Jesse Hubbard and Angie Baxter

Jesse and Angie Hubbard (Darnell Williams and Debbi Morgan) are daytime TV's first African American supercouple.

Jesse Hubbard and Angela "Angie" Baxter Hubbard are fictional characters and a supercouple from the ABC daytime drama All My Children. Jesse is portrayed by Darnell Williams and Angie is portrayed by Debbi Morgan. Jesse first appeared in Pine Valley in 1981 as the nephew of Dr. Frank Grant, who assumed custody after the death of his sister (Jesse's mother). Angie first appeared in 1982, as the daughter of a well-to-do Pine Valley couple. Shortly after Angie's first appearance on the show, they were paired with one another. Jesse and Angie were best friends to fellow supercouple Greg Nelson and Jenny Gardner. They are daytime television's first African American supercouple.

Angie also appeared on Loving and The City. Along with her son Frankie Hubbard and former heiress Skye Chandler, she is one of only three individuals who have been regular characters on three ABC soap operas.

Background

Casting

Actress Debbi Morgan was working in Los Angeles, California on an episode of Trapper John, M.D. when she saw that a new storyline was being introduced on All My Children, which involved actor Darnell Williams in the role of Jesse Hubbard. Morgan's feeling that Jesse might need a love interest, as she expressed as much to her agent in New York, matched that of the show's producers, who were searching for a young woman to fill the role of Angie Baxter. When Morgan read for the part, she acquired the role within the same day.

Darnell Williams was a regular dancer on Soul Train in the mid-1970s. By 1979, he was in the original cast of Your Arms Too Short to Box With God. This, before acquiring the role of Jesse.

Writing

All My Children creator Agnes Nixon was able to intrigue the audience, both men and women of all ages, as well as teenage youth, by focusing on young adult romances that included not only romance and sex but their issues in growing and learning as individuals. Social issues were also applied.

This specific formula of Nixon's caused All My Children's popularity to soar in the 1980s. The pairing of Jesse and Angie, as well as fellow supercouple Greg Nelson and Jenny Gardner, were one notable aspect of Nixon's writing that prompted young high school and college students to race home just to view the soap opera.

When characters Jenny (of couple Greg and Jenny) and Jesse (of Jesse and Angie) were killed off instead of being recast by new actors once the actors decided to leave their roles, it was so that no other actors could portray them. To Nixon, these actors were the characters.

Debbi Morgan saw Jesse's death as bittersweet. She pointed to Darnell Williams leaving the series as one of her toughest moments as part of the cast, but how it also provided interesting story. "It really affected me more from a personal standpoint than from an actor's standpoint," she said. "From a personal standpoint, Darnell and I were like hooked at the neck or the back or something; we'd gotten to be such good friends. But from an actor's point of view, it didn't really bother me as much because I knew that it would just open up so many more avenues for Angie to take."

Jacob and Angie

For years, All My Children fans clamored for the reunion of Jesse and Angie. However, the nature of Jesse's death (an on-screen death in the hospital as the result of a gunshot wound) made this all but impossible, even by soap opera standards. Eventually, fans got the next best thing.

In 1993, Debbi Morgan joined the cast of the soap opera Loving, reprising her role as Angie (who settled in Corinth, Pennsylvania). In 1995, Darnell Williams joined the cast as a mysterious stranger named Jacob Johnson. Jacob, whose actual surname was Foster, bore an uncanny resemblance to Angie's late husband Jesse and was revealed to be a relative of Jesse. Originally, Angie resisted any type of relationship with Jacob, despite her attraction to him. In 1995, Jesse's spirit visited Jacob just prior to Angie's marriage to Charles Harrison and convinced him to pursue a relationship with Angie. Angie and Jacob ultimately fell in love and emerged as the core couple when Loving was relaunched as The City, eventually moving to New York City's SoHo district (along with Angie's son Frank), marrying, and adopting a daughter.

After The City was cancelled, Williams would return to All My Children four years later as "Jesse", but as an angel.

