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AMC: FAQ: (All My Children Frequently Asked Questions) 1 of 4


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Archive-name: tv/soaps/all-my-c/general
Posting-Frequency: every 2 months
Last-modified: 1997/12/31
Version: 8.11

See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
(last posted 1999/02/24)

Here's the first of four sections of the AMC FAQ.  You might want to 
save it to a file for reference, since it's only posted once every
couple of months.  The AMC FAQ is also available through anonymous 
ftp from rtfm.mit.edu under /pub/usenet/news.answers/tv/soaps/all-my-c/
or send email to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with any or all of:
        send usenet/news.answers/tv/soaps/all-my-c/general
        send usenet/news.answers/tv/soaps/all-my-c/actors
        send usenet/news.answers/tv/soaps/all-my-c/characters
        send usenet/news.answers/tv/soaps/all-my-c/ratsa-newsgroup

If you know any of the unknown answers below, or have any additional 
questions & answers to add, please email me (gibbsm@ll.mit.edu).  
Thanks!



general questions about AMC and Pine Valley:
	Q:  Why is it called "All My Children?"
        Q:  Where is Pine Valley?
	Q:  What are the street names of Pine Valley?
	Q:  What are the restaurant and store names of PV?
        Q:  What are some of the house names, and who has lived in them?
        Q:  Where can I get the AMC theme music?
	Q:  What is the mailing address for AMC?
	Q:  Where can I buy t-shirts, etc. with AMC themes?
        Q:  Books about AMC?
	Q:  AMC Videos?
	Q:  Album featuring actors from AMC?
	Q:  When did AMC start, and when did they change over from B&W
		to color?
	Q:  Whose hand opened the book in the original opening?
	Q:  When did the AMC theme song change?


Q:  Why is it called "All My Children?"

A:  Some people think the "My" refers to Kate Martin or Phoebe
    Tyler Wallingford.  But what does the creator of the show have
    to say about it?...

    Oprah asked Agnes Nixon that question when she had a bunch of them 
    on a special commemorating the 20th Anniversary special back in 
    January of 1990...Agnes Nixon replied:

    "All My Children refers to the Brotherhood of Man (MY is God).  
    You are All MY Children".  

	The Great and the Least,
 	The Rich and the Poor,
 	The Weak and the Strong,
 	In Sickness and in Health,
 	In Joy and Sorrow,
 	In Tragedy and Triumph,
 	You are All My Children


    Agnes Nixon wrote this at the beginning of the first episode but 
    unfortunately it never aired.

    Extra tidbit:  Agnes originally wrote AMC for Proctor and Gamble
		   for CBS but it was turned down and Agnes tossed
		   it into her drawer at home.  She went on to write 
		   for Another World for Proctor and Gamble.  Then 
  		   she was approached for a soap for ABC and wrote
		   One Life to Live.  Then after OLTL success, she
		   again was approached for another soap. She said
		   to her husband Bob, how can I possibly come
		   up with another soap, and her husband said what
		   about "All My Children" and Agnes took it out of
		   the drawer and the rest is history {:-)


Q:  Where is Pine Valley?

A:  Agnes Nixon, AMC creator, said in Episodes that PV was modeled on 
    her home town on the Main Line in the Philadelphia suburbs.
    However, the outside shot they occasionally show before a scene 
    is Palmer Square in Princeton, NJ, according to Randi Schweriner
    (schwerin@phoenix.Princeton.EDU).  Also, the exterior of Cortlandt 
    Manor is really a mansion called Waveny in New Canaan, CT.  
    WildWind is actually Lyndhurst, on Rt. 9, in Tarrytown, NY.   It 
    was the home of Jay Gould, the Railroad robber baron, and is open 
    to the public.

    According to Ruth Warrick in her book ``The Confessions of Phoebe Tyler''
    (Berkeley Press, 1982):

    "A careful viewer might be able to place the geographical location (of
    Pine Valley) a bit more specifically. It is the suburb of `Center City,'
    which somewhat resembles Philadelphia. And it is about ninety miles from
    New York City -- close enough for illicit or clandestine adventures, but
    distant enough to avoid Fun City's distinctive flavor. In fact, Pine
    Valley occupies roughly the same map position as Bryn Mawr, the affluent
    Philadelphia Main Line community which is the home of a famous institution
    of learning.

    Which is not surprising, since Bryn Mawr is also the home of a certain
    soft-spoken woman who has become something of an institution in her own
    right. She is Agnes Nixon, creator of One Life to Live and All My
    Children, and she is the acknowledged queen of daytime television serials,
    more commonly known as soap operas or simply soaps."

