The History of the Spencers

The History of the Spencers

Begin With Laura

Dr. Lesley Williams was relieved when her old flame Gordon Gray reassured his wife, Florence, that he no longer loved her. Lesley soon fell in love with Dr. Joel Stratton who mysteriously refused to marry her although he loved her. Joel had a hereditary heart condition (the same one that took his brother's life) which made it impossible for him ever to consider marriage. Lesley, heartbroken, ended her relationship with Joel.

Wealthy Cameron Faulkner became Lesley's patient and fell in love with her. Joel, who was still in love with Lesley, was hurt but put his feelings aside by operating on Cam after a crazed patient of Lesley's shot him. Grateful, Cameron financed a new free clinic that Lesley had proposed, and soon Lesley and Cam were wed. Joel hung around long enough to help Lesley start her humanitarian free clinic but couldn't bear to see her with Cam so he went to Boston to practice. Lesley Williams' marriage to Cameron Faulkner, on the other hand, was in deep trouble. The difficulty stemmed from Lesley's sudden discovery that the illegitimate daughter by Gordon Gray who she had thought died at childbirth was still alive. A dying patient at General Hospital, nurse Doris Roach had revealed to Lesley the whole incredible tale. Years before, just after Lesley gave birth to her illegitimate baby, Lesley's father had plotted with nurse Roach to switch Lesley's healthy baby for the dead baby of a couple called the Vinings--making Lesley believe that her baby was dead. Obsessed with finding her daughter, Lesley located the Vinings after an investigation. Barbara and Jason Vining were shocked when they were told that young Laura was really Lesley Williams' daughter. Lesley launched a custody suit, and the judge, realizing that all parties had been wronged, put off making a decision until Laura got to know her real mother and could voice her own feelings. Laura was to live with Lesley and her husband, Cameron, for a one- month trial period. Of course, Laura was terribly fascinated with the Faulkner's glamorous way of life--plane trips to exciting places, luxurious restaurants--but during an illness Laura called out for her "real" mother, Barbara Vining. Cameron and Lesley now knew the truth about Laura's feelings, but Lesley pleaded with him not to tell the judge. It was obvious to Cam that his marriage to Lesley, which never really got off the ground, would soon fail--unless he took drastic steps, however dishonest.

Shortly after Cam died, Lesley discovered she was pregnant with his baby. In her hour of distress, Rick comforted her and the two fell in love. Monica had always loved Rick Webber and schemed to break up the relationship. However, after she became the cause of Lesley's tragic miscarriage, she promised to stop interfering. Rick and Lesley were finally wed and settled down with her daughter Laura.

David Hamilton, an old buddy of Rick's, moved in with Rick, Lesley and Laura. Secretly he hated Rick because David's late wife had loved him. He made advances to Lesley. When she rejected him, he turned to Laura. The teenager was enchanted by the older, worldly man and she let herself become entangled in a torrid love affair. When Rick found out about it, he ordered David to leave town. Laura, who had given her body to David, begged him to take her with him. Then she overheard him tell Lesley that he had only made love to Laura tomake Lesley jealous. Laura was stunned. Confronting David, she threw a statue at him, causing him to hit his head on the hearth. A horrified Laura fled the apartment. Minutes later Lesley found David on the floor dead! To save her daughter from jail, Lesley confessed to the murder and was indicted. Laura was so distressed that she blocked the whole death scene from her mind and later ran away to New York without testifying at her mother's trial. Lesley was sent to prison.

Young Scotty Baldwin had been in love with Laura before her affair began with David and now, frantic with concern for her whereabouts, Scotty and his friend, Bryan Phillips, went to New York to look for her. They found Laura involved in a drug and prostitution ring. Posing as street hustlers, Scotty and Bryan rescued her and brought her back to Port Charles, where she finally confessed to killing David. Lesley was freed. The whole Webber family suffered unendingly. Unable to rid herself of her guilt over lying to her husband for so many months about David's true killer, Lesley could not have sexual relations with Rick. And Laura, who was sentenced to six months probation under her mother's watchful eye, felt like a prisoner in her own home. Her only source of comfort was Scotty, who was still in love with her even though he had been having an affair on the rebound with a vivacious but gold-digging student nurse named Bobbie Spencer. To take up with Laura again, Scotty ended his affair with scheming Bobbie, only to be told that she was pregnant by him. That turned out to be a lie.

