Phillip Spaulding has been portrayed by three different actors. The first Phillip was Jarrod Ross and he was Phillip from 1977 to 1981. The second Phillip was the great Grant Aleksander and he took over the role in 1982 but left in 1984. Then in 1986, he returned but left again in 1991. In 1996, Grant returned again and has been with us ever since. The third Phillip was John Bolger and he was Phillip from 1985 to 1986. I think I can speak for most Guiding Light fans when I say Grant is the only Phillip Spaulding ever.

When Phillip arrived in Springfield, he was a spoiled rich kid. He renewed his friendship with Rick Bauer and later started dating Mindy Lewis. Mindy felt that Phillip didn't pay her enough attention so she faked an accident. In the hospital, Phillip met a girl named Beth Raines and soon fell in love with her. Of course that made Mindy furious. Phillip and Beth finally admitted their true feelings for each other but Beth's abusive stepfather, Bradley Raines, found them and told Phillip that he was adopted and that he wasn't Alan's son but Justin Marler's. Phillip rushed out to confront Alan and Justin, but Bradly raped Beth. Beth didn't tell Phillip about this because she felt so guilty. Phillip then turned to Mindy again and they made love.

The evil Bradley Raines, however, didn't leave poor Beth alone and she and Phillip fled to New York together. When they returned, Phillip's aunt Alexandra Spaulding helped them get Bradley arrested. Now Phillip and Beth could be happy and at peace. Then Mindy found out that she was pregnant. Phillip broke up with Beth and married Mindy. Mindy later lost the baby. Beth however got involved with Alexandra's long lost son Lujack Spaulding. Phillip was furious and tryed to hold on to Beth but she chose Lujack over him. Phillip conspired with a guy named Andy to ruin Lujack's new night club. Andy blew up the whole place, leaving poor Beth blinded. Lujack then went undercover to find out the truth about the explosion. Alex's stepdaughter, India Von Halkein found out the truth and blackmailed Phillip into marriage. India then told Beth the truth about the explosion in order to keep her and Phillip apart. Lujack also found out the truth and threatened to kill Andy. Andy was later killed and Lujack went to prison. The real murderer turned out to be Floyed Parker however. Lujack was released and he and Beth made plans to get married.

Phillip however started developing real feelings for India. In the meantime India was carrying on an affair with a man named Simon Hall. Phillip found out and they soon got a divorce. Phillip then fell in love with Beth all over again. At that time he was writing a novel called Zanzibar. Well, Beth started working for professor Blackburn in a local museum. Blackburn kidnapped Beth and later his body was found at the bottom of a lake. Beth was presumed dead, leaving Phillip very sad and angry. Phillip then got involve with the great Chelsea Reardon. Their affair however was doomed from the beginning. They broke up and Chelsea got involved with Johnny Bauer. Phillip then got involved with Blake Lindsey. Blake only wanted her share of the Spaulding fortune however and was conspiring with Alan.

In 1989, Beth returned to Springfield alive and well. She was brought to town by Neil Everest and unfortunately, she had amnesia. Eventually, she regained her memory and fell in love with Phillip once again. She and Phillip made love and later of course she got pregnant. Neil then turned up dead and Phillip became the prime suspect. He asked Rick for help and they faked Phillip death by stealing a body from Ceders. While Phillip was away trying to prove his innocent, Rick and Beth fell in love. They got married but when Rick realized that Beth and Phillip were still in love, he let her go. Phillip and Beth got married and went to Arizona. Rick however moved to Chicago and stayed there for awhile. Beth then gave birth to Lizzie Spaulding. That was it for Phillip until 1996 when he returned, divorced from Beth.

While in Springfield, he regained a position in Spaulding Enterprises as President. He also fell in love with Harley Cooper. Beth, still in Arizona, learns of his new relationship and returns to Springfield determined to get him back by he side. Unfortunately, Carl Stevens (Beth's abusive ex-boyfriend) also comes to town. After Carl is murdered, Beth admits to the crime despite everyone's intuition that she was covering for somone. Phillip and Harley tried to uncover the truth and were shocked to discover that the murderer was Phillip's daughter Lizzie. Harley broke things off with him so that he could provide Lizzie with a sense of security and family. After a long battle between Beth and Harley, Phillip and Harley finally get married. Susan, Harley's daughter has been trying to undermined Phillip and trying to get him out of Harley' life. She left however after finding out that Phillip and Harley were going to have a baby and begin their own family.

With the birth of his son, Alan Cooper (known as Zack), Philip finally had the family he wanted. However in a few short months his peace of mind would be shattered. While on a business trip in San Cristobel with Beth, Beth & Philip's helicopter went down. Stranded on a snowy mountain, and believing they were going to die, Philip and Beth prepared a video tape to be made for their daughter. Emotions high, they started reminiscing about the past and sought comfort in each other arms ( with the video still recording). After they were rescued, both decided to keep their lovemaking a secret and go on with their separate lives. Then the unexpected happened: Beth became pregnant with Philip's child. Philip wanted to do the right thing and confess everything to everyone, however Beth was adamant about keeping it a secret, and so worried about Beth's state of mind (as well as his own marriage)

Philip reluctantly agreed to keep the child's true paternity a secret. Unfortunately, their tryst wasn't a complete secret: Prince Edmund has the missing video and holding it over Philip's head. In addition to these problems, Philip learned that his daughter had leukemia. Though he tried to protect his secret for fear of shattering Lizzie's world, in the ensuing months she got worse and worse until her only hope was a bone marrow transplant from Beth's unborn child. When Jim refused to consent to inducing labor early, Philip was forced to pull rank and confess the truth to everyone. While everyone was still reeling from the news, Beth went into premature labor and the child was born, saving Lizzie's life.

Last updated 03/15/01. E-mail me with any comments or suggestions at addip@isholf.is