Zach Spaulding
Encyclopedia
Alan Cooper "Zach" Spaulding is a fictional character
on the daytime soap opera
Guiding Light
. He was portrayed by Nicholas Art
from 2002 to 2008.
In 2004, Zach looked forward to Gus marrying Harley and was hurt when it did not happen. Although Zach was angry at Gus, blaming him since Gus told them they'd be a family, Gus was able to win him over and Zach forgave him. In the meantime, Phillip was waging his own private vendetta against the Cooper family, mainly by threatening to have the Cooper family restaurant "Company" destroyed. Although the Coopers tried to shield Zach from their problems, Zach caught on that Phillip was trying to hurt his mother and distanced himself from him. Although the Coopers (with help from Gus and Beth) were able to keep Company, it cost Zach his home when Phillip vindictively demolished Harley's house. In the next several months, the war between the Coopers and Spauldings heated up with Harley disguising herself as "Ruth" in order to spy on Phillip. Although everyone else was fooled by the disguise, Zach recognized her immediately but agreed to keep it a secret. Zach later innocently told his father who "Ruth" really was, causing Phillip to kidnap all of his children. Although the children were later found by Gus, Zach was devastated to learn that his father was dead. For the next several months Zach was consoled and taken care of by his family. In 2005, Harley was arrested for Phillip's murder, but all Zach, who would be staying with the Coopers, knew was that his mother was going away for a long time. Before going to prison, Harley tried to make the boys understand that she had to leave, but an angry Zach responded by trying to run away. Luckily, Gus stopped him and helped reconnect with his mother. After spending a horrible summer missing his mother, the pair were joyfully reunited that after Harley was finally exonerated for Phillip's murder. In addition to finally having his mom home for good, Zach was happy when she and Gus finally wed.
Things would not go as planned. In early 2006, less than five months after the wedding, Gus would disappear. When Zach kept asking when Gus would come home, Harley insisted that it would be soon. However, Gus planned a family vacation for the entire family in Hawaii and Zach was concerned he would not be back in time. Harley insisted that Gus would be there. Later, Harley was forced to tell the kids that Gus had been involved in an accident and was dead. Fortunately, Gus was not dead after all; and after having been missing for almost two months, returned to the family. Things still did not go back to normal. When he was gone, Gus had been injured and ended up being addicted to pain medication. Attempting to wean himself off the pills, Gus and Harley went to the deserted cabin so he could detox. There, Harley calmed Gus by reading him a story that Zach had written. Tus, Zach played a pivotal role in Gus's recovery. Recovery would prove harder than he thought and Gus would relapse after a trip to San Cristobel. Gus's condition, or his arguments with Harley, did not go unnoticed by Zach. When Jude asked why Gus was not around, Zach told him it was because Gus did drugs. Not long after, Harley took the kids and left Springfield hoping Gus would get his act together while they were gone. About a month later, Harley and the kids returned and Harley was pleased to find that Gus cleaned up for good. On New Year's 2007, Zach wrote a paper for his Social Studies class which encouraged others to "Find your Light" by doing good deeds—theorizing that people are happy when they are being nice. At the same time, Zach suggested to his grandfather one night that they give a poor homeless woman a meal. That one act of kindness created a domino effect of good deeds throughout the city which culminated in a wealthy millionaire leaving a bagful of money on Main Street encouraging the people of Springfield to “Find Your Light”.
