Tom Cudahy

Richard Shoberg as Tom Cudahy

**Tom Cudahy** is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera, All My Children, portrayed by Richard Shoberg.

## Storylines

* 1977-80
* 1981-83
* 1984-85
* 1986-89
* 1990-96
* 2004-05

Tom Cudahy was Pine Valley’s newest golden son. He rescued millionaire heir Phillip Tyler from kidnappers who saw an opportune moment when he sneaked out of the Brent home to go to the Tyler Estate. Tom was also a football star. He came to Pine Valley to open a new restaurant, the Goalpost.
Tom hired Erica Kane as The Goalpost’s new hostess. She was using Tom to make Nick Davis jealous. Nick owned The Chateau, Tom’s most prominent competition.

Tom hired Brooke English to fill in for Erica while she recovered from pneumonia. He and Brooke had grown very close again when Erica came back to retrieve her job. Erica showered Tom with more attention. She seemed like the perfect woman for him. She became especially appealing when she began to talk about starting a family. That was all Tom ever wanted. He proposed to Erica, and they made quick plans to marry.
After their honeymoon, Tom was ready to settle down and have children. But, Erica wanted to pursue her modeling career. She arranged for Tempo Magazine to feature she and Tom as “The Couple to Watch.” Tom agreed to the feature to keep Erica happy. At a party thrown by Tempo, Tom got a taste of the life Erica really wanted. He was uncomfortable in the spotlight. The night was cut short when Phoebe Tyler made the drunken announcement that her grandson, Chuck Tyler, was not Charlie Brent’s father. Tom knew Erica must have told Phoebe the truth. When he left the party, so did all the press leaving Erica’s grand appearance in shambles.

Tom was convinced that Erica wanted a family as much as he did. Tom was concerned with Erica’s constant need for attention. When she announced she was going to open a disco, Tom told her to return her seed money. Then, she wanted Tom to sign with Adonis Cosmetics as a husband and wife team. Erica did not know that the adman, Mr. Richmond, wanted Erica in return. Tom stopped him before he was able to overcome Erica, but in the process injured his knee and was admitted to the hospital.
Recovering, Tom found out Erica had went around his back and opened the disco, “Erica’s.” But Tom’s anger over this lie was only a fraction of his rage when he uncovered Erica’s greatest deception. Erica was taking birth control pills behind his back. Tom had found the pills in her purse. The couple had a heated confrontation. When Erica refused to stop, Tom declared that their marriage was over. He moved out of their house.
Tom found a pillar of support in Brooke. She had begun working at The Goalpost again when Erica quit to pursue modeling.

Though he was still married to Erica, Tom could not deny his growing feelings for Brooke. When Erica returned from an attempt to make it big in Hollywood, she claimed she had changed. She wanted another chance with Tom. Tom needed to make his marriage work. But Erica grew unsatisfied. She secretly took a job with Sensuelle Cosmetics in New York. This was the last lie for Tom. He headed to the Caribbean for a divorce.

Tom’s brother, Sean Cudahy, made his way to Pine Valley and quickly began to compromise Tom’s good name. Tom had to keep up with his schemes that always seemed to blow up in his face. All the while, he and Brooke picked up where they left off.

Tom patiently waited for his annulment from Erica to go through. But Brooke was getting cold feet. He surprised her on night at Tyler Mansion and asked her to marry him. Brooke agreed, but did not know that he meant that night. Tom married Brooke in her pajamas.

Sean was arrested for the murder of Sybil Thorne. He pleaded with Tom to help him, but Tom knew there was more to the story. Tom convinced Sean to admit his entire role in the murder. The stress of the situation caused Tom to turn to the bottle, a problem that would only grow with time.

Tom had grown restless in his marriage to Brooke. She had become a career woman, and was rarely ever home. Tom hosted a college buddy, Gil Barrett in his home. The freeloading Gil unnerved Brooke. She came to Tom with her concerns, but he brushed her off. Brooke accused Gil of trying to make a move on her, but Tom could not reconcile the truth with his friendship.
In a drunken stupor, Tom slept with Erica the night before she married Adam Chandler. When Brooke found out, she left him.
Brooke learned she was pregnant with Tom’s daughter. Tom sued for full custody, noting Brooke would be a negligent mother because of her work at Tempo. Things remained tense until Laura Cudahy was born. Laura’s presence put an end to their fighting and they agreed to joint custody. It was also enough for Tom to stop drinking. He attended rehabilitation for alcoholism.

He opened his home to Donna Tyler, who just lost her son in a fire. Phoebe wrongfully blamed Donna for the end of Tom and Brooke's marriage. Phoebe threatened to sell the Glamoramma if Tom did not end his friendship with Donna. Donna decided to move in with Benny Sago.

Tom heard Erica’s cries for help from a broken elevator shaft. Tom quickly scaled the building and reached Erica, not a moment too soon. Right after getting her to safety, the shaft collapsed on itself.
Tom worried about Brooke’s new lifestyle with the worldly Giles St. Claire. All her late evenings out at parties caused Tom to believe that she was neglecting Laura. He filed for custody again.
When Giles turned murdered, Tom was the main suspect. Brooke worked to exonerate Tom. She uncovered Giles’ infidelity with a woman named Solange Garavas. Her husband, Spiros Garavas, had killed Giles. Tom saved Brooke from Giles, who was ready to kill her to keep her silence.

Tom met Skye Chandler and instantly felt sparks. Skye had many secrets. None was more destructive than the fact that she would be unable to have children. Tom loved Laura, but he longed to have another child.