    One more clue that Pine Valley is actually in Pennsylvania...
    after Mona Kane died, her daughter found her suitcase.  On the
    suitcase's tag was the following address:
		Name: Mona Kane Tyler
		Street: 20 Adams Street
		City: Pine Valley, USA
		State: PA     ZIP: 199??

    Yet another:  When Erica was at the Betty Ford Center (1996), she 
    told her roommate that she was from Pine Valley, Pennsylvania.

    More trivia:  in early 1992:  Will and Hayley were in a limo.  Will 
    said "Pine Valley, 19010" in sarcastic comparison to Beverly Hills 90210.
    19010 is the US Postal code for Bryn Mawr, PA.   On March 27, 1995,
    Kendall said "Pine Vally, 09109".  This postal code is not in use
    in the US.

    There have been other clues in the show which point to the fact
    that Pine Valley is in Pennsylvania, but I haven't room for them
    all. 


Q:  What are the street names of Pine Valley?

A:  River Road, Old River Road, Main Street, Route 29, Route 10, Maple
    Street, Front Street, Adams Street, Hillcrest (1219 is the 
    Martin's house), Staunton Drive (where Belinda lives).  Others???


Q:  What are the restaurant and store names of PV?

A:  Here's what I came up with (if you can think of more, please let
    me know):
		McKay's
		The Valley Inn Restaurant
		The Goal Post
		The Serving Spoon
		The Hearth (Jesse used to work there)
		The Chateau
		Hal's Country & Western Bar
		Lacey's (the Department Store)
		Kelly's
		Foxies (Center City)
		Erica's Disco (burned down)
		The Boutique
		The Glamorama
		The Health Club
		The Cluck-Cluck Chicken Shack
		Panache (Tom's old night club)
		Nexus (NYC)
		The Country Club
		The Steampit (where Jesse sang)
		Cyclops (run by Billy Clyde Tuggle)
		Bruno's Pizza (Dixie & Brian used to order from there)
		a Diner which Jack & Angelique used to frequent
		The Roadside Diner (new-Laura met Janet there)
		The Insomniac Cafe (where Julia works)
		The Hunter Gallery
    		Holidays (Hayley & Mateo's club)


Q:  What are some of the house names, and who has lived in them?

A:  Linden House (Erica)
    Wallingford Mansion
    The Gatehouse (Wallingford) (Donna, Nico & Cecily, Brooke)
    Wildwind (Dimitri, Erica, Edmund, Maria, Peggy, Anton)
    Hunting Lodge at Wildwind (Anton, Kendall, Gloria) 
    The Penthouse (which somehow moved to the ground floor!) -
	(Trevor & Natalie, Jack & Laurel)
    Cortlandt Manor (Palmer)
    Chandler Mansion (Adam, Natalie, Adam)
    The Boat House (Trevor, Alec)
    The Carriage House (Stuart, Cindy, Scott)
    The Martin's house 
    Next door to the Martin's (Harlan Tucker & Ellen Shepard; Devon 
	& Wally; Carrie, Lenora & Curt; Frank & Nancy Grant; 
	Angie & Jesse, now Trevor???)
    Martin's Mansion (didn't it have another name?)
    Myrtle's Boardinghouse (too many to mention)
    Pine Cone Motel (hmmmm, business or "house")
    The Valley Inn (ditto)
    Must be some apartments where Terrence, Taylor, Maria, Julia, 
	Charlie all live, and Will used to live.
    The loft (Dixie & Tad, Opal, Derek & Mimi, Terrence & Livia)
    The Solar House where Ellen and Mark Dalton used to live?
    Jeremy & Natalie's dream house
    Trevor & Natalie's dream house
    Tom & Skye's house (& then Dixie & Brian, then just Dixie)
    	(does anyone live there now?)
    Tom & Livia's house in Whitewood Developments
    The Brooke English Homeless Shelter (Laura, Janet)
    Pierce's hide-out near Willow Lake


Q:  Where can I get the AMC theme music?
 
A:  The old AMC theme is on an album by the group Flim & The BB's called 
    "This Is A Recording" and it was written by Billy Barber. It's pretty 
    much identical to the long version that sometimes plays over the 
    closing credits of the show. 

    You could also try http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/kennyp/sounds.html
    (The WWW TV Themes Home Page, maintained by Patrick Kenny), which
    has the 1990-1994 AMC theme.  Don't ask me how to play it, though!


Q:  What is the mailing address for AMC?

A:  All My Children
    320 W. 66th Street
    New York, NY  10023


Q:  Where can I buy t-shirts, etc. with AMC themes?

A:  Soap Duds, Inc.
    P.O. Box 843 
    Hollister, CA 95024-0843
    1-800-634-SOAP or (408) 636-8808 
    Fax: (800) 247-8738 or (408) 636-8738
    Email:  info@soapduds.com
    Web site: http://www.hollinet.com/~soapduds/
 

Q:  List of some books about AMC?