A few months later, Zach's teenaged sister, Daisy, came home to stay with the family. Zach immediately was impressed with his big sister who he felt was “cool”. Noticing friction between Harley and Daisy, Zach suggested to Daisy that a slushy might cheer her up. Daisy agreed and, despite not having a driver’s license, she offered to drive Zach into town to get one. Though Zach suggested telling Harley where they were going, Daisy thought sneaking off would be more fun. They had a minor accident. Though no one was hurt, a furious Harley blasted Daisy for putting her little brother’s life in danger. Months later, Zach’s family got a little bigger with the arrival of Rafe Rivera—the teenaged son Gus never knew he had. Zach unknowingly caused some friction when he found and played with a syringe he found in Rafe’s bag. Harley was certain that meant the boy was a drug user but Rafe informed his father that it was used for insulin for his diabetes.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the daytime soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
. He was portrayed by Nicholas Art
Nicholas Art
-Life and career:Art was born in Milford, Connecticut, the son of Sharon and Richard Art. He is currently in the 6th grade.He had a recurring role as Zach Spaulding on the long-running CBS daytime drama Guiding Light, and has had guest appearances on many television shows, commercials, and roles in...
from 2002 to 2008.
Background
Alan Cooper Spaulding was born in the summer of 1999 to the wealthy Phillip Spaulding and his working class wife, Harley Cooper. Born in the wake of his grandfather Alan's heart attack, the child was named after Phillip's adoptive father, Alan Spaulding. Days after his birth, Harley decided to nickname the boy "Zach" from a character in one of Phillip's early novels about a young artist who declares his freedom from his wealthy family. Zach's family life would be torn apart less than a year later, in 2000, when it was discovered that Phillip had had an affair with Beth Raines and the child she was carrying was his. After the birth of Beth and Phillip's child, James, Harley decided she could not forgive Phillip for his infidelity and she left him. In early 2001, she decided to divorce him and sought custody of Zach. Though Phillip tried futilely to change Harley's mind, she was adamant about going through with it. Out of respect for her, Phillip allowed Harley to keep the house that he'd bought for her. The dissolution of her marriage led to Harley seeking comfort in the arms of Phillip's best friend, Rick Bauer and conceiving his child. Late that summer, Zach would gain another little brother—Jude. In 2002, after almost a year of them getting to know each other, Harley invited Gus Aitoro to move in with her and the kids. Gus soon bonded with the boys who in turn adored him. Phillip did not trust Gus and after learning that Gus had a juvenile record, he threatened to seek custody of Zach unless Gus was thrown out. When a stubborn Harley refused to even look at Gus's juvenile file, Phillip took Zach to live with him at the Spaulding mansion. Angry, Harley retaliated by kidnapping Zach, When Phillip demanded that Harley be arrested, the chief of police complied and Harley was forced to choose between leaving Zach with Phillip or social services. Harley reluctantly agreed to let Phillip continue to care for Zach while she fought for custody. The custody battled waged on for several months. With no resolution in sight, things came to a halt when Zach accidentally ran into the street and was struck by a car in the spring of 2003. Luckily, Gus was on the scene, and saved Zach by transporting him safely to the hospital. Grateful, and feeling guilty about everything, Phillip dropped his custody suit.In 2004, Zach looked forward to Gus marrying Harley and was hurt when it did not happen. Although Zach was angry at Gus, blaming him since Gus told them they'd be a family, Gus was able to win him over and Zach forgave him. In the meantime, Phillip was waging his own private vendetta against the Cooper family, mainly by threatening to have the Cooper family restaurant "Company" destroyed. Although the Coopers tried to shield Zach from their problems, Zach caught on that Phillip was trying to hurt his mother and distanced himself from him. Although the Coopers (with help from Gus and Beth) were able to keep Company, it cost Zach his home when Phillip vindictively demolished Harley's house. In the next several months, the war between the Coopers and Spauldings heated up with Harley disguising herself as "Ruth" in order to spy on Phillip. Although everyone else was fooled by the disguise, Zach recognized her immediately but agreed to keep it a secret. Zach later innocently told his father who "Ruth" really was, causing Phillip to kidnap all of his children. Although the children were later found by Gus, Zach was devastated to learn that his father was dead. For the next several months Zach was consoled and taken care of by his family. In 2005, Harley was arrested for Phillip's murder, but all Zach, who would be staying with the Coopers, knew was that his mother was going away for a long time. Before going to prison, Harley tried to make the boys understand that she had to leave, but an angry Zach responded by trying to run away. Luckily, Gus stopped him and helped reconnect with his mother. After spending a horrible summer missing his mother, the pair were joyfully reunited that after Harley was finally exonerated for Phillip's murder. In addition to finally having his mom home for good, Zach was happy when she and Gus finally wed.