Rewrite and return

Angie and Jesse are about to be reunited and it feels so right. One of daytime’s most memorable couples from the 1980s is returning to ABC’s All My Children. Wait a minute. Didn’t Jesse die on camera?

— Amy Amatangelo of newspaper Boston Herald

In late 2007, the producers of All My Children announced Darnell Williams and Debbi Morgan's return to the series, with long-term contracts.

It was on December 14 2007 that the official All My Children website posted an article with the headline Angie and Jesse return to All My Children! The article suggested that Angie's return would start with being called back to Pine Valley Hospital to assist on a case, where she would be reunited with a living Jesse Hubbard. Viewers were skeptical of Jesse's return, since he had an onscreen death and appeared in ghost form several times afterwards on the series. There was sentiment that if Williams was returning as anyone, it had to be as Jacob Foster. Viewers wondered for weeks if Williams would truly return as Jesse or Jesse's look-alike Jacob. It was later confirmed, however, that Jesse did not die in 1988 after all and that Williams would be resuming the role.

Morgan returned as Angie on January 18 2008, and Williams returned on January 25.

To start the storyline where Jesse is brought back, the writers thought up a plot where characters Greenlee Smythe and Quentin contract a weird woods-related disease that triggers asphyxiation. Angie, now an infectious-disease specialist, is paged to Pine Valley Hospital to consult on the case: "Quentin will turn out to be Angie and Jesse’s son, Frankie," said Julie Hanan Carruthers (the show's executive producer), and noted that the duo’s adopted daughter, Cassandra (soon to be cast), would also join the show. ABC consulted with Agnes Nixon (who is now retired) on how to resurrect Jesse, since he was shot to death in 1988: "We saw Angie sobbing on his chest, but I think the audience is invested enough in them as a couple that they will embrace our solution," Carruthers stated.

Curruthers further relayed that Angie would not at first know that Jesse is alive: "We’re going to play that out for a couple of weeks. Rightfully, it’ll be Tad, to whom Jesse has appeared in spirit form, who reunites them."

Angie and Jesse made an eternal imprint on viewers, and many fans will not believe he's alive.

— Brian Frons, president of ABC Daytime

When addressing his character's "return from the dead", Darnell Williams explained: "I’m the same character, but it’s a whole new experience. They had to figure out a way to bring him back to life. The word is that apparently he never died. He had to fake his death in order to secure the safety of his family."

In the 1980s, soap operas were not as short as they are today on the inclusion of African American characters. "I think it has moved a thousand steps backwards," said Debbi Morgan. "It just amazes me that here we are in 2008 and we have so little representation on daytime. I don’t understand it and I think it’s shameful."

Williams detailed that the lack of diversity is one of the reasons they were approached to return to the series: "I think All My Children kind of shot themselves in the foot by allowing the canvas to become so nondiversified. And they found themselves sort of chasing their tails trying to figure out how to fix it... They came up with the idea, ‘Well, why not bring this core couple back that had such an appeal to such a broad audience?’"

Morgan stated that it took her only about 30 seconds to accept the offer to return to the role of Angie. She could not remember a time in her career where she felt so welcomed. "It was like a homecoming. There were members of the crew that were here 20 years ago. It was just so heartfelt, it made me cry. I couldn’t believe it. I’ve played the character for so long, it’s like stepping into a pair of old shoes, as they say."

The response from fans after the announcement of their return managed to astound both actors.

"The amount of people that are interested still is kind of overwhelming," Williams stated. "The first thing they usually say, ‘I’m going to call my mother and my sisters and my brother right away and tell them that All My Children is back on the block.’"

Williams relayed his hope for the writers to progress slowly in reuniting Jesse and Angie: "I hope they take it at a decent pace to where the audience will believe it. If they go too quickly and make us a happily ever couple, that gets kind of boring. But I have faith that they are going to do the right thing."

