The Lord family are fictional characters from the American soap opera One Life to Live. They were introduced in the show's July 15, 1968 debut episode on ABC, and featured for the entirety of its run until the series ended on August 19, 2013.

Lord family
One Life to Live and General Hospital family
Victor Lord's children (from left) Todd Manning (Roger Howarth), Tina Lord (Andrea Evans) and Victoria Lord (Erika Slezak) in a November 2011 episode
First appearanceJuly 15, 1968
Last appearanceAugust 19, 2013
Created byAgnes Nixon
Introduced byDoris Quinlan
Duration1968–2013

Created by Agnes Nixon, over 40 years of melodrama surrounding the lives and family of wealthy media mogul Victor Lord and his heiress daughter Victoria Lord establish the ensemble of characters as a central fixture throughout the serial.[1][2][3] The family primarily resides at Llanfair, a mansion in fictional Llanview, Pennsylvania. They own the communications business Lord Enterprises and its flagship publication, The Banner newspaper.[4][5][6][7]

Generations

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Ancestors

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  • Randolph Lord (Larry Pine)
    Lived in the late 1800s in the Old West as of 1988. Paternal grandfather of Victor Lord, Gwendolyn Lord, and Clayton-Powell Lord.

First generation

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  • Victor Lord (Ernest Graves, Shepperd Strudwick, William Stone Mahoney)
    Original character. Born off-screen September 12, 1916, revised to June 18, 1926, dies onscreen June 16, 1976. Death revised onscreen to March 4, 2003.
  • Gwendolyn Lord (Joan Copeland)
    Born pre-1916. Sister of Victor Lord.
  • Clayton-Powell Lord Sr. (mentioned character)
    Born post-1916. Brother of Victor Lord.

Second generation

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Third generation

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Fourth generation

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Fifth generation

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Introduction

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At the show's debut in July 1968, patriarch Victor Dalby Lord is introduced as the wealthy publisher of the regional newspaper, The Banner, in the fictional Philadelphia Main Line town of Llanview, Pennsylvania, and owner of media conglomerate Lord Enterprises. Victor lives at his ancestral, 18th-century country estate named Llanfair with his daughters Victoria (nicknamed "Viki") and Meredith. Victor's wife and Victoria and Meredith's mother, Eugenia Randolph Lord, dies while giving birth to Meredith. With no son to succeed him, Victor concentrates on grooming elder Viki strictly, with her position as legal heiress to his fortune. As a result of this lifelong pressure, Viki, newly arrived from college, allows herself little time for romantic entanglements, focusing her energy on her inherited media career and her father's approval. Conversely, frail and emotional, yet free-spirited Meredith, all but overlooked by Victor, sought escape from his oppression and the future he had laid out for his daughters.

Lord Enterprises, Inc.

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Lord Enterprises, Inc.
Company typePrivate
Industry
FoundedLlanview, Pennsylvania, United States (1935 (1935))[9]
FounderVictor Lord
Headquarters
Llanview
Number of locations
2
Area served
Key people
Victoria Lord (Chair and CEO)
Products
Services
Owner
Divisions
  • The Banner newspaper
  • WVLE radio
  • WVLE/WVL-TV
  • The Sun newspaper

Lord Enterprises, Inc. are the legacy media assets of Victor Lord,[4][10] including The Banner daily newspaper, WVL/WVLE-TV, WVLE radio, and life interest of the Llanfair estate. Victor's heiress daughter, Victoria, inherits publishing rights to the Banner newspaper as a part of Victor's initial will in 1976. Dorian Cramer Lord is initially bequeathed the landed Llanfair estate and part-ownership of WVL/WVLE-TV, WVLE radio, and The Banner; Viki purchases Dorian's stake in the newspaper soon after Victor's death. Victor's nephew Richard Abbott is appointed head of the European bureau of The Banner in 1979 by Viki's then-husband Joe Riley. The landed estate and majority ownership of the broadcast media outlets revert to Victoria in 1982 due to a codicil stipulating Llanfair and legacy assets return to the legal biological Lord heir (1976) if Victor's spouse remarries, which Dorian does at Llanfair with attorney Herb Callison that year. Dorian continues to live at Llanfair until she is forcibly removed by Viki's new husband, Clint Buchanan later that year. Tina Lord (formerly Tina Clayton) gains rightful access to the estate when Victor reveals her paternity to him in a letter during The Banner newspaper's 50th anniversary celebrations in 1985. Richard briefly takes over the company when Viki suffers a recurrent bout with her mental illness in 1986. Todd Manning is revealed to be Victor's illegitimate son and rightful male heir in 1995, gaining him partial ownership of WVLE radio, access to Llanfair, and an inherited trust of $30 million.

