Dahlia Crede




Over the years, Springfield has developed an impressive legacy of musical talent. From local musicians like Chelsea Reardon to Floyd Parker, Marcus Williams not to mention the late Hampton Speakes, and now there is a young lady who is continuing that tradition. Her name is Dahlia Crede. She came to Springfield in the spring of 1996 with her mother Tina Crede who allegedly worked as a hostess in a Restaurant whose real job was as a prostitute who managed to keep her job a secret from her daughter. Although Dahlia didn't have much in terms of dollars and cents, she did have a gift of music that enabled her to deal with the hard times.

When Tina went to prison for eighteen months for unwittingly assisting in the robbery of The Spaulding Mansion, her main concern was what would happen to her daughter so she asked Frank to take Dahlia in. At first, Frank wasn't sure but when his wife Eleni changed her mind, Tina was both surprised and grateful. She lied to her only child by saying she was going on the road as a Sales Assistant, so her daughter wouldn't have to deal with the stigma of her mistake. However to this day we don't know if Frank is her real daughter. She felt lonely for a little while, after all the Coopers were relatively strangers and even though she was invited to attend the Wedding of Frank's sister Lucy to Alan-Michael Spaulding, in Florida, she enjoyed Disneyland, especially when she discovered that Marcus Williams, her new friend had come along to keep her company.

However, the worst thing that Marcus did was tell Dahlia the truth about her mother and where she really was. She was understandably devastated but unlike most kids who rebel by turning to drugs or even drinking, she didn't do any of those things. Yet when she decided to check out the seamy side of her mother's life herself, she realized that the life of a prostitute was indeed a very dangerous one. When she even decided to run away, she was given solid words of advice from a woman who had more problems than most people could ever dream of having Reva Shayne who at the time was married to Buzz Cooper. She told Dahlia that running away never solved problems, just added to them and to stay because things would turn out for the best. Yet, Dahlia was able to do something that alot of people in Springfield weren't able to do with their parents, forgive her mother for lying and betraying her.

Time went on and she and Marcus started dating and when his father Civil Rights Leader Griffin Williams became an outcast for setting up a fake assasination on himself, it was Dahlia who convinced Marcus to forgive his father because after all, she was able to forgive her mother. Yet, for Dahlia the best was yet to come, especially when she sang "Someone To Watch Over Me" at Cedar's 60th Anniversary Ball in which she mesmerized many of Springfield's movers and shakers with her voice. Her character has also gone through her share of heartbreak and pain when she dealt with the loss of her first love Marcus to another woman. However unlike Beth Raines Spaulding and Dinah Marler, she chooses to go on with her life and not mope and feel sorry for herself. A true role model for today's generation of young people.

Last updated 11/5/98. E-mail me with any comments or suggestions at addip@isholf.is.