todd, and she hires bodyguards to keep him away from the baby. She and Sam secretly take the family away to Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
to get away from Todd. But the bodyguards are working for Todd and he follows them to Hawaii and plans to kidnap the kids. However, he runs into former love Téa Delgado there. Téa warns Blair about Todd's plans, and she is able to bring Starr and Jack safely back to Llanview. Once there, Blair decides to repay Sam for his help by getting his "true love", Nora, back for him by seducing Troy MacIver and making Nora break up with Troy.
Blair's plan fails and Troy and Nora find out what she had been trying to do. Sam is angry at first, but forgives her because she was only trying to help him. Sam and Blair grow closer during Todd's absence (they don't know that he is stranded on a deserted island with Téa) and Blair begins to depend on him more and more. He helps her through signing her divorce papers from Todd. When Todd returns to town, Blair is worried that he will try to steal her children again, and calls the police when she finds him alone with Jack. She struggles with her feelings for Todd.
Blair runs an expose of a mob family in The Sun, which brings death threats against her. She does not take them very seriously until one day in the park her daughter's nanny, Suzanne, is shot and killed by a hitman
Hitman
A hitman is a person hired to kill another person.- Hitmen in organized crime :Hitmen are largely linked to the world of organized crime. Hitmen are hired people who kill people for money. Notable examples include Murder, Inc., Mafia hitmen and Richard Kuklinski.- Other cases involving hitmen...
who thinks she was Blair. The hitman comes face to face with Blair when she rushes to Suzanne's side, but the sound of approaching sirens causes him to flee. Blair is taken to a local police station, where Sam, Cassie Callison (who is in town to see Viki) and Todd go to see her. They come up with a plan to protect her. They will tell everyone she has lost her mind and was sent to a clinic in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. In reality, she will stay at Todd's penthouse where she can hide and still be with her children. Sam and Blair grow closer, but eventually she realizes that Todd is the only man she has ever really been in love with. She comes back to the penthouse and after they both admit they love each other, she forgives him for what he did to Jack and they make love. After Todd saves Blair from the hitman, who is arrested, Todd surprises Blair by calling Rev. Andrew Carptenter, summoned to come over and marry them right away. Sam is suspicious about Todd "saving" Blair and decides to investigate further into Suzanne's death. During the middle of Todd and Blair's marriage ceremony, Sam shows up at the penthouse with a very much alive Suzanne in tow and interrupts the wedding.
Blair moves back into the Cramer mansion and recoils from Todd's latest betrayal. She demands that he stay away from her and their children. Soon after, the reprehensible Mitch Laurence
Mitch Laurence
Mitchell "Mitch" Laurence is a fictional character, portrayed by Roscoe Born, on the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live, from 1985 to 1987 and again from 2002 to 2003...
attempts to kidnap Starr in order to have a hold over Todd. Blair catches him in the middle of the act and beggs him to take her instead. He does, chaining her up in an abandoned theater. Todd rescues her, but she is still ambivalent about their relationship. Before she can come to a decision, Todd mysteriously disappears. Meanwhile, her confidante and close friend Sam Rappaport is shot and killed while watching over a sleeping Blair. After initial speculation towards Todd, the blame shifts to Blair. Blair senses immediately that Mitch is involved. Frustrated beyond the breaking point, Blair knocks Mitch out, drags him to Llanfair and plans to shoot him as payback for all he has done to her and Todd, but a just-back-in-town Dorian stops her. Blair is cleared when she, Troy MacIver, and the cops realizes that Mitch must have manipulated an unstable Lindsay Rappaport
Lindsay Rappaport
Lindsay Rappaport is a fictional character from the American daytime drama One Life to Live, portrayed by Catherine Hickland from May 1998 to October 2008. Hickland briefly reprised the role in July 2009. Hickland is set to reprise her role as Lindsay in late 2011...
into killing Sam, as she thought he was Troy. Lindsay confesses and is sent to St. Ann's. Dorian (whose only reason for marrying Mitch is to bring him down and get his money) and Blair works with her to kidnap and use Jessica Buchanan
Jessica Buchanan
Jessica Eugenia Buchanan is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live...
, Mitch's daughter with Viki, as bait for Mitch. Mitch fall off a cliff while attempting to get her back.