Tom and Skye married in front of family and friends. Skye seemed like a perfect match. She loved Laura, and Tom was content now at the thought of being unable to have any more children. But, Skye’s fears about her uncle Stuart Chandler’s relationship with HIV victim Cindy Parker put them on opposite sides. Tom tried his best to quell her fears, but information about the disease was still so scarce.
One night, Tom was called to the hospital where Skye had been admitted for smoke inhalation. She had lead a vigilante group to the Hubbard home with plans to scare Cindy away. When they lit the house on fire, Skye realized they had gone too far and went in to save her. Now, she laid in a coma
Tom met Barbara Montgomery while Skye was in a coma. Tom felt guilty because he saw that their friendship was becoming much more than that. They attended Cindy and Stuart’s wedding together. To everyone’s surprise, Skye awoke from her coma and made her way to the wedding. When she saw Tom and Barbara together, she collapsed and lapsed into another coma. By her bedside, Tom admitted the guilt he felt for his indiscretion. When Skye awoke, she was paralyzed. Tom stood by his wife, but could not forget the feelings he had for Barbara.
Sean was released from prison and made his way back to Pine Valley. Tom was still unsure if he could trust his brother. Sean learned Skye had been feigning her paralysis and was plotting to cause harm to Barbara. Based on this tip, Tom found Skye holding Barbara at gunpoint. Tom was able to talk Skye down. When she was taken into custody, she slipped into another catatonic state. Tom and Adam admitted Skye to Oak Haven.
Nothing could prepare Tom for what would happen next. He had let Barbara take care of Laura while he went out to do some errands. Barbara let Laura play outside on her own. When her ball rolled into the street, Laura chased after it. At that moment, a drunk off-duty police officer named Josh Waleski, swerved and hit Laura. She was brain dead. Barbara rushed her to the hospital, but there was nothing the doctors could do. Tom had to break the news to Brooke. Brooke and Tom were forced to mourn their only child, whose life was taken too soon.

Barbara turned to Tom with a big secret: she was pregnant with Travis’s child. Travis was suffering from amnesia he believed he was still married to Barbara. They had slept together. Travis left Pine Valley to recover, and Barbara did not know what to do. Tom offered to help Barbara. He was going to pass off Barbara’s child as his own.

On the day Tom was to marry Barbara, she went into labor. Tom helped her deliver a healthy baby girl, Molly Cudahy. She filled the void that Laura’s death had left in Tom’s heart.

Tom’s newfound happiness was compromised when Molly was diagnosed with leukemia. He and Barbara got tested for a bone marrow transplant, but he knew he could not possible be a match. Tom thought all hope was lost until Barbara got pregnant. The baby was a perfect match for Molly. Tom realized what this meant. Barbara had slept with Travis. Realizing the end of his marriage, Tom fell off the wagon.

Brooke confided in Tom that she was pregnant with Tad Martin’s child. With Tad dead, Brooke did not know what to do. She did not want to hurt Tad’s widow, Dixie. Tom again volunteered to masquerade as the father of Brooke’s child. Tom had a hard time having to lie to Barbara and make it appear as if he had slept with Brooke during their marriage.
Tom delivered Brooke’s baby, Jamie Martin, after she had gotten into a car accident. Tom’s good name was reestablished when Brooke admitted Jamie’s paternity to Dixie.

Toms new Health Center became the scene of a racially based assault. Teenager Terrence Frye was attacked by a group of white supremacist, members of a group named Deconstruction. Tom comforted Livia Frye, Terrence’s mother. He had felt responsible for the attacked. The ordeal brought Tom and Livia together. Brooke recognized their attraction, and pushed them together. By year’s end, they were married.
Tom reached out to Hayley Vaughan during the Will Cortlandt murder trial. Will had fueled Hayleys addiction to alcohol during their disastrous marriage. With Tom’s support, she began going to AA meetings.

Livia and Tom met a dying AIDS victim Janine Wilson. Janine was worried about the welfare of her son, Jamal Wilson. Livia and Tom instantly fell in love with Jamal. They took Jamal in as their foster son, intent on adopting him. This opened the Cudahy’s up to another attack from Deconstruction. They did not condone Tom, a white man, adopting an African American child. Deconstruction set a bomb to destroy the Cudahy home. Luckily, Taylor Cannon warned them about the attack, preventing anyone from getting hurt.

Tom and Livia’s battle to adopt Jamal became more complicated when they learned Alec McIntyre was his biological father. Tom and Livia sued for custody, but they knew their chances were slim. Alec got full custody of Jamal.
But, before the separation was finalized, Jamal took matters into his own hands. Jamal teamed up with Trevor Dillon to divorce Alec. Jamal wanted to be with the Cudahys. When Alec saw much Jamal wanted to live with the Cudahys, he waived his claim to custody.
Livia was promoted to a judgeship right outside of Pine Valley. Though the Cudahy’s moved away, Tom made frequent visits to check on the Health Center.

At the Martin family housewarming, Tom and Brooke looked back on their life together. Tom’s memories of Laura made him realize how much loved his family. Wanting to spend more time with them, his visits to Pine Valley became less frequent.

Tom calmed a rowdy protest in front of the aboriton clinic that Julia Santos went to have the procedure done. Julia was raped by drug lord Louie Greco.

Livia realized how much she missed Pine Valley, so she and Tom decided to make plans to move back. In the meanwhile, Erica’s new fiancée, Jackson Montgomery, confided in Tom about Erica’s fall off the wagon since Bianca’s rape. Tom recognized that Erica had become an alcoholic. After Jack successfully staged an intervention, Tom became Erica’s AA sponsor.

Tom and Livia finally moved back to Pine Valley full time. Tom supported Livia as her brother, Derek Frye, fought to keep custody of his daughter, Danielle Frye, after his ex-wife, Mimi Reed, came back to Pine Valley. Tom continues to reside in Pine Valley.