Chris Stamp

Jack Scalia as Chris Stamp

**Chris Stamp** is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera, All My Children, portrayed by Jack Scalia.

## Storylines

Christopher Stamp first arrived on the scene pushing a vacuum - a very loud vacuum - through the halls of Enchantment. His sweeping interfered with one of Erica's phone calls. She tried to get his attention to ask him to stop the noise, but Chris was either unable or unwilling to comply. When he finished his vacuuming, Chris got into an argument with Erica about whether or not she was really Erica Kane. Eventually he realized that Erica really was who she said, but Chris appeared unimpressed. Later that same day, Chris helped Erica free herself when her dress got caught on the arm of her chair. Erica was forced to strip down while Chris delicately worked to extricate the caught cloth. After Erica left for the day, Chris returned to Erica's office and nosed around in her private files.

Chris continued to pop up all around Pine Valley - and seemingly everywhere that Erica turned. Fortunately, during one of those times, Chris' presence allowed him to step in to save the day. A twist of fate had both Erica and Chris in Mateo's car. Chris was going to check on some electrical work at SOS and Erica was being given a ride home. As it turned out, Chris arrived at SOS just in time to save Bianca and Gabriel from an electrical fire that had erupted within the nightclub. After the smoke had cleared, Chris phoned an unknown accomplice and reported that getting Erica out of the way would be harder than he expected.

Not all of Chris' antics were for the good, though. Chris unleashed a stray dog and nearly spoiled one of Erica's photo shoots. At the same time, he staged bumping into Ms. Kane so that he could steal her keys and later break into Erica's house.

Several Pine Valley residents grew suspicious of Chris' identity and suspected that he might have been involved in Dwight Sweeney's death. Tad, Dixie and Mateo lured Chris to the boathouse and jumped him, hoping that the police would round him up and haul him off to jail. Needless to say, they were stunned when Chris announced that he was "the cops."

Chris' undercover investigation of drug lord Proteus continued and pieces of his past became revealed. Chris remembered Anna Devane from a past meeting. The two formed a clandestine alliance to smoke out Proteus, who Chris believed to be David Hayward. Chris also revealed that he had killed Patrick Curry, Ryan's father, during a drug bust. The bust hadn't gone awry. According to Chris he planned to have Patrick killed. Patrick had previously killed Linda, Chris' fiancée as a way to get to him. Still fuming and crushed over her death, Chris had arranged for Patrick to be killed during a drug arrest.

Chris became very close with Erica during his stint as her security guard and personal assistant. When Erica was arrested for the murder of Mary Frances "Frankie" Stone, Chris revealed another of his secrets -- he was also an attorney. Although he had never practiced, Chris agreed to represent Erica in court. The trial quickly became a three-ring circus and Erica ended up demanding that she represent herself rather than allowing Chris to plant a seed of doubt about Bianca possibly killing Frankie. The move strained Erica and Chris' relationship.

Chris learned in the winter of 2001 that Ryan Lavery was his son, the product of an affair with Gail Lavery. Chris had little time to address the situation because he was actively involved in hunting down Proteus, an international drug lord. His involvement in the case, however, nearly cost him his life. Shortly after Chris told Ryan the truth - that he was his dad - Ryan ended up in the crosshairs of a sniper's rifle. Chris pushed Ryan out of the way in time, but the bullet struck Chris. Surgery to correct the damage done was successful, but a bullet fragment rendered the government agent partially paralyzed. As Chris regained his mobility, he forged a bond with Ryan which became strained when Ryan's girlfriend Kendall was accused of burning down Erica's home. Father and son managed to remain close by the time Ryan left town in summer 2002. Chris was a bulldog at Erica's side constantly during the arson trial and over the next few months. They became engaged, but Erica's fear of commitment resurfaced and they began to fight over control issues, his anger, her business plans, everything. By March 2003 he was convinced she was cheating on him with business shark Michael Cambias, and began using a PI to follow her around. The PI revealed that her lover was Jack Montgomery, whom Chris had begun to trust as a friend.

Chris dumped Erica and went off the deep end, punching Michael and Jack, drinking heavily, and having conversations with an old associate named Evan Flanders. Interpreting Chris' hatred of Jack as a signal, Flanders shot Jack in the chest outside the SOS nightclub. Chris was the prime suspect and no one believed in his innocence. Around this time he and Flanders learned that Aidan Devane had been taping their conversations (per Jack's orders), and the situation became even more explosive. Flanders demanded money and a passport or he would pin the entire crime on Chris. After making peace with Erica and announcing his plans to leave town, Chris met up with Flanders in the woods. He pulled a gun and was going to bring the volatile man in on charges, but little Maddie Grey wandered onto the scene. Flanders seized control of the confusion and fought Chris for the gun. That gun was shoved away, but Flanders had hidden another weapon and shot Chris. He was then going to shoot Maddie, the only witness, but Chris heroically picked her up and began to carry her to safety. Flanders mercilessly shot him in the heart and he collapsed to the ground, but his final act was not in vain -- Flanders ran off and Maddie was saved by her father in the nick of time. A few days later Flanders dumped Chris Stamp's body in the lake, but his loved ones would eventually hear of his death.

Two years after Chris died, Ryan learned that he wasn't actually his son after all. Chris never knew.