Fletcher Reade, played by Charles Jay Hammer, joined Guiding Light in 1984 as a temporary part but for some reason he didn't quit until 1998. He came back in 1999 though, much to my surprise but didn't stay for long. Fletcher is a reporter and a very good one. When Fletcher arrived in Springfield, he got involved with Claire Ramsey who was a doctor. Fletcher and Claire were both working on a case called the Piper case and that brought them closer together. When Fletcher left for Beirut, Claire, Ed and Maureen followed him. Fletcher was dealing with the death of his young daughter Rebecca who had been there. Ed and Claire received word that both Fletcher and Claire were assumed dead because of an explosion. Ed and Claire were so upset that they made love to forget that their lovers were dead but of course they weren't. When they got home, Claire discovered that she was pregnant. Ed also discovered that Fletcher had had a vasectomy so he couldn't be the baby's father. Ed realized that the baby was his. Claire and Fletcher broke up and so did Ed and Maureen. Later Claire married a man named Mark Jarrett and they left town. Fletcher however got involved with the great Maeve Stoddard.

Maeve and Fletcher were great together. Maeve had just divorced her husband Kyle Sampson. Maeve and Kyle had a baby named Ben but when Fletcher moved in, he became Ben's devoted and loyal father. They were all very happy together until Fletcher's sister Meredith Reade arrived in Springfield. Maeve found out that Meredith had killed her mother. She threatened to tell everyone if she wouldn't drop the charges that she had pressed against Rick. Maeve wasn't the blackmailing type but she had no choice. Fletcher got fed up with Maeve's interference and moved out, leaving Maeve very lonely. After he had cooled down, he forgave his ex-girlfriend and they became partners at the Springfield Journal. Later they got involved again and in 1988, they got married. Soon after their honeymoon, Maeve got killed in a helicopter accident. Fletcher however got custody of Ben and has raised him ever since. Fletcher was also involved with Vanessa Chamberlain at one time and also Alexandra Spaulding.

Then Fletcher got married to Holly Thorpe. Fletcher and Holly have a daughter together named Meg Reade. Meg has Down Syntrome. Apparently Fletcher's vacectomy doesn't matter any more. When Fletcher found his wife kissing Roger he left town with Meg. He took off for England and left a note for Holly, warning her not to look for them. He came back in 1999 to say goodbye for good. He left shortly after that and hasn't been to Springfield since.

Last updated 3/24/99. E-mail me with any comments or suggestions at addip@isholf.is