Things would not go as planned. In early 2006, less than five months after the wedding, Gus would disappear. When Zach kept asking when Gus would come home, Harley insisted that it would be soon. However, Gus planned a family vacation for the entire family in Hawaii and Zach was concerned he would not be back in time. Harley insisted that Gus would be there. Later, Harley was forced to tell the kids that Gus had been involved in an accident and was dead. Fortunately, Gus was not dead after all; and after having been missing for almost two months, returned to the family. Things still did not go back to normal. When he was gone, Gus had been injured and ended up being addicted to pain medication. Attempting to wean himself off the pills, Gus and Harley went to the deserted cabin so he could detox. There, Harley calmed Gus by reading him a story that Zach had written. Tus, Zach played a pivotal role in Gus's recovery. Recovery would prove harder than he thought and Gus would relapse after a trip to San Cristobel. Gus's condition, or his arguments with Harley, did not go unnoticed by Zach. When Jude asked why Gus was not around, Zach told him it was because Gus did drugs. Not long after, Harley took the kids and left Springfield hoping Gus would get his act together while they were gone. About a month later, Harley and the kids returned and Harley was pleased to find that Gus cleaned up for good. On New Year's 2007, Zach wrote a paper for his Social Studies class which encouraged others to "Find your Light" by doing good deeds—theorizing that people are happy when they are being nice. At the same time, Zach suggested to his grandfather one night that they give a poor homeless woman a meal. That one act of kindness created a domino effect of good deeds throughout the city which culminated in a wealthy millionaire leaving a bagful of money on Main Street encouraging the people of Springfield to “Find Your Light”.
A few months later, Zach's teenaged sister, Daisy, came home to stay with the family. Zach immediately was impressed with his big sister who he felt was “cool”. Noticing friction between Harley and Daisy, Zach suggested to Daisy that a slushy might cheer her up. Daisy agreed and, despite not having a driver’s license, she offered to drive Zach into town to get one. Though Zach suggested telling Harley where they were going, Daisy thought sneaking off would be more fun. They had a minor accident. Though no one was hurt, a furious Harley blasted Daisy for putting her little brother’s life in danger. Months later, Zach’s family got a little bigger with the arrival of Rafe Rivera—the teenaged son Gus never knew he had. Zach unknowingly caused some friction when he found and played with a syringe he found in Rafe’s bag. Harley was certain that meant the boy was a drug user but Rafe informed his father that it was used for insulin for his diabetes.
Parents
- Phillip SpauldingPhillip SpauldingPhillip Granville Spaulding is a fictional character on the popular CBS daytime soap opera, Guiding Light. The character is the adopted son of business mogul, Alan Spaulding, and his first ex-wife, Elizabeth. Phillip has been portrayed by three different actors with Grant Aleksander the most recent...
(father) - Harley CooperHarley CooperHarley Davidson Cooper is a fictional character on the popular CBS daytime soap opera, Guiding Light. She is the daughter of Frank "Buzz" Cooper Sr. and the late Nadine Corley...
(mother) - Elizabeth "Beth" Raines (step-mother)
Sibling(s)
- Elizabeth "Lizzie" SpauldingLizzie SpauldingElizabeth Lillian "Lizzie" Lewis was a fictional character on the CBS daytime soap opera Guiding Light. She was one of the soap's most popular and featured characters. She was the daughter of supercouple Phillip Spaulding and ex-wife, Beth Raines...
(paternal half-sister) - Susan "Daisy" LemayDaisy LemaySusan "Daisy" Lemay is a fictional character on CBS's daytime drama Guiding Light. The first-born child of Harley Cooper Aitoro and Dylan Shayne Lewis, she was born on-screen in 1987 when Harley was seventeen years old...