Blair breaths easy for a brief moment, and has Todd legally declared dead to free up his funds. She learns she will co-own the Sun with Viki and act as editor-in-chief until Starr is in her 20's. She also turns down Troy's romantic overtures. This all happened 2002 to mid-2003. Blair is jarred when a mysterious stranger shows up in town a little later claiming to be Mitch's brother. This man, Walker "Flynn" Laurence, is secretly working with Mitch, but sides with Blair when he learns of his brother's long list of crimes. Blair and Dorian take a shine to him, and Blair agrees to make him a reporter at The Sun. Blair finds herself the prime suspect in yet another murder when Mitch is killed days after his arrest. Blair, not realizing she is being manipulated by Walker, begins to suspect Dorian as the killer.
The killer is actually Jessica, and Walker is trying to protect her. With that resolved, Walker and Blair grow closer and closer. Blair is also being pursued by Kelly's husband, Kevin Buchanan
Kevin Buchanan
Kevin Lord Riley Buchanan is a fictional character on the soap opera One Life to Live. The character is the first child born to original characters Victoria Lord and Joe Riley.-Casting:...
. Not wanting to break up their marriage or give in to her lust for him, Blair flings herself into a relationship with Walker. Walker surprises her by rushing a wedding. She initially hesitates, but finally agrees. Todd is finally gone from her life, she feels, not realizing that Todd is actually standing right beside her (or so she thinks until it is revealed eight years later in August 2011 that this "Todd" is actually Victor Lord, Jr., the real Todd Manning's biological twin, who has been brainwashed into thinking he is Todd by their mother, Irene Manning).
After being brutally beaten and left near death by Mitch's goons, Todd convinced doctors to make him over to resemble Mitch's brother, Walker. As Mitch had not seen Walker in several years, Todd was able to fool him, along with all of Llanview. (In reality, Walker was a mobster who operated in Atlantic City, and the mastermind behind Todd's plastic surgery.) Kevin is the first to discover the secret, but keeps quiet for Blair's sake. When Blair realizes Todd's scheme, all hell breaks loose. She refuses to let him near their children and divorces him. Extremely drunk on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
, 2003, Blair has a sleazy roll in the sheets with Kevin. Disgusted with herself, she prepares to leave the Palace Hotel. Todd spots her, realizes what her rumpled clothes mean, and follows her home, to her bedroom.
2004 opens with pure chaos when Blair accuses Todd of rape. She files charges, as well as custody papers. Throughout the trial, Todd goes easy on her, and Blair stays to her story, even as old nemesis Marty Saybrooke returns to town to testify and tell the court she feels that Todd is innocent. Soon after Todd's prison conviction, Blair passes out. She is suffering from a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
. She realizes that she may have been wrong about what happened that night with Todd. As Todd gets a retrial (due to a juror's hearing aid
Hearing aid
A hearing aid is an electroacoustic device which typically fits in or behind the wearer's ear, and is designed to amplify and modulate sound for the wearer. Earlier devices, known as "ear trumpets" or "ear horns", were passive funnel-like amplification cones designed to gather sound energy and...
not working), Blair ponders changing her story, not knowing of Todd's plan to tear her credibility to shreds during the new trial. With all the facts out in the open, Todd is exonerated. He still wants Blair back, but she is still unsure of their relationship. Blair is even more suspicious of Todd's new found closeness with Kelly, not knowing that Todd is helping her cover an illegal adoption of a baby to get back at Kevin. Starr is an emotional wreak over eveything that has happened during the rape trial and her parents try to reassure her of things, though she still wants Todd and Blair back together.
After a fire at the community center, Blair finally sees that she is still in love with Todd, and the two again begin to plan their lives together. But Todd disappeares on the eve of their wedding in December 2004, leaving Blair devastated. At first, she is furious with herself for falling for his lies again, but it is not long before she realizes he has been kidnapped by an insane Margaret Cochran
Margaret Cochran
Margaret Cochran is a fictional character on the soap opera, One Life to Live. The character was played by Rebecca Mader from March 26 to June 8, 2004...
, who is in love with and obsessed with Todd. Blair sets out to rescue Todd, but ends up being taken prisoner herself. She thinks she has been rescued when Asa Buchanan
Asa Buchanan
Asa Buchanan is a fictional character and patriarch of the Buchanan family on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. The Texan industrialist father of newly-arrived characters Clint and Bo Buchanan, Asa was originated in 1980 by Philip Carey. Carey portrays the nearly continuously for nearly three...
appears, but Asa is still angry about Todd and Blair trying to take his home from him a few months earlier. Asa has her committed to a mental institution, where Todd finds her as she is standing on a window ledge. He takes her back to Llanview, where a newly nervous Blair spends most of her time bonding with new next door neighbor, Ginger Foley, and trying to help Todd get over being raped by Margaret. But 2005 does not end well for the couple.
