Alan Spaulding has been portrayed by three different actors. The first Alan was Christopher Bernau (pictured here). He was Alan from 1977 to 1984, and then again from 1986 to 1988. The next Alan was Daniel Pilon. Daniel was Alan from 1988 to 1990. In 1994 Ron Raines took over the role of Alan and he has been with us ever since. When Alan appeared in Springfield, he was married to Elizabeth Spaulding. They were having some troubles at the time so Elizabeth turned to Mike Bauer. When Alan and Elizabeth were in Amsterdam, they adopted a child. Elizabeth had just lost a baby of her own and was very fragile. The baby's parents were Jackie and Justin Marler. Justin had been cheating on Jackie and on their honeymoon of all times. Jackie was told who had adopted her baby.

At this time, Alan got involved with his secretary, Diane Ballard. Alan, little Phillip and Diane fled to Africa, leaving poor Elizabeth alone. That was it for the unhappy couple and Elizabeth soon got a divorce. Alan then won custody of Phillip. Phillip got sick and Elizabeth took Phillip to see Justin Marler who was a doctor. Justin then fell in love with Elizabeth but because of the stress, Elizabeth became addicted to drugs. Alan married Jackie Marler, without knowing that she was Phillip's real mother. Justin started investigating Phillip's medical history and found out that things didn't add up. Elizabeth and Alan fought custody of Phillip again and this time Elizabeth won, leaving Alan furious at her. Elizabeth then got married to Justin.

At this time Jackie got pregnant, but unfortunately she misscarried. Alan soon got involved with a woman named Hope Bauer. Hope was Mike Bauer's daughter. They made love and of course Jackie found out. She divorced Alan. Then Amanda Wexler turned up in Springfield. Alan was sure that she was Brandon Spaulding's illegitimate daughter, but later she turned out to be his own. Jackie unfortunately had an accident and had to be admitted to Cedars hospital. At Cedars, Jackie finally told Justin that little Phillip was his. Jackie and Justin then got remarried. Then Alan got married to Hope. Hope's father was determined to break them up but didn't succeed. Then Alan lost custody of Phillip to Jackie and Justin. At this time Alan vowed to be Amanda Waxler's father.

Alan later got involved with Rita Stapton (Hope's aunt). Hope got so upset when she found out that she had a car accident. At the hospital, Alan found out that Hope was pregnant. Hope forgave Alan for the affair and soon she gave birth to Alan-Michael Spaulding. When Alan became the prime suspect in a murder case, he, Hope and Alan-Michael fled to Tenirife. Alan caught up with Mike Bauer and they got into a fight. Alan took off in Mike's plane, leaving poor Mike injured. Alan then, for some reason returned and saved Mike's life. Later, Alan confessed that he was conspiring with the evil Roger Thorpe and went to prison. In prison Alan started receiving death threats. Alan found out that the stalker was Lucien Goff, an ex-employee who Alan had fired.

When Alan was released from prison, he made a deal with Billy Lewis. He wanted to save Spaulding by buying Lewis Oil. At this time, Phillip was kicked out of prepschool and was transferred to Springfield High where he met his old friend Rick Bauer. Alan became attracted to Trish Lewis and later they made love. Trish however was in love with Ross Marler but of course that didn't stop good old Alan. Alan drugged Ross and took pictures of him and his car full of cocain. Ross lost his career and has hated Alan ever since. Hope however fled to New York with young Alan-Michael. Alan then went to Tulsa and hired Reva Shayne to break up Billy and Vanessa Lewis. Reva didn't succeed though.

In 1984, Alan's sister, Alexandra Spaulding arrived in Springfield. She hated her brother for helping their father give Lujack up and also for trying to ruin her relationship with Eric. Alex was returning from Andorra where she had been married to Leo von Halkein (India Spaulding's father). She got her revenge by helping Phillip and Beth stay together when Alan was determined to break them up. Alan ordered Beth's father Bradley out of town but Alexandra got Bradley arrested for raping Beth. Alan was furious at his sister, but that's nothing new. Then Alan became involved in the "Dreaming death plot". Alexandra found out about it and got Alan's confession on tape. She later turned Alan in to the police and then he fled to San Rios.

