Josh Madden
Encyclopedia
Joshua "Josh" Madden is a fictional character
from the American daytime drama All My Children
. He first came to Pine Valley
on June 17, 2005 and was originally portrayed by actor Scott Kinworthy
until September 15, 2005. Following Kinworthy's departure, he was portrayed by actor Colin Egglesfield
from September 2005 until January 2009.
The character was initially the subject of a controversial and landmark
abortion
storyline back in the early 1970s, having been the fetus
in which the abortion was centered. When the abortion storyline was rewritten to not have been an abortion after all, controversy ensued again, as viewers felt that it was an undoing of a groundbreaking event in television history.
took over the role of Kendall Hart in 2002, the producers had Kendall's birth year changed to 1976, thus pushing Erica Kane
's even later than it was before, to 1962. This left Josh's birth date between his sisters', Kendall's (1976) and Bianca Montgomery
's (1984), with his now set at December 18, 1980.
Josh is the son of characters Erica Kane and Jeff Martin
. Originally, the character was to have been aborted
(in what was the first abortion on television after the Roe v. Wade
decision). However, later during Megan McTavish
's third stint as All My Children head writer
, a character named Doctor Greg Madden was written to have taken the embryo
and implanted the embryo into his wife.
, and Erica Kane, not yet knowing that Josh is her son, hires him as a producer at her talk show "New Beginnings". In order to steal Erica's job, Josh begins to sabotage Erica, even going so far as to drug her, and frames Amanda Dillon
in his place. His devious intentions are eventually revealed, and he is fired as producer of Erica's talk show, with Erica hating him.
In late July 2006, not long after Greg has been killed, Josh finally discovers the truth about his birth at the opening of the nightclub ConFusion. He is devastated and decides to leave town. Erica tries to explain to him that she does not hate him and her reasons for making the decision to have an abortion all those years ago, but Josh does not want to listen to her.
Throughout the whole Greg Madden ordeal, Josh develops a close relationship with Babe Carey Chandler
, who convinces him to stay in town. Josh gradually falls in love with Babe and has a one-night stand
with her. However, despite her rocky marriage to JR, she chooses to stay with her husband, leaving Josh heartbroken and more willing to fight for her love.
Josh connects with his half-sister, Bianca Montgomery
, whom he loves, but is not above using to get what he wants; however this characteristic does not faze Bianca, and it allows her to share with her older half-brother that her girlfriend, Maggie Stone
, cheated on her while they were in Paris. Like most everyone else in the Kane-Montgomery family, Josh proves to be extremely protective of Bianca, especially where her happiness is concerned and is acrimonious towards Zarf/Zoe
, whom he thinks would hurt Bianca.
Josh's relationship with his other half-sister, Kendall Hart Slater, though not at first as close as his relationship to Bianca, also becomes stronger. He is sometimes seen as somewhat of a protector of Kendall as well, and is able to connect with Erica at times, the two having found a certain comfort with each other.
Josh leaves Pine Valley after Babe is apparently murdered by The Satin Slayer
. However, after the funeral, Babe is seen waking in a hidden room in Zach Slater
's casino and Josh asks how she feels. Josh, Kendall, Zach, Joe, Jeff, and Jack, all aware that Babe is still alive, keep this fact a secret in order to keep her out of harm's way. Once back in Pine Valley, due to Josh's constant unwanted involvement in Babe's matters, Babe tells Josh to get out of her life. Some time afterward, Josh has a fling with a woman named Hannah Nichols
.
Before he becomes boss at Chandler Enterprises, he is briefly involved with Greenlee Smythe
. Due to having tricked the Chandlers out of their fortune, Zach is able to do what he wants with Chandler Enterprises. He names Josh as Chandler Enterprises' new boss. But when Adam Chandler
regains control of Chandler Enterprises, Josh becomes the former CEO of the company.