Blair meets the new doctor in town, Spencer Truman
Spencer Truman
Dr. Spencer Truman was a fictional character on the soap opera One Life to Live. He was played by Paul Satterfield from May 25, 2005 to January 30, 2007. Satterfield has reprised the role, in the form of Ghost by characters Miles Laurence and John McBain, several times in 2007...
, when Jack needs to have an emergency tracheotomy
Tracheotomy
Among the oldest described surgical procedures, tracheotomy consists of making an incision on the anterior aspect of the neck and opening a direct airway through an incision in the trachea...
performed. Blair and Spencer become fast friends, and their friendship helps her deal with Todd's arrest for the murders of Margaret Cochran and their unborn child, which Todd is convicted of and sentenced to prison for in early 2006. She and Todd eventually split over her growing belief that Todd committed the murders. This also strains her relationship with her daughter, Starr, who believes Todd is completely innocent. Spencer and Blair eventually become lovers, but Blair cannot let Todd out of her heart, and is heartbroken when he will not speak to her shortly before his execution. Blair watches as Todd is executed for the murders of Margaret Cochran and their infant son, and is shocked, as is everyone else, to learn that Margaret is alive and well. Blair feels horrible for believing, even for a moment, that Todd had been guilty. Seeing his lifeless body, she begs him to forgive her. With strained expertise, Todd is quickly brought back to life by Spencer, after Detective John McBain
John McBain (One Life to Live)
John McBain is a fictional character on the American daytime drama One Life to Live, portrayed by Michael Easton since October 1, 2003.-Natalie and Evangeline:...
, Natalie Vega, and David Vickers bring a very much alive Margart Cochran into the room where the execution was held. Todd refuses to forgive Blair.
Blair, however, refuses to give up on Todd. Determined to prove her love and loyalty to him, she embarks on a Mata Hari
Mata Hari
Mata Hari was the stage name of Margaretha Geertruida "M'greet" Zelle , a Dutch exotic dancer, courtesan, and accused spy who was executed by firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I.-Early life:Margaretha Geertruida Zelle was born in Leeuwarden, Friesland,...
-like plan to prove that Spencer is the one behind everything. Spencer is eventually jailed. But halfway through the trial, he fakes insanity, including intentionally repeatedly banging his head on a table in his cell and writing WHORE, referring to Blair, on a wall in the cell with his own blood. He goes as far to hire Marty Saybrooke, who is now a psychologist, to be his doctor; they have several sessions together, and she testifies in court that "in her professional opinion, Dr. Truman is not mentally stable, not fit to stand trial". By this time, Blair has yet to earn Todd's forgiveness, but she is keeping from him the fact that the she has just discovered that she is a few months pregnant with his second son. As a result of Marty's testimony, Truman is sentenced to go to a mental facility instead of jail time. Furious over this, Todd kidnaps him on his way to Wingdale, and holds him captive while performing Chinese water torture
Chinese water torture
Chinese water torture is the popular name for a method of water torture in which water is slowly dripped onto a person's forehead, allegedly driving the restrained victim insane...
on him, in a building for about a week to get Spencer to confess where his son (by Margaret) is. But 2006 goes just as it came — with all hell breaking loose. Blair gets in an accident when Truman lures her to the building and when she arrives, she finds Todd and Truman fighting on the roof. She gets in the middle of them, as Todd pushes Spencer off the building, accidentally pushing Blair off as well. They hit the ground, three stories below. After her accident, which caused her to miscarry her and Todd's unborn child, Todd forgives her, and immediately plans on proposing to her yet again when she awakes from her coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
. Todd proposes to Blair in early 2007, but she turns him down, saying that they are "toxic" to each other and that they just do not work. When Blair gets out of the hospital, she, Starr and Jack move to La Boulaie with Dorian. In a futile attempt to get over Todd, Blair has sex with Cristian Vega
Cristian Vega
Cristian Vega is a fictional character on the American daytime drama One Life to Live. The character was most notably portrayed by David Fumero, who played Cristian from June 26, 1998 to September 8, 2011.-Casting:...
, who in turn is trying to get over Evangeline Williamson
Evangeline Williamson
Evangeline Williamson is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live. The role was originated on February 25, 2003 by Renee Elise Goldsberry, who left the series on May 18, 2007.-Storylines:...
. It does not work for either, and although the two become good friends, Blair remains in love with Todd.