(maternal half-sister) - James SpauldingJames Spaulding (GL)James Spaulding is a fictional character on the daytime soap opera Guiding Light.-Character's background:James Alexander Spaulding is second child of Phillip Spaulding and Elizabeth "Beth" Raines and has four siblings...
(paternal half-brother) - Jude Cooper BauerJude Cooper BauerJude Cooper Bauer is a fictional character on the daytime soap opera Guiding Light. He is currently portrayed by Robert Danza, Jr. since 2007.-Character history:...
(maternal half-brother) - Emma Spencer-SpauldingEmma SpauldingEmma Spaulding is a fictional character on the soap opera Guiding Light. She was portrayed by Kathryn Hall from 2006-2007 and portrayed by Jacqueline Tsirkin from 2007-2009.-Parents:* Phillip Spaulding...
(paternal half-sister) - Peyton Spaulding (step-sister)
Other relatives
- Justin Marler (paternal biological grandfather)
- Jacqueline "Jackie" Scott Marler (paternal biological grandmother, deceased)
- Alan SpauldingAlan SpauldingAlan Spaulding is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light. He was played by Chris Bernau from the time of the character's introduction on November 7, 1977 until June 1988, when Bernau left the role due to health problems ; Daniel Pilon stepped into the role from 1988 until Alan...
(paternal adoptive grandfather) - Elizabeth Graville (paternal adoptive grandmother)
- Frank "Buzz" Cooper Sr.Buzz CooperFrank Achilles "Buzz" Cooper Sr. is a fictional character on the popular CBS daytime soap opera, Guiding Light.The character of Buzz was originated by Justin Deas in February 1993 and he has been with the show to its final airdate which was September 18, 2009...
(maternal grandfather) - Nadine Corley Cooper (maternal grandmother, deceased)
- Samantha Marler (paternal biological aunt)
- Augustus "Gus" AitoroGus AitoroAugustus "Gus" Aitoro is a fictional character on the popular CBS daytime soap opera, Guiding Light...
(paternal adoptive uncle, deceased) - Alan-Michael SpauldingAlan-Michael SpauldingAlan-Michael Spaulding is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light. The character is the son of wealthy businessman, Alan Spaulding, and his former wife, Hope Bauer...
(paternal adoptive uncle) - Peyton Spaulding (paternal adoptive aunt)
- Frank Cooper Jr.Frank Cooper Jr.Frank Achilles Cooper Jr. is a fictional character on CBS's daytime drama Guiding Light. He has been portrayed by Frank Dicopoulos from October 31, 1987 to September 18, 2009.-Frank Cooper :...
(maternal uncle) - Lucile "Lucy" Cooper (maternal aunt)
- Henry Cooper "Coop" Bradshaw (maternal uncle, deceased)
- Ian Stavros "Rocky" Cooper (maternal adopted uncle)
- Sarah RandallSarah Elizabeth RandallSarah Elizabeth Randall is a fictional character on the daytime soap opera Guiding Light.-Character history:She is the only child of Jonathan Randall and Elizabeth "Lizzie" Spaulding. Sarah was conceived during a one night stand between her parents...
(niece) - Raphael "Rafe" RiveraRafe RiveraRaphael "Rafe" Joseph Rivera is a fictional character on CBS's daytime drama Guiding Light. He has been portrayed by E.J. Bonilla since May 18, 2007.-Character's background:...
(paternal adoptive cousin) - Marina CooperMarina CooperMarina Nadine Lewis is a fictional character on the popular CBS daytime soap opera, Guiding Light. The character is the only child of police chief, Frank Cooper, and ex-wife, Eleni Andros and was born on-screen on May 8, 1993. In December 2001, her birth year was SORASed to the early 1980s...
(maternal cousin) - Henry Cooper Lewis (maternal adoptive first cousin once removed)