Soap operas tend to have preposterous storylines at times, and Morgan stressed to the producers of the show that she wants none of that for Angie: "Soaps have changed a lot since I was on, and so many of the stories are so over the top and crazy to me. The kind of actress that I am, I couldn’t play all that hokey kind of stuff. So I would really like to see the shows return to more real-life drama that’s akin to what goes on with people in their everyday life."

Storyline

1981-1983

Jesse Hubbard first appears in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania as the recently-orphaned 17-year old nephew of Dr. Frank Grant. After the death of Jesse's mother (Frank's sister), Jesse moves in with Frank and his wife Nancy, who are next door neighbors and close friends of Dr. Joe Martin and his wife Ruth. Like his best friend Jenny Gardner (Kim Delaney), Jesse is from the "wrong side of the tracks". He soon falls in love with Angie Baxter, a well-to-do teenager from Pine Valley high society. However, Angie's father Les Baxter (portrayed by 70s icon Antonio Fargas) strongly disapproves, feeling that Jesse is not good enough for his daughter. After Jesse is falsely accused of attempting to rape Angie's former friend Liza Colby (Marcy Walker), he flees to New York City with Jenny. Angie, believing that the accusation is true and that Jesse fled out of guilt, is heartbroken. When Liza finally confesses that she lied, Jesse returns to Pine Valley and resumes dating Angie, and Jenny returns to her boyfriend Greg Nelson (Laurence Lau).

1984-1985

Jesse's desire to make love to Angie is evident, but Angie refuses until they are married. Angie and Jesse elope, because Angie is afraid of her parents' reaction if she tells them of their intended plans. Soon thereafter, Angie finds out that she is pregnant. Angie confides in her mother Pat Baxter (Lee Chamberlin) that she and Jesse are married and that she is pregnant. Angie is scared to tell Jesse; her insecurities grow when she thinks that Jesse is falling in love with another woman. Pat has a conversation with Jesse about the possibility that Angie could become pregnant. Jesse replies, "I couldn't even think of it for another few years."

When Angie learns of this, she divorces Jesse without telling him she is pregnant. Les encourages Angie to give her baby away, and she starts adoption proceedings. When Jesse begs her to take him back, Angie tells him about the baby, who is a boy. Together, they kidnap their son, who has found a new home, and run away to Sea City. The couple names the baby after Jesse's uncle Frank, who had died just prior to the child's birth. After Jesse and Angie convince a judge to give custody of the baby back to them, they remarry.

File:Jesse and Angie deeply in love.jpg

Jesse and Angie deeply in love.

The couple start their new life in the Grant home, after Jesse's aunt Nancy and cousin Carl relocate to Chicago. The Hubbards are later joined by Angie's mother Pat, who divorces Les.

By the summer of 1984, Greg Nelson and Jenny Gardner are married, and Jenny has become a successful fashion model. Tony Barclay, a male model who is obsessed with Jenny, plots to kill Greg by rigging his water skis to explode. When Jenny switches skis with him at the last minute, she is killed instead. The residents of Pine Valley are stunned into grief. Jesse is particularly devastated, as he must cope with the loss of his closest friend.

In 1985, Jesse and Angie's relationship is threatened once again. Eugene Hubbard (Tom Wright), Jesse's half-brother, arrives in Pine Valley and immediately sets his sights on Angie. Also new in town is nightclub singer, Yvonne Caldwell (Vanessa Bell Calloway), who comes to Pine Valley at Eugene's request. Her plan is to lure Jesse away from Angie so that they will divorce and Angie will find solace with Eugene.

Yvonne is able to seduce Jesse and the two have sex. Eugene concocts up a lie so Angie will arrive at Yvonne's house just in time to catch Jesse in bed with Yvonne. This leads to a dramatic brawl between Angie and Yvonne. Angie is furious and moves in with her mother, but eventually forgives Jesse after finding about Eugene's plans. Later, a pregnant Yvonne lies and says that the child she is carrying belongs to Jesse. After admitting that she has lied, Yvonne gives her baby away to a black market baby adoption ring.