In June 2008, he has a one-night stand with Greenlee. He leaves in September 2008 due to being cast out of the family by Zach when it is revealed that he stole money from Zach's casino. Though Josh apologizes for the theft and says that he was going to pay Zach back, Zach will not forgive Josh and makes Josh's life "a living hell" while Josh is on the run
.
Josh returns on January 14, 2009. He visits with a coma
tose Kendall, telling her how much he loves her and that he will make Zach pay for sending him into exile
. A day later, after stealing ten million dollars from the casino, he takes Reese Williams
(Bianca's new lover) hostage to ensure his escape. Erica and Bianca try to talk him out of the crime, but Josh refuses. Once Reese breaks free from Josh's grasp, Zach raises his gun at Josh. Josh, in turn, raises his gun at Zach. Zach does not hesitate in shooting Josh. As Josh is dying, he professes his love for Erica and Kendall and says that he just wanted a second chance. He soon dies. Zach orders the paramedic
s to keep Josh's heart pumping in order to save Kendall, who needs a heart transplant. Josh is put on life support
and pronounced brain dead
. It is Erica's decision whether or not to let the doctors do the heart transplant. She is torn on the matter, but there is no time to spare, as Kendall will soon die. Erica gives permission for the surgery and says goodbye to Josh with Bianca.
rewrote Erica's abortion to not have been an abortion due to the antics of Dr. Greg Madden, it upset fans who felt that it was "a disgrace" to the ground-breaking abortion storyline Agnes Nixon
had written three decades earlier. Colin Egglesfield
, Josh's portrayer, when queried by Soap Opera Digest
on the matter of possibly holding the record in daytime for the oddest way to be brought into the world, replied, "Yeah, and it's kind of funny because when people ask me who I am on the show, I like to say, 'I'm the abortion of Erica Kane.' Or, technically, I think it's a 'transportion.'"
Inkling Magazine, an often-updated magazine on the internet dedicated to science as they see it, commented on the impossibility of the storyline in which Josh was not aborted after all:
However, in their same article, Inkling Magazine stated that "[u]sing Erica Kane's currently known offspring as an example, it seems that the science behind the drama of soap storylines isn’t entirely incorrect" and that "maybe that's not as surprising as it seems. A lot of weird and crazy things pop up in scientific and medical research".
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...
from the American daytime drama All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
. He first came to Pine Valley
Pine Valley, Pennsylvania
Pine Valley, Pennsylvania is the fictional setting for the long-running American soap opera All My Children. It is a small suburb of Philadelphia...
on June 17, 2005 and was originally portrayed by actor Scott Kinworthy
Scott Kinworthy
Scott Kinworthy is an American actor. He was best known for his short-lived role as Josh Madden on All My Children from June 17, 2005 until September 15, 2005....
until September 15, 2005. Following Kinworthy's departure, he was portrayed by actor Colin Egglesfield
Colin Egglesfield
Colin Egglesfield is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal as Dr. Josh Madden in the long-running soap opera All My Children, as well as Auggie Kirkpatrick in The CW's short-lived teen drama Melrose Place....
from September 2005 until January 2009.
The character was initially the subject of a controversial and landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
storyline back in the early 1970s, having been the fetus
Fetus
A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...
in which the abortion was centered. When the abortion storyline was rewritten to not have been an abortion after all, controversy ensued again, as viewers felt that it was an undoing of a groundbreaking event in television history.
Background
The writers originally scripted Josh's birth date to be December 18, 1973. When Alicia MinshewAlicia Minshew
Alicia Herschenfeld best known as Alicia Minshew is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Kendall Hart on the daytime drama All My Children.-Early life and career:...
took over the role of Kendall Hart in 2002, the producers had Kendall's birth year changed to 1976, thus pushing Erica Kane
Erica Kane
Erica Kane is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children.The character has been portrayed by actress Susan Lucci since the show first aired in January 1970, until the last broadcast television episode aired in September 2011. Erica is considered to be the most popular...