Luke’s Entrance

Bobbie was determined to make Scotty marry her and she enlisted the aid of her brother, Luke, a brash and streetwise young man with underworld connections, but who was devoted to his family. In one vicious scheme after another, Luke helped his sister Bobbie in causing a rift between Scotty and Laura. Before long, however, Luke began to take an interest in Laura himself.

Meanwhile, Rick Webber, still frustrated by Lesley's frigidity, returned Monica's interest and they had an affair. But, just as he was about to leave Lesley for Monica, Rick learned that Lesley's daughter, Laura, had been in a serious car accident. Rick and Lesley grew close again and stayed together, while a frustrated Monica was forced to return to the sham of her marriage with Alan.

Teenagers Laura Vining and Scotty Baldwin were wed, but Laura soon realized that she had made a mistake. She was really attracted to the far more interesting Luke Spencer, his unconventional life-style and off-beat friends. Luke, too, was drawn to Laura for her wholesomeness and innocence. Taking a job at the Campus Disco, which Luke managed for the mob, Laura had at first become wonderful friends with Luke. But soon their story took a dramatic turn when the mob elected Luke to perform a hit job on Tracy Quartermaine's new husband, Mitch Williams, the corrupt assistant D.A. who was now running for Senator and campaigning to crack down on organized crime. Luke surmised that he was soon about to die himself. If he didn't assassinate Mitch Williams the mob would kill Luke, and if he did kill Mitch, he would hang for it. Tormented by his fate, Luke confessed to Laura the secret of his love for her and began kissing her passionately, tearing at her clothes, until she resisted. Then, on the floor of the disco, he raped her.

Laura became personally implicated in these underworld doings. She was spotted overhearing a conversation between Luke's boss, Frank Smith, and his henchmen. Laura now knew too much and was being watched by Frank's men. Meanwhile, Frank's daughter, Jennifer, was attracted to Luke, who, pressured by Frank, was forced to propose marriage. Disheartened, Laura decided she had to make the best of her marriage to Scotty. But on the day of Luke and Jennifer's wedding aboard the Smith yacht, Scotty read a letter Laura had written to Luke and found out who her rapist was. Minutes before the wedding ceremony, Scotty beat up Luke, who fell overboard and was presumed drowned. Later, while walking up and down the dock in despair, Luke emerged from the water and grabbed Laura's leg, begging her to help him. They both fled Port Charles after they stole Frank Smith's little black book, which once uncoded, would detail the criminal activities of Frank and his organization.

Frank Smith found out that Luke and Laura, before they left town, had stolen Smith's coded black book which, once uncoded, would detail all of his criminal activities and put him in jail for good. Frank became desperate to get the couple back into his clutches and tried one scheme after another to force them to return. He even severely beat Luke's kindhearted aunt, Ruby Anderson, but failed to bring Luke out into the open. Finally, Frank sent a hit man named Hutch after him.

Meanwhile, Luke and Laura were having a glorious time while running for their lives. Although he was ready, she wasn't sure whether she wanted to break her marriage vows and make love to him, so Luke good naturedly agreed to hold off. Hit man Hutch found Luke and Laura and befriended them, secretly waiting for the right moment to dispatch the two. The three secured jobs in a local tavern, little suspecting that the owner of the tavern, Sally, was really a hit man in drag, sent by Smith to kill all three of them. Luke decoded the black book--at last he had the goods on Smith and he and Laura could return to Port Charles. Suddenly, Laura was kidnapped by Sally, the hit man in drag. A shootout took place in which Hutch was critically wounded and Max killed. The black book was turned over to the police, the organization was broken up and Frank Smith was jailed. With the nightmare over, Luke and Laura returned to the Whittaker's farm where they had spent their happiest moments. Luke made advances to Laura and this time, sure of her feelings for him, they made love.

They returned triumphantly to Port Charles, but the sight of the reporters brought back the David Hamilton affair all over again. Pressed for a statement about her involvement with Luke, Laura blurted out that she was still Mrs. Scott Baldwin and had been unfaithful to her husband. Laura regretted what she said and was ready to ask Scotty for a divorce, but Luke, destroyed by her outburst, decided to part with Laura.