A:  Be aware that many of the books listed below are out of print:

    "The Wonderful World of TV Soap Operas", printed in 1972 by
    Dell. 

    Three books whose main title is "Agnes Nixon's All My Children".  
    Each has its own subtitle: 
          Book 1: Tara & Philip, covers 1970-1972, isbn 0-515-04892-5
          Book 2: Erica, covers 1972-1974, isbn 0-515-04895-X
          Book 3: The Lovers, covers 1974-1976, isbn 0-515-04896-8.
    The author of all three books was Rosemarie Santini, published by
    Jove Publications, Inc./200 Madison Avenue/New York, NY 10016.  The
    first two have a copyright date of 1980; the last was copyrighted 
    in 1981.

    "All Her Children" by Dan Wakefield; Doubleday & Co, 1976
    a behind the scenes story of the show by an unabashed fan.
    You have to stumble on it in a used bookshop.  Worth finding.

    "The Confessions of Phoebe Tyler" by Ruth Warrick

    "The Soap Opera Book" by Manuela Soares, Latham Publishing, 1978

    "Soap World" bu Robert LaGuardia published by Arbor House, 
    New York 1983.  ISBN:  0-87795-482-8

    "Soap Opera Mania - Love, Lust & Lies from Your Favorite Daytime 
    Dramas" by Tom Biracree.

    "All My Children: The Complete Family Scrapbook" by Gary Warner 
    (email address abcgary@aol.com); Los Angeles: General Publishing 
    Group, 1994, ISBN: 1881649458 : $25.00 (can order by phone 
    1-800-937-5557)

    "The Soap Opera Book of Lists,"  by Gerard J. Waggett
    (Harper Paperbacks, 1996)

    "Having It All" by Erica Kane will be on the bookstores 
    bookshelves very soon (June 1997). Apparently one of the AMC 
    staffers ghost wrote the book.  List price of the hard cover 
    book is $17.95, Amazon will have it for 30% less.


Q:  I've heard that ABC has put out some AMC videos - what are they
    and how can I get them?

A:  They should be available where most videos are sold.  The first
    one is called "All My Children:  Daytime's Greatest Weddings",
    and it was put out in September 1993.  Another video, put
    out around February 1994, is "AMC: Behind the Scenes", and
    features Walt Willey (Jackson Montgomery) guiding viewers
    around the many sets.  Both videos are put out by "ABC Daytime 
    Home Video", carry a retail price of $14.98, and run about an hour.
    A third video, "All About Erica" came out in November, 1994.


Q:  I've also heard that there is an album featuring people from AMC -
    how can I get that?

    RCA Victor produced a Christmas album in 1994 titled "A Soap 
    Opera Christmas -- Holiday Songs From Your Favorite Daytime 
    Stars" featuring some of daytime's best singers.  The album
    features Scott Holmes (Tom, "As the World Turns"); Peter 
    Bergman, Scott Reeves and Diana Barton from Y&R; Eva LaRue 
    (Maria) and Tommy Michaels (Timmy) from AMC; Robyn Griggs 
    (Maggie, "Another World"); Brad Maule (Tony, "General Hospital");
    Tonya Walker of OLTL, and others.

    You can also purchase Louis Edmonds' "Nobody Cares About Langley" 
    CD for $13.99 plus $2.50 shipping by writing to:

  	Dark Shadows
  	P.O. Box 480726
  	Los Angeles, CA  90048

    Info source:  E! Entertainment Television's PURE SOAP (July, 1994).



Q:  When did AMC start, and when did they change over from B&W to color?

A:  It first aired January 5, 1970, and it was a half-hour show for
    the first six years.  I think they went to color in late 1971.

    The photo album that used to be at the beginning of the show
    showed a hand turning the cover.  A friend told me that the photo
    album is Kate Martin's and that the hand turning it is hers.  This would
    make sense since the Martins were the centerpiece family of the show.
    However...


Q:  Whose hand opened the book in the original opening?

    In the original, black & white opening, where Rosemary Prinz 
    (Amy - Ruth's sister) is on the first page of the album, an
    unknown hand opens the book.  There is no listing in the ABC
    AMC archives of the person performing the page turning, thus
    the hand remains unidentified to this day.
 

Q:  When did the AMC theme song change?

A:  Friday, January 5, 1990, when they aired the 20th Anniversary show,
    and again on Tuesday, January 3, 1995.


====================================================================
Copyright 1995-1999 Margaret Gibbs.  Use and copying of this information
are permitted as long as (1) no fees or compensation are charged for
use, copies or access to this information, and (2) this copyright
notice is included intact.
====================================================================


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