's even later than it was before, to 1962. This left Josh's birth date between his sisters', Kendall's (1976) and Bianca Montgomery
Bianca Montgomery
Bianca Christine Montgomery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. In June 2010, Christina Bennett Lind replaced Eden Riegel, who portrayed the role from July 2000 to January 2010. Until Riegel assumed the role, the character was portrayed solely by child...
's (1984), with his now set at December 18, 1980.
Josh is the son of characters Erica Kane and Jeff Martin
Jeff Martin (AMC)
Dr. Jeff Martin is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera All My Children. He is the oldest son of Joseph "Joe" Martin Sr. and his deceased wife, Helen Martin. He portrayed most notably and for the longest tenure by Charles Frank, most recently portrayed by John James.- Character history...
. Originally, the character was to have been aborted
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
(in what was the first abortion on television after the Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, , was a controversial landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. The Court decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion,...
decision). However, later during Megan McTavish
Megan McTavish
Megan McTavish is an American television actress and soap opera writer. McTavish is best known for several head writing stints on All My Children.-Early career:...
's third stint as All My Children head writer
Head 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...
, a character named Doctor Greg Madden was written to have taken the embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
and implanted the embryo into his wife.
Storyline
As an adult, Josh comes to Pine ValleyPine Valley, Pennsylvania
Pine Valley, Pennsylvania is the fictional setting for the long-running American soap opera All My Children. It is a small suburb of Philadelphia...
, and Erica Kane, not yet knowing that Josh is her son, hires him as a producer at her talk show "New Beginnings". In order to steal Erica's job, Josh begins to sabotage Erica, even going so far as to drug her, and frames Amanda Dillon
Amanda Dillon
Amanda Maureen Martin is a fictional character from the American daytime All My Children. She is the daughter of police officer/detective Trevor Dillon and longtime series villain Janet Marlowe aka "Janet from another planet"; however, Amanda was thought to be the child of her aunt Natalie...
in his place. His devious intentions are eventually revealed, and he is fired as producer of Erica's talk show, with Erica hating him.
In late July 2006, not long after Greg has been killed, Josh finally discovers the truth about his birth at the opening of the nightclub ConFusion. He is devastated and decides to leave town. Erica tries to explain to him that she does not hate him and her reasons for making the decision to have an abortion all those years ago, but Josh does not want to listen to her.
Throughout the whole Greg Madden ordeal, Josh develops a close relationship with Babe Carey Chandler
Babe Carey
Arabella "Babe" Carey Chandler is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was originally portrayed by actress Alexa Havins, from October 13, 2003 to October 8, 2007, and then by actress Amanda Baker from October 8, 2007 to October 31, 2008...
, who convinces him to stay in town. Josh gradually falls in love with Babe and has a one-night stand
One-night stand
Originally, a one-night stand was a single theatre performance, usually by a guest performer on tour, as opposed to an ongoing engagement. Today, however, the term is more commonly defined as a single sexual encounter, in which neither participant has any intention or expectation of a relationship...
with her. However, despite her rocky marriage to JR, she chooses to stay with her husband, leaving Josh heartbroken and more willing to fight for her love.
Josh connects with his half-sister, Bianca Montgomery
Bianca Montgomery
Bianca Christine Montgomery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. In June 2010, Christina Bennett Lind replaced Eden Riegel, who portrayed the role from July 2000 to January 2010. Until Riegel assumed the role, the character was portrayed solely by child...
, whom he loves, but is not above using to get what he wants; however this characteristic does not faze Bianca, and it allows her to share with her older half-brother that her girlfriend, Maggie Stone
Maggie Stone
Mary Margaret "Maggie" Stone is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was portrayed by actress Elizabeth Hendrickson, who also portrayed Maggie's identical twin sister, Mary Frances "Frankie" Stone. The character comes to Pine Valley in early 2002 after the...