1986-1991

Jesse is convinced to seek political office, and campaigns for a seat on the Pine Valley Town Council. Despite the efforts of Palmer Cortlandt and his son Ross Chandler, Jesse is elected to the Council. However, he soon finds politics to be too restrictive for his tastes, and he resigns.

Jesse works to find out the identity of "Mr. Big," the leader of the black market baby adoption ring to whom Yvonne gave her baby. Initially, fear and blackmail prompted Yvonne to falsely accuse senatorial candidate Travis Montgomery of being Mr. Big. After many months, however, Jesse discovers that Mr. Big is actually his own father-in-law, Les Baxter. Attempting to avoid arrest, Les confronts his son-in-law with a gun. In the ensuing struggle, Jesse accidentally pushes Les down a flight of stairs, and Les is killed in the fall. Having witnessed the struggle and the fall, Angie is devastated and blames Jesse for her father's death. She once again separates from Jesse, who is heartbroken.

Jesse joins the Pine Valley Police Department and reconciles with Angie, who completes medical school and becomes a doctor. Jesse rises through the ranks quickly, soon becoming a plain clothes detective. During this period Angie befriends Cindy Parker (Ellen Wheeler), the widow of an intravenous drug user who died from AIDS. The couple takes Cindy and her son Scott into their home, and are her closest supporters when she develops full-blown AIDS herself and is ostracized by many Pine Valley residents, including a hate group that sets fire to the Hubbard home. Cindy would later die, but not before marrying Stuart Chandler (David Canary), who adopts Scott.

Jesse develops an excellent reputation within the police force. In 1988, he is assigned to guard wealthy businessman John Remington, whose life had been threatened. While in the line of duty, Jesse takes a bullet meant for Remington. Despite prompt medical attention, Jesse is pronounced dead a few days later.

Angie, having cried on Jesse's chest upon his "death" in 1988.

Remington (or "Remy" as he is often called) tries to start a romantic relationship with the recently-widowed Angie, but his attempts are unsuccessful. This is due in part to the fact that Angie is still grieving, but Remington's association with Jesse's death makes an Angie-Remy relationship all but impossible. Eventually, Angie has brief romances with medical colleagues Jeff Martin, Cliff Warner and Cal Cummings, as well as police officer Derek Frye (Jesse's former protégé). Angie leaves Pine Valley in 1991, taking her son Frankie with her.

Angie and Jacob on Loving and The City

In 1993, Angie and a teenage Frankie (Alimi Ballard) settle in Corinth, Pennsylvania, where they reconnect with Jeremy Hunter, an acquaintance from Pine Valley. Angie is convinced she has found true love again with local police detective Charles Harrison (Geoffrey Ewing). Then, as fate would have it, she meets Jacob Johnson (Darnell Williams), a mysterious stranger who bears an uncanny resemblance to Jesse, and later turns out to be related to him. Originally, Angie resists any type of relationship with Jacob (whose real surname is Foster), despite her attraction to him. In 1995, Jesse's spirit visits Jacob just prior to Angie's marriage to Charles and convinces him to pursue a relationship with Angie. Jacob and Angie ultimately fall in love, prompting her to divorce Charles. Soon thereafter Angie, Jacob, and a college-bound Frankie move to New York City's SoHo district. They are joined by several other residents of Corinth, all anxious to relocate after a serial killer murders a number of their friends and acquaintances.

While in New York, Angie opens a medical clinic in a building owned by billionaire Sydney Chase (Morgan Fairchild), and eventually marries Jacob. Almost immediately upon reaching SoHo, the couple takes in a foster child named Kayla, who happens to be Caucasian. A group of white supremacists object to the notion of an African American couple raising a White child. Frankie narrowly escapes with his life when a bomb detonates in a bar in the same building which houses the clinic. Undaunted, Angie and Jacob continue to raise Kayla, but are heartbroken when she is adopted by another couple. Some time later, Angie finds an abandoned baby girl in a dumpster. Naming the girl Cassandra, Angie and Jacob ultimately adopt her.