In 1986, Alan returned to Springfield. He revealed himself at a mask ball and in front of everyone. Poor Alex was so shocked that she fainted. Alan had been hiding in Andorra with Leo and India. He and India started conspiring against Alex but she and Simon Hall figured everything out. At this time, Phillip was shot and Beth kidnapped. Alan told Phillip that Beth was dead but of course he had now idea. Alan and India got involved in the black art marked together. Alan got the paintings into the states through India's new art gallery. They eventually became lovers but it didn't work out. Alan's art supplier was Paul Valer and together they blackmailed Johnny Bauer into carrying the painting to Springfield. Paul was shot and Alan became the prime suspect. He tried to make it look like Johnny and Christine did it but he didn't succeed. Alan was off the hook when Alex's good friend Warren turned out to be the real killer.

Alan now got involved with Vanessa Chamberlain Lewis. They had an uneventfull and very boring relationship. Alan only wanted Vanessa for business reason when he really was in love with Reva Shayne. Vanessa finally gave up and moved to Venezuela to be with her ex-husband. When Reva nearly died saving Josh Lewis, Alan brought the justice of the peace to Cedars and married her half conscious. When she woke up they made plans to get married for real. They soon had their first marriage annulled. At this time, Alexanda and Phillip were plotting to take the company away from him. They merged Spaulding with Lewis oil. Later Alan fled to Mexico and Reva followed him. In Mexico, Alan met a woman named Blake Thorpe. Alan sent Blake to Springfield to spy on Phillip but she eventually fell in love with him. Alex found out that Alan and Blake were sleeping together and she told Reva, trying to ruin her relationship with her brother. Reva then got involved with Josh again and Alan got involved with Sonni Carrera.

In Venezuela, Sonni Lewis shot Alan, leaving him paralyzed. Ed saved Alan's life but Alan stayed behind in Venezuela. Alan-Michael rushed to his father and told him to reclaim his company. A woman named Nadine Cooper helped Alan with his physical therapy and later Alen fell in love with her. Nadine however was in love with Ross Marler and that made Alan furious. Alan soon got well but pretended to be paralyzed. Then Blake and Phillip decided to get married! Alan tried everything he could to come between them. Eventually he realized he couldn't do it, so he tried to kill Blake. She was saved but Alan got away. At Phillip and Blake's wedding, Alan found his old rival Roger Thorpe hiding in the church, watching the ceremony. Alan had a gun and shot Roger. Roger made it but Alan was arrested. Before Alan was sent to jail he told Phillip that Beth might be alive. That was it for Alan, at least for awhile.

In 1994, Alan was finally released from prison. He tried to take over Spaulding under the name of Mr Tashiwa. He asked Roger Thorpe to help him but Holly Reade convinced him not to. Roger then found out that Tashiwa was really Alan Spaulding and they became partners. At this point Alan was involved with Tangie Hill. Then Alan-Michael became president of Spaulding and Alan and Tangie broke up. Later Reva Shayne hit Alan with her carriage and she nursed him back to health. Reva had amnesia at the time and Alan made her remember their past together. Alan convinced her her to go away with him but when Josh found out that Reva was alive, she backed out. Reva slept with Alan but then she ended the whole thing. Furious Alan then got involved with Josh's ex-wife Annie Dutton.

Annie was still obsessed with Josh though and that took it's toll on the happy couple. At their wedding, Annie's first husband came back and it turned out they were still married. Alan finally dumped Annie and she went to jail. At this time Alan's daughter Amanda turned out to be Brandon's after all. Alexandra knew about this all along but she kept the truth to herself. When Amanda found out, she ordered her "new" sister out of town. Alexandra fled to Europe and stayed with Nick and his wife for awhile. Annie returned a bit later with a new look as Detective Teri DeMarco. Alan fell for the Detective and after making love with her knew her true identity. He is going against everyone to keep her safe and has hidden her in the Spaulding attic. Alan's loyalty to Annie ended however when she tried to kidnap his granddaughter, Lizzie and he tried to have her arrested. After suffering a heart attack, Alan decided to relinquish control of Spaulding to Philip and devote more time to his family. To me Alan is a great character even though he's a bad guy. I don't think Guiding Light would be the same without him so I hope he'll never leave.

Last updated 03/14/01. E-mail me with any comments or suggestions at addip@isholf.is