, cheated on her while they were in Paris. Like most everyone else in the Kane-Montgomery family, Josh proves to be extremely protective of Bianca, especially where her happiness is concerned and is acrimonious towards Zarf/Zoe
Zoe (All My Children)
Zoe is a fictional character from the ABC daytime drama All My Children, and is credited as the first transgender character to appear on a soap opera at the beginning of a male to female gender transition. She was portrayed by actor Jeffrey Carlson in August 2006 and then again from November 29,...
, whom he thinks would hurt Bianca.
Josh's relationship with his other half-sister, Kendall Hart Slater, though not at first as close as his relationship to Bianca, also becomes stronger. He is sometimes seen as somewhat of a protector of Kendall as well, and is able to connect with Erica at times, the two having found a certain comfort with each other.
Josh leaves Pine Valley after Babe is apparently murdered by The Satin Slayer
Alexander Cambias, Sr.
Alexander Cambias, Sr. is a fictional character from the ABC daytime drama All My Children, as portrayed by Ronald Guttman, from July 23, 2003 until August 2003. Guttman returned to the role on February 23, 2007 and left April 27, 2007...
. However, after the funeral, Babe is seen waking in a hidden room in Zach Slater
Zach Slater
Zachary "Zach" Slater is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. He was portrayed by actor Thorsten Kaye from May 20, 2004 to November 19, 2010; Thorsten returned to the role on August 5, 2011 to September 23, 2011...
's casino and Josh asks how she feels. Josh, Kendall, Zach, Joe, Jeff, and Jack, all aware that Babe is still alive, keep this fact a secret in order to keep her out of harm's way. Once back in Pine Valley, due to Josh's constant unwanted involvement in Babe's matters, Babe tells Josh to get out of her life. Some time afterward, Josh has a fling with a woman named Hannah Nichols
Hannah Nichols
Hannah Nichols is a fictional character from the ABC daytime drama All My Children. She has been portrayed by actress Stacy Haiduk, since March 27, 2007. Haiduk was let go in May 2007, but was later offered to return in September 2007...
.
Before he becomes boss at Chandler Enterprises, he is briefly involved with Greenlee Smythe
Greenlee Smythe
Greenlee Smythe is a fictional character from the daytime drama All My Children. She was originally portrayed by actress Rebecca Budig from August 11, 1999 to November 30, 2005, and was portrayed by actress Sabine Singh from April 20, 2007 to January 15, 2008...
. Due to having tricked the Chandlers out of their fortune, Zach is able to do what he wants with Chandler Enterprises. He names Josh as Chandler Enterprises' new boss. But when Adam Chandler
Adam Chandler
Adam Chandler, Sr. is a fictional character from the daytime drama All My Children, portrayed by David Canary from December 1983 through his departure on April 23, 2010. Adam Chandler was one of the most devious and powerful individuals within the town of Pine Valley, Pennsylvania...
regains control of Chandler Enterprises, Josh becomes the former CEO of the company.
In June 2008, he has a one-night stand with Greenlee. He leaves in September 2008 due to being cast out of the family by Zach when it is revealed that he stole money from Zach's casino. Though Josh apologizes for the theft and says that he was going to pay Zach back, Zach will not forgive Josh and makes Josh's life "a living hell" while Josh is on the run
Fugitive
A fugitive is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from private slavery, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals...
.
Josh returns on January 14, 2009. He visits with a 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...
tose Kendall, telling her how much he loves her and that he will make Zach pay for sending him into exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
. A day later, after stealing ten million dollars from the casino, he takes Reese Williams
Reese Williams and Bianca Montgomery
Reese Williams and Bianca Montgomery are fictional characters and a lesbian couple from the ABC daytime drama All My Children. Reese was portrayed by Tamara Braun, and Bianca was portrayed by Eden Riegel. On Internet message boards, the pairing is commonly referred to by the portmanteaus "Rianca" ...