Jesse's returns

In 1994, a tornado rips through Pine Valley, leaving Jenny Gardner's biological brother Tad Martin (Michael E. Knight) near death. On the other side, Tad is greeted by Jesse (whom he first befriended in high school). Along with Jenny, as well as Tad's surrogate mother Nola Orsini (Barbara Rush), Jesse encourages Tad to return to his family in the land of the living.

In 2001, Jesse returns to Pine Valley, but as an angel whose mission it is to help Gillian Andrassy (who had recently been slain by a hitwoman who mistook her for Anna Devane) make a smooth transition to the afterlife. He also visits his old friend Tad, as well as his son Frank (Jason Olive), who was serving at Pine Valley Hospital at the time.

2008

In late 2007, a mysterious man named Quentin (Cornelius Smith, Jr.) helps Aidan Devane to successfully locate Greenlee Smythe and Zach Slater, both of whom had gone missing. In January 2008, it becomes apparent that Quentin has contracted a rare illness requiring his hospitalization in Pine Valley. Without first meeting Quentin, Dr. Joe Martin contacts Angie — now a specialist on infectious diseases — to consult on the case, much to the delight of her old friend Tad Martin. Angie and Joe are both shocked to later learn that "Quentin" is actually Angie's son — Frankie Hubbard — whom she had not seen in quite some time. Frankie apparently suffers from a rare poison (and at least partially from the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder, having been on active military duty in Iraq). Now divorced from Jacob Foster, Angie spends her first few days back in Pine Valley searching for the cause of Frankie's illness, while trying to understand why he remained out of contact with his family.

Unbeknownst to almost everyone, Frankie has been visited in his hospital room by his father Jesse, who — despite evidence to the contrary — is very much alive. However, Jesse reveals his presence to Tad, explaining that he is pretending to be dead in order to protect his family, whose lives have been threatened. Tad, who once incorrectly believed that his wife Dixie Cooney had died, urges Jesse to tell Angie and Frankie that he is alive. Jesse refuses, and makes Tad promise not to reveal the truth to anyone. However, the comatose Frankie was aware of Jesse's presence in his hospital room, and continues to suspect that something is amiss now that he has recovered.

Jesse attempts to leave Pine Valley, but is assaulted and mugged by a couple pretending to be a battered wife and her abusive husband. He is rushed back to Pine Valley Hospital, keeping him in town a bit longer.

Family and relationships

Jesse's family and relationships
Name	Relationship	Status
Eugene Hubbard	Half-brother
Frank Grant	Uncle	Deceased
Nancy Grant	Aunt by marriage
Carl Blair, Jr.	Cousin
Jacob Foster	look-alike cousin
Angela Baxter	Wife	Divorced
Angela Baxter	Wife
Yvonne Caldwell	Lover	One-night stand
Frankie Hubbard	Son	Child with Angela
Cassandra Foster	Stepdaughter	Adopted child of Angela Baxter and Jacob Foster
William	Grandson	Son of Frankie Hubbard and Mia Saunders; given up for adoption
Angie's family and relationships
Name	Relationship	Status
Les Baxter	Father	Deceased
Pat Baxter	Mother
Flora Baxter	Aunt
Jesse Hubbard	Husband	Divorced
Jesse Hubbard	Husband
Charles Harrison	"Husband"	"Divorced" (marriage invalid)
Jacob Foster	"Husband"	"Divorced" (marriage invalid)
Derek Frye	Dated
Jeff Martin	Lover
Cliff Warner	Fiancee	Broken engagement
Cal Cummings	Dated
Frankie Hubbard	Son	Child with Jesse
Cassandra Foster	Daughter	Adopted child with Jacob
William	Grandson	Son of Frankie Hubbard and Mia Saunders; given up for adoption

Cultural impact

File:Jesse and Angie, Soap Opera Digest magazine, January 3, 1984.jpg

Jesse and Angie on the cover of magazine Soap Opera Digest, January 3 1984.