The Sun tabloid newspaper (formerly Dorian's The Intruder) is bought and edited by Todd Manning with millions of dollars in inheritance bequeathed to him at the revelation of his paternity to Victor in 1995; Todd's twin brother, Victor Lord Jr., assumes ownership of Todd's assets (under his brother's identity) from 2003 until Victor Jr.'s apparent death in 2011. Victor Jr.'s assets are betrothed to Irene Manning as part of Victor Jr.'s will, access which then reverts to legal heiress Tina at Irene's death in October 2011. Later in court proceedings, Tina relinquishes control of Todd's assets, returning them to Todd. Concurrently in October 2011, Jack Manning is named executive assistant and editor for The Sun by Victor Jr., a position he keeps when Todd returns to work for the company. Jessica Buchanan reports for both her grandfather and mother's newspaper, The Banner, and her uncle's tabloid, The Sun, at various times in the 1990s and 2000s.

Todd founds subsidiary Manning Enterprises in June 2012, purchasing Port Charles publications Crimson magazine and The Port Charles Sun (formerly The Port Charles Press) newspaper. Upon the Todd's exit from Port Charles, his Port Charles acquisitions revert to their former names and prior ownerships.

Companies

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  • The Banner – Chief daily newspaper for Llanview, Pennsylvania with a European bureau in Paris
  • The Sun – Tabloid newspaper in Llanview and primary competitor of The Banner (formerly The Intruder)
  • WVL/WVLE-TV – Local television station which produces news, talk, and television programming in Llanview
  • WVLE – Radio station for Llanview University and surrounding community
  • Manning Enterprises – Port Charles, New York publications Crimson magazine and The Port Charles Sun (formerly The Port Charles Press) tabloid, a cable television franchise, a sports publication, and two publishing houses (2012–13)
  • Lord/Manning Plant – Power plant owned by Victoria Lord and Clint Buchanan (1984–85)

Employees and estate trustees

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Family tree

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Lord family tree
Irene ManningDorothy RandolphVictor LordEugenia Randolph
Blair CramerTodd ManningTéa DelgadoVictor Lord Jr.Margaret CochranCord RobertsTina LordLarry WolekMeredith LordTony LordPat AshleyClint BuchananVictoria LordJoe RileyRoger Gordon
Starr ManningCole ThornhartDanielle ManningJack ManningSam ManningC. J. RobertsSarah RobertsDaniel WolekBrian KendallRobert FordJessica BuchananNash BrennanJohn McBainNatalie BuchananJoey BuchananKevin BuchananLeeAnn DemerestMegan Gordon
Hope Manning-ThornhartRyder Asa FordBree BrennanLiam McBainKelly CramerDuke Buchanan
Kevin Buchanan Jr.Zane Buchanan
Notes:

Descendants

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References

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  1. ^ Waggett, Gerry (15 July 2008). The One Life to Live 40th Anniversary Trivia Book: A Fun, Fact-Filled, Everything-You-Want-to-Know-Guide to Your Favorite Soap!. New York City: Hyperion Books. p. 278. ISBN 9781401323097. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  2. ^ Warner, Gary (2002). One Life to Live: Thirty Years of Memories. Collingdale, Pennsylvania: Diane Publishing Co. p. 417. ISBN 9780756757793.
  3. ^ Holly, Ellen (1996). One Life: The Autobiography of an African American actress. Kodansha America, Inc. p. 275. ISBN 9781568361581.
  4. ^ a b "Two Join One Life". High Point Enterprise. High Point, North Carolina. 14 December 1974. Retrieved 27 December 2013.
  5. ^ Browne, Ray Broadus; Browne, Pat (2001). The Guide to United States Popular Culture. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. p. 589. ISBN 9780879728212. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  6. ^ Schemering, Christopher (1997). The Soap Opera Encyclopedia. New York City: Ballantine Books. p. 644. ISBN 9780061011573.
  7. ^ Matelski, Marilyn J. (1999). Soap Operas Worldwide: Cultural and Serial Realities. McFarland & Company. p. 192. ISBN 9780786405572. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  8. ^ a b On the April 29, 2013, episode of One Life to Live, Dani reminds Jack that it is "dad's" birthday; and on the April 30, 2013, episode, Jack wishes Victor a happy birthday.
  9. ^ One Life to Live. Season 18. October 1985. American Broadcasting Company.
  10. ^ Reed, Jon-Michael (28 October 1978). "What happened on the soaps". The Chicago Tribune. Chicago: The Tribune Company. p. s19.
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