(Bianca's new lover) hostage to ensure his escape. Erica and Bianca try to talk him out of the crime, but Josh refuses. Once Reese breaks free from Josh's grasp, Zach raises his gun at Josh. Josh, in turn, raises his gun at Zach. Zach does not hesitate in shooting Josh. As Josh is dying, he professes his love for Erica and Kendall and says that he just wanted a second chance. He soon dies. Zach orders the paramedic
Paramedic
A paramedic is a healthcare professional that works in emergency medical situations. Paramedics provide advanced levels of care for medical emergencies and trauma. The majority of paramedics are based in the field in ambulances, emergency response vehicles, or in specialist mobile units such as...
s to keep Josh's heart pumping in order to save Kendall, who needs a heart transplant. Josh is put on life support
Life support
Life support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patient's life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life...
and pronounced brain dead
Brain death
Brain death is the irreversible end of all brain activity due to total necrosis of the cerebral neurons following loss of brain oxygenation. It should not be confused with a persistent vegetative state...
. It is Erica's decision whether or not to let the doctors do the heart transplant. She is torn on the matter, but there is no time to spare, as Kendall will soon die. Erica gives permission for the surgery and says goodbye to Josh with Bianca.
First legal abortion aired
Josh became the first legal abortion performed in American soap opera history, and, according to some sources, the first aired on American television. Author Gerry Waggett, when asked in an interview about All My Children usually being the first soap opera to tackle global issues and what storyline best exemplifies this, responded:I would have to pick Erica's legal abortion back in 1973. Number one, it was timely. Abortion had only recently been legalized when Erica decided not to have her baby. Secondly, it was a bold move. I can't think of a hotter political topic for the time than abortion. (It still remains a subject that soaps tend to avoid as much as possible; women may contemplate abortions, but rarely go through with having them.) Erica's abortion let the fans know that All My Children was going to tackle some major issues. What made it work was the fact that it was the perfect marriage of character to social issue storyline. We've all watched shows where some character develops a social issue problem that feels artificial to them as though it's been tacked onto them as some sort of glorified public service announcement. But Erica's abortion made sense. She was a rising model who didn't want a baby to derail that career. Whether you agree or disagree with her decision, you understand her rationale. That really is important for these social issue storylines to succeed — that they really be paired up with the right characters.
Rewrite controversy
When former head writer Megan McTavishMegan McTavish
Megan McTavish is an American television actress and soap opera writer. McTavish is best known for several head writing stints on All My Children.-Early career:...
rewrote Erica's abortion to not have been an abortion due to the antics of Dr. Greg Madden, it upset fans who felt that it was "a disgrace" to the ground-breaking abortion storyline Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon is an American writer and producer. She attended Northwestern University where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, and is best known as the creator of soap operas such as One Life to Live and All My Children...
had written three decades earlier. Colin Egglesfield
Colin Egglesfield
Colin Egglesfield is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal as Dr. Josh Madden in the long-running soap opera All My Children, as well as Auggie Kirkpatrick in The CW's short-lived teen drama Melrose Place....
, Josh's portrayer, when queried by Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
on the matter of possibly holding the record in daytime for the oddest way to be brought into the world, replied, "Yeah, and it's kind of funny because when people ask me who I am on the show, I like to say, 'I'm the abortion of Erica Kane.' Or, technically, I think it's a 'transportion.'"
Inkling Magazine, an often-updated magazine on the internet dedicated to science as they see it, commented on the impossibility of the storyline in which Josh was not aborted after all:
However, in their same article, Inkling Magazine stated that "[u]sing Erica Kane's currently known offspring as an example, it seems that the science behind the drama of soap storylines isn’t entirely incorrect" and that "maybe that's not as surprising as it seems. A lot of weird and crazy things pop up in scientific and medical research".
Who, for example, would have thought you could grow a human ear on the back of a mouse? Who would have believed that one day we could make fluorescent green pigs? Keeping in mind those miracles of nature might help suspend the disbelief the next time a pint-sized, ringlet-haired child soap star 'grows' into a sultry brooding teenager after a summer 'away.' Hey, it could happen."