Jesse Hubbard and Angie Baxter are the world's first African American supercouple. As such, the pairing is listed in The News & Advance's Timeline of daytime soaps under the title of 1984: Daytime’s first black supercouple, All My Children’s Angie and Jesse, are introduced.

Another aspect of the couple's union, often noted for being an unforgettable moment in daytime history, is Jesse's death with Angie saying goodbye to him, the event making the website inthe80s.com's list of Memorable Television Events From The Eighties.

Specific impact on viewers

The impact that Jesse and Angie's romance had on viewers is often documented in various other versions:

Motivational speaker and author Angela D. Lewis recalled her experience watching the Jesse and Angie love story while attending the University of South Carolina in the 1980s. Students would crowd into the Russell House from 1-2 p.m. each weekday to watch Jesse and Angie. Lewis stated, "We were always part of a huge crowd in the student center — not only girls, but plenty of guys, too! — watching All My Children to see Jesse and Angie. The student union was flooded. Many of us would even arrange our class schedules around the soap!"

Darnell Williams and Kim Delaney shared a noticeable amount of chemistry in their respective roles as Jesse and Jenny. However, it is widely believed the producers of All My Children shied away from pairing them as a romantic couple, as a Black male/White female relationship was still considered to be a taboo on daytime television in the early 1980s.

Scholarly

Jesse and Angie's impact on viewers was examined in author Louise Spence's book Watching Daytime Soap Operas: The Power Of Pleasure. When Darnell Williams left his role of Jesse, Spence documented fans' reaction to the news. One letter from a viewer with the initials of P.B. detailed a saddened state to see Darnell Williams having left his role of Jesse Hubbard. The viewer had never cried so much for an actor on a soap opera, and every time the viewer saw Jesse's wife, Angie, onscreen after Jesse's death, the viewer would also cry.

Another viewer of initials K.H. voiced that Debbi Morgan deserved an Emmy for her portrayal of Angie Baxter. Viewer K.H. felt that Morgan constantly performed with such strong emotion and sensitivity and that because of that, she could not help but touch everyone's heart. Also mentioned was Morgan's portrayal of grief at Jesse's death being so moving, that the author of the letter felt as though a member within his or her own immediate family had taken the deadly bullet.

Guest-starring

ABC capitalized on the chemistry and popularity of Darnell Williams and Debbi Morgan by making them the hosts of New York Hot Tracks, a popular music video program which aired late night on Fridays in the 1980s.

The genre of videos shown were primarily R&B, Dance and Hip-Hop, with a few Pop videos thrown in every now and then.

Magazines

When magazine Soap Opera Digest picked their January 3 1984 Jesse and Angie cover for their Friday November 11 2005 cover in celebration of their magazine turning thirty years old, the following was stated:

"January 3, 1984 Daytime's first black supercouple — ALL MY CHILDREN's Angie (Debbi Morgan) and Jesse (Darnell Williams) captured hearts and helped revolutionize the daytime landscape."

Essence magazine, an American fashion, lifestyle and entertainment source, which was the first monthly magazine for African American women, noted Jesse and Angie as well. In an instance of elaborating on Angie's portrayer, the publication cited: "Fans of All My Children have watched the ever-sweet Angie Hubbard evolve from a fresh-faced candy striper into a full-fledged physician — and, in the process, they have felt they've come to know Morgan too. And in a way they have. Both Angie and Debbi are fun-loving, determined women, with high moral standards and lots of integrity."

Kierna Mayo of Essence credited Jesse and Angie for their positive African American representation in the media, as well as their chemistry.

In January 2008, Entertainment Weekly listed the couple at #1 on their list of 17 Great Soap Supercouples.

Awards

The portrayal of Jesse Hubbard by Darnell Williams earned Williams the 1983 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Daytime Drama Series, and the 1985 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series.

"During her long tenure on the show, Morgan earned two Daytime Emmy nominations, winning the trophy in 1989."

See also

• List of supercouples

External links

• SoapCentral