Edward Quartermaine's shrewd, beautiful niece Alexandria, arrived in town to work on a business deal with her uncle. However, she was really interested in locating an ugly little abstract black statue known as the Ice Princess, and she hired Luke Spencer to find it. Luke certainly didn't know the Ice Princess was not only the world's largest uncut diamond, but also contained the secret formula for the manufacture of synthetic diamonds. At the same time Laura began working as a receptionist at Edward Louis Quartermaine Industries (ELQ), where Luke also worked, although he wasn't ready yet to resume their affair. As Luke started digging for information on the Ice Princess, he was thwarted at every turn by several sinister characters, including Tony Cassadine and Robert Scorpio. Soon Luke and Robert, who secretly worked for the World Security Bureau, became good friends. Robert told Luke the truth about the statue and the formula and that if the formula for synthetic diamonds fell into the hands of the infamous Cassadines, they could control the world. Luke also learned that Alexandria Quartermaine had been in cahoots with them. A second Cassadine brother, Victor, arrived in Port Charles, and it was Victor who finally wound up with the statue.

Robert Scorpio found out that the Cassadines were about to set sail with the Ice Princess, and he and Luke stowed away on their yacht, the Haunted Star. Once on board they found another stowaway--Laura! She would not be parted from Luke. The yacht brought them all to the Cassadine's lush, tropical private island. The Cassadine brothers and their guests were lodged in a huge underground cavern, where they were joined by the eldest Cassadine brother, the evil genius Mikkos. The stowaways, meanwhile, managed to find a hiding place on the island. Mikkos revealed his master plan--with the formula now in his possession, he could manufacture a substance with the ability to alter climates of the world!

Back on the surface, Luke and Laura were enjoying their tropical paradise, while Scorpio found his way underground with the help of Victor's mistress, beautiful actress Tiffany Hill. She was horrified by Mikkos's plan. As the four concocted a way to stop the Cassadines, Mikkos gave the head of the World Security Bureau an ultimatum--surrender to him now or he would freeze the major cities of the world, starting with Port Charles! To do just that, Mikkos had invented a terrifying machine. In the end, Luke and Scorpio were able to turn the evil freezing machine back on Mikkos himself, freezing Mikkos, Alexandria Quartermaine and Tony Cassadin all to death! Victor was jailed, and the world was now safe from the Cassadines.

Dr. Noah Drake arrived at GH. He quickly became known as a ladies man, dating several of the nurses, including Bobbie Spencer. Their romance progressed to the serious stage swiftly.

Robert, Luke and Laura returned to Port Charles as heroes. Laura flew to Mexico to obtain her divorce from Scotty. He agreed. Luke and Laura's wedding took place with everyone attending. But, Scotty interrupted the affair by catching the bouquet and vowing to cause trouble.

Laura modeled for Miss Star Eyes and put a strain on the marriage. Suddenly, Laura disappeared without a trace on the docks.

Laura's disappearance drove Luke frantic with worry. She was seen on the docks near the yacht and seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth! Jackie Templeton, an investigative reporter from New York City, arrived in Port Charles seeking a different Laura--her sister who disappearedwith her boyfriend, Mel. Eventually, Luke and Jackie discovered that both disappearances were engineered by David Gray, a mystery man who intended to steal the treasures of MaIkuth from the Port Charles Museum. Laura Templeton appeared unharmed, but Luke discovered that David had his wife killed. David was killed in a fight with Luke soon afterwards. Jackie and Robert fell in love.

While hiking in the mountains, Luke met Holly Sutton. Holly claimed to be an orphan, and that she'd inherited some land in Port Charles. Luke and Holly seemed to find oil on the land, and began urging people to invest. Luke and Scorpio didn't realize that it was all a scam set up by Holly and her family. After a long struggle with her conscience, Holly told Luke the truth and the two recovered the money that the Corsos had stolen.

Luke and Holly spent a few happy moments together before a big fight separated them with Luke going off to the mountains to think. Danger immediately befell him when he was mugged, and was the victim of an avalanche. Paralyzed, Luke learned the people of Port Charles believed he was dead, so he decided not to return. Natalie Dearborn, alias Natasha, a member of the DVX spy organization, posed as a therapist to gain Luke's trust. Holly found she was expecting Luke's child and Robert married her to save her from deportation.

Holly miscarried and after some time, fell in love with Robert and consummated their marriage. Lukechose that time to return to Port Charles, almost cured of his paralysis. When he found Holly was wed to Robert he severed their friendship.

Bobbie met D.L. Brock, a financier from New York. They fell in love and she became pregnant. When Bobbie miscarried and learned she could never have children, she married Brock anyhow.

Laura returned after two years. Luke, who had been elected Mayor of Port Charles could not believe his eyes. However, Laura was wed to Stavros Cassadine, the man who kept her prisoner in Greece. He followed her to the U.S. and later met his death in a fall down the stairs at Luke's home. The happy couple left town.

Special thanks to Matthew Jay for supplying this history

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