Acting on a tip from Spencer Truman's ex-patient Miles Laurence, Todd decides to travel to Chicago in the hopes of finding the infant son he had with Margaret Cochran. Blair follows him onto the plane, determined to help. Still heartbroken over their breakup and hurt by Blair's tryst with Cristian, Todd is angry, but still allows Blair to stay with him. The two began a search for the baby, but are soon separated. Todd is stabbed by a mysterious stranger and disappears. A desperate and scared Blair searched for him for months, but she turns up nothing. Eventually, it is revealed that Todd is being drugged and held by a young man named Hunter, who had been hired by Miles Laurence. Hunter's girlfriend turns out to be none other than Sarah Roberts, Todd's niece. Once a horrified Sarah realizes that her uncle is near death, she secretly calls Blair and reveals Todd's whereabouts. By the time Blair gets back to Chicago, Hunter has taken the unconscious Todd and dumped him back in Llanview on Miles' doorstep. In turn, Miles hauls Todd down to the storage room of his apartment building and continues to drug him. After several days, Miles' stepson Cole Thornhart
Cole Thornhart
Cole Patrick Thornhart is a fictional character on ABC's daytime drama One Life to Live. He was played by Brandon Buddy from October 10, 2006 to November 10, 2010. He is also the nephew of Ian Thornhart, Patrick's identical twin brother from the now-defunct series Port Charles...
(boyfriend to Todd and Blair's daughter, Starr, and son to Marty) accidentally stumbles upon Todd. Miles begins blackmailing a frightened Cole, telling him that if he tells anyone about Todd, then Cole's mother, Marty, will go to jail for killing Spencer Truman. Torn between his loyalty to his mother and his love for Starr, Cole remains silent, but eventually confesses what he knows to his mother and to the police. By this time, Miles has dumped a drugged Todd in the woods, and then instructs Hunter to drag him to a sleazy motel. It is here that Blair and John McBain finally find Todd boozed up, drugged, naked, and in bed with a prostitute named Kandi who claims she had been partying with him for weeks. A furious Blair does not buy Kandi's story, and rushes Todd to the emergency room.
The Manning family, complete with Blair, Todd, Starr, and Jack are reunited at the hospital while Todd recovers from his injuries. Todd remembers little of his 12-week ordeal, but once he learns that Miles is responsible for his plight, he vows revenge. Blair lets Todd know she wants to reconcile with him, and Todd softens towards her. Todd and Blair are upset over what happened before Chicago with Cristian and Evangeline, and know they have a lot to work out. Luckily, for the first time in a long, they seem to be on the same page.
Todd and Blair later become closer and nearly kiss. Unfortunately, in court, though Miles is charged with attempted murder for what he did to Todd, the judge throws out the case. Todd and Blair are furious, but can do little about it. They go to the Women of the Year Ceremony together, where things get chaotic as usual, and Lindsay Rappaport (who wins the award) is revealed to be Spencer's murderer. Todd and Blair make sure to cover this revelation in the Sun. After the ceremony, they celebrate their hot front page story, but the mood is ruined when Miles shows up with information regarding where Todd's son is. Todd, sure that his son is dead, becomes angry and does not believe him, which leads to Todd beating Miles up. Miles, realizing that he has to get the truth to Todd some way, goes to Blair and tells her the truth and gives her proof. It is all there in writing — Tommy Mcbain is Todd's son.
When Marcie McBain is at large with his son, on December 20, 2007, Todd announces that "Tommy" will be renamed "Sam Manning," in honor of his deceased mentor and friend, Sam Rappaport
Sam Rappaport (One Life to Live)
Samuel "Sam" Rappaport is a fictional character on the long running ABC soap opera One Life to Live. He was originally portrayed by Kale Browne from March 5, 1998 to April 11, 2001. The role was taken over on May 8, 2001 by veteran All My Children actor Laurence Lau, who was made famous for...
. It is not long afterward that his son is returned to him. Interestingly, Marcie is on the run with Todd's son for almost four months and Blair helps him deal with it. They reconnect during this time, and after a while, Blair comes clean and tells Todd she still loves him.
Todd and Blair bring Sam home, everyone deals with adjustment issues, including Blair, who wonders if she will be able to raise Sam as her own son. Blair even starts having visions of Margaret, which she eventually tells Todd about. Todd is concerned and they talk about their issues, leading to Todd telling Blair that he loves her and wants a real marriage with her. The two make love and are reconciled once more. But in 2008, Starr becomes pregnant by Cole after the "move" Todd was going to have for protection. After Starr and Cole run away, they are found by John, Blair, and then later by Todd. Todd punches Cole and accidentally pushes Starr down the stairs. After Blair finds out that Starr is pregnant, Blair cuts Todd out of their lives for making Starr's life miserable.
