Ross Marler has been played by Jerry ver Dorn since 1979. To me Ross is a great guy and I hope he will never leave Guiding Light, it just wouldn't be the same without him. Ross is Springfield's greatest lawyer. At one time Ross was the D.A. and he was elected Senator but he's currently in private practice. Not long after Ross arrived in Springfield, Holly Thorpe pressed charges against her evil husbend, but Ross defended Roger. Later, Holly and Ross got engaged but that didn't work out. But Holly is not the only romance in Ross's life. Ross has been involved with hundreds of women and he has been married twice, first to Carrie Todd and then to Blake Thorpe (Roger's daughter). Ross was also involved with Vanessa Chamberlain at one time and they have a daughter together named Dinah.

When Ross divorced Carrie he got involved with Trish Lewis. Trish had just divorced Andy Norris (Holly's brother) who had been abusing her and cheating on her. At this time Ross, Amanda and Joshua created a company called the LTA. Well, Trish had a little affair with Alan Spaulding but she realized Ross was the man she loved so she dropped Alan. It was just a one night stand anyway. But Alan got his revenge by ruining Ross's career. Alan drugged Ross and pictured him and his car full of cocaine. After that Ross has always hated Alan. Trish and Ross began drifting apart and Ross got more involved with his work. After Trish had betrayed Ross and his career was over, they broke up and never were romantically involved again.

Ross's next romance was Calla Matthews, played by the talented Lisby Larson. Calla is Lillian's sister and she has a daughter named Jessie. Ross and Calla had been involved prior to her coming to Springfield. Calla had a veneral disease from her last husband Gorden Matthews. Due to this disease Calle couldn't have any children so she refused to date Ross any more. She didn't tell either Ross or Jessie about it because she was afraid. Ross found out however and stood by her trough the whole thing. But for some reason, Calla and Ross drifted apart. Vanessa told Ross that they had a daughter together who she had put up for adoption seventeen years ago. For some reasone they thought Jesse was their daughter but eventually they realized it couldn't be true. Calla found out that Dinah was their daughter but she didn't tell them because she was afraid of losing Ross over to Venessa, especially since the search for their daughter had pushed them so close together. Ross found out that Calla had lied to him and that ruined what was left of their relationship. Soon after that Calla left town.

Ross and Vanessa had a short relationship which ended when Ross saw how Vanessa was growing close to Alan Spaulding(it was only business though). Vanessa and Ross broke up again. Vanessa was going to marry Alan Spaulding but Alan was more interested in Reva Shayne. Finally Vanessa left town and Alan got involved with Reva. At this time Ross had a very short affair with a cop women named Jenny Holmes. Jenny was Rusty Shayne's partner. That was a very uneventful relationship, if I can call it a relationship. Jenny helped Dinah with one of her crises.

In 1989 Ross got involved with Nadine Cooper who had just arrived in Springfield. Their relationship was also short and uneventful. Alan was always in the way but Nadine had no feelings for him at all. Nadine was Alan's nurse and looked after him, but she eventually found out that Alan was faking the paralyzis. Ross was very jealous and wanted to sue Alan. Alan was always ruining the things Ross cared about. Ross and Nadine found out that they weren't meant for each other and broke up. Nadine then turned to Billy Lewis to compete with Vanessa. Nadine was played by Jean Carol.

In 1994 Ross got married to Blake Thorpe, a very popular and one of my favorite relationships. They had a little problem when Amanda Spaulding arrived in Springfield. Amanda was Ross's ex-flame. Blake saw them kissing. She got drunk and slept with Rick Bauer. Blake later gave birth to Ross's twins. Ross forgave her and they decided to start again from the beginning. Then Blake cheated on Ross again, this time with Ben Warren. Ross came in on Ben and Blake and trying to shoot Ben, he shot Blake instead, thinking that Ben had raped her. He felt guilty until he found out that it was not a rape but consensual. He left Blake and tried to get custody of the boys. The judge said they should stay with their mother for now. Ross moved into his own apartment and got involved with India Von Halkein.

Ross and Blake grew closer when he helped her with her family problems, however it wasn't enough and they divorced after one last afternoon of passion. Believing that their lovemaking meant nothing to Blake, Ross kept his feelings for her a secret and encouraged her independence. Though he was hurt when Blake decided to leave town, he wished her luck and made it seem as if he didn't care at all. While Blake was gone, Holly started getting chapters of a romance novel from an unknown novelist named Darlena LaCross. When Holly discovered that Blake was Darlena LaCrosse she put two and two together and figured out that Blake was pregnant with Ross's child. Determined to learn the truth, Ross raced to the cabin where Blake was staying and learned that it was the truth: Ross was indeed the father. After he delivered his daughter, Clarissa he forgave Blake, pledged his love to her, and brought her home.

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