Téa Delgado returns to Llanview, PA in late 2008 and begins a relationship with Todd shortly thereafter in 2009. Upon discovering Todd and Téa's growing closeness, Blair launches a plan to win Todd back from Téa. After a good effort and intricate plotting on her part, including having sex with Todd in Dorian's cabana, conspiring to defraud Téa and blackmail, Todd chooses Téa to Blair's chagrin. After being kidnapped by Ross Rayburn (the unintended result of her latest scheme to break up Todd and Téa) alongside Todd and Téa's daughter, Danielle, Blair concedes defeat.
When a man appears in town in summer 2011 who has Todd's old face, it is revealed that the man who has been posing as Todd for the last eight years is not really Todd but rather his long-lost twin brother, Victor Lord Jr. Irene had twin boys but brainwashed Victor to take over Todd's life to aid her secret agency with many mission throughout the world. With the revelation that her long-lost love has returned, Blair and Todd may find themselves drawn to each other again, while Téa is currently married to Victor. Todd blamed Blair for not knowing that Victor wasn't him and for letting him near their children and that he fought to get back to her. With the knowledge that Todd has returned and the man she thought was Todd is actually Victor, Todd and Blair are still legally married because Victor was "Todd" during their divorce and remarriage.
Impact
Todd and Blair are often recognized as one of television's most prominent pairings. The two were nominated for "Most Irresistible Combination" at the 32nd Daytime Emmy Awards32nd Daytime Emmy Awards
The 32nd Daytime Emmy Awards, commemorating excellence in American daytime programming from 2004, was held on Friday, May 20, 2005 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. CBS televised the ceremonies in the United States...
, and in 2001, were nominated for About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
's couple of the year title. In 2002, Todd and Blair were named the top One Life to Live all-time romantic couple by magazine Soaps In Depth
Soaps In Depth
Soaps In Depth is a series of magazines created in 1997 by Bauer Publications to give American soap opera viewers more variety in their soap-related magazine purchases...
. They are one of the most avidly watched supercouples.
Before Todd and Blair's supercouple status was indefinite, the pairing was often in direct competition with rival couple Todd and Téa, an alternate romantic pairing for Todd. This created an intense rivalry between the two fanbases, which became known as the "T&B vs. TnT" wars. The "T&B vs. TnT" wars were some of the genre's most notorious Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
battles, and left writers and producers with the task of deciding which couple would be the "true love" couple. In addition, viewers enjoyed the battles between Blair and Téa, which became one of soap opera's most entertaining rivalries.
While Todd is the town rapist (having raped Marty Saybrooke in college), Blair herself is the product of rape (as her mentally ill mother was raped and impregnated by an unnamed hospital attendant).
Todd and Blair were the original founders of "The Most Pathetic Club" in which they competed for the title of "Most Pathetic." They had their first real meeting at Rodi's Bar in 1994; Blair was drinking at the bar when Todd came up and asked if the seat next to her was taken. The writers also scripted Todd and Blair as best friends before the two ever became involved romantically.
The couple have been legally married three times on the series (once on the beach in Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, once in St. James' church, and once in Dorian's living room at La Boulae). They divorce three times, and their marriage in 2003 is declared null and void because Todd concealed his identity and referred to himself as Walker Laurence during the ceremony. The couple attempts to marry additional times, but each attempt is thwarted in some way, either by themselves or a third party. The most recent of their failed marriage attempts occurs in 2004 when Margaret Cochran shoots and kidnaps Todd before the ceremony. However, the couple finally manage to marry once more in September 2007. Although the marriage is legal, it is also part of a "business" deal, as Todd and Blair agree to marry in the hopes of making Todd look better in the custody fight for Tommy, his son by his rapist, Margaret. Blair demands 5 million dollars from Todd to act the part of faithful wife (a reference to when Todd paid Téa 5 million dollars to marry him), and he agrees to pay her that amount.
See also
- List of fictional supercouples
- Todd Manning and Marty Saybrooke rape storylinesTodd Manning and Marty Saybrooke rape storylinesThe Todd Manning and Marty Saybrooke rape storylines are storylines from the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live consisting of rape, revenge, redemption, and love. Created by writers Michael Malone and Ron Carlivati, the stories depict characters Todd The Todd Manning and Marty Saybrooke rape...