Brad Carlton

Don Diamont as Brad Carlton

**Bradley "Brad" George Carlton** (né **George Kaplan**) was portrayed by Don Diamont.

## Biography

Brad Carlton was the son of Arthur and Rebecca Kaplan. He had one sister, Stephanie Kaplan. He had one daughter, Colleen Carlton, and one son, Robert.

### Arrival and Lots of Women

Brad first appeared in 1985, as the Abbott family groundskeeper. Perpetually insecure Abbott daughter Traci Abbott took an interest in him. Soon they were dating, and John Abbott put him to work on the sales line at Jabot Cosmetics. Nepotism aside, Brad increased sales dramatically, and on his wedding day to Traci, John made him head of sales, replacing black sheep Jack Abbott.

Traci moved to California to attend graduate school. While she was gone, Brad began dating seductive Lauren Fenmore and they quickly fell into bed. Meanwhile, Jack (always suspicious of Brad as a gold-digger) hired Paul Williams to investigate his past. Paul learned that Brad had been gardener to the wealthy Mansfield family years ago, and married their 16-year old daughter, Lisa Mansfield. Her father had the marriage annulled and sent Brad packing. Traci had just returned and, to keep her from leaving him for her professor, Tim Sullivan, Brad reluctantly agreed to try for a baby. Ashley asked Jack not to ruin their sister's happiness with Brad's past, and Jack kept his mouth shut.

Lisa would soon arrive in the flesh, asking Brad to help her sort out paperwork from her father's estate. She promised she'd leave him alone once he finished. Instead, she drugged him and took photos of them in bed! After he woke up, she lied that they'd made love. Brad was also having career trouble (sales were down) and almost took a job in Chicago until he learned the chief stockholder was Lisa. After John fired him, he gladly accepted a job at Lauren's company. Brad warned Lisa to stay away from him and Traci.

### Lisa's Plot

Lisa wouldn't give up without a fight. She bought a mountain lodge (with a cage built in the living room), hired Rich Little to impersonate Brad's voice, and went to Traci with the incriminating photos. She told Traci that she and Brad were leaving town together. Her thugs then knocked Brad out, and tapes were delivered to Lauren and Traci with "Brad" saying he was leaving to be with his true love, Lisa. Tragically, Traci miscarried after hearing the tape.

Lisa cooked for, cleaned for, and babied Brad. Caged, he knew he had to play along. One night, she recreated their wedding night (complete with dress and tuxedo), but as they moved to the bedroom, she began to feel sick. Brad tried to escape, but her goons stopped him and put him back in the cage. He became very ill, but Lisa refused his pleas for a hospital. She did call 911 and have a prescription filled for him.

While in the drug store, she was spotted by Lauren (on a ski trip with Jack). Lauren followed her home and found Brad, only to get locked in the cage with him. Lisa turned on the gas and left them to die, only to run into Jack on her way out. She pulled out a gun, which he quickly took from her. While he was breaking down the door, she ran away (and hasn't been heard from since).

### Ashley, Career Moves and Cassandra

While Brad was gone, Traci had filed for divorce. To win her back from Tim, he tried winning her over. Ashley Abbott played along, flirting to make Traci jealous. Traci stopped the divorce proceedings, but Brad had responded to Ashley's flirting and lost interest in Traci, leading to a divorce.

Victor Newman made Brad his temporary fill-in as CEO at Ra-Tech, and gave him a vice presidency at Newman Enterprises. Cassandra Rawlins, out for Brad, offered him a permanent job at Ra-Tech.

In his personal life, Brad proposed to Ashley, but Traci decided to win him back. She felt betrayed by her sister when she learned of the proposal. Ashley went away to a cabin to sort out her feelings, and wound up marrying old love Victor. Furious, his attitude was evident at work, where Victor ordered him to snap out of it or find another job. Brad accepted Cassandra's offer, and to work out the details, agreed to go skiing with her in Aspen. She drugged him on the way and flew to Vegas. The next day, a groggy Brad woke up...married to Cassandra!

### Cassandra's Death, Fighting Sisters and Colleen

Cassandra Rawlins told Brad he had willingly participated in the wedding but he was concerned about missing a date with Traci Abbott due to the snowstorm canceling flights. When they returned to Genoa City he was CEO at Ra-Tech as well as holding onto his job at Newman Enterprises out of loyalty to ex-father-in-law John Abbott. The marriage was over as soon as Brad learned from Traci that Cassandra had drugged him. Brad and Cassandra had an amicable divorce but, on her way to see Paul Williams after signing the divorce papers, Cassandra was hit by a truck and killed.

Everyone thought Paul had inherited her money, but the judge died before he could sign the divorce papers so Brad inherited her VERY sizable estate incluing the house which he promptly renamed Carlton Manor. Traci and Brad grew close again but Ashley Abbott used him as a shoulder to cry on for her marital problems. His plans with Ashley were dashed when he found out Traci was pregnant. Though she said she was more than willing to raise the baby by herself, Brad loved her and wanted to be a father so they married for the second time.

Brad convinced Victor Newman to merge Ra-Tech and Newman Enterprises but resigned from Newman when the Ra-Tech demands became too great. He spent quite a bit of time talking business with Ashley and Traci's jealousy flared up once again. Even the birth of Brad's daughter (or so it was thought at the time), Colleen Carlton, didn't help. When Traci's publisher, Steve Connolly, moved to town, he and Traci soon fell in love.

Looking at a manuscript of Traci's, Brad realized how much she loved Steve and how much Steve loved her and Colleen. She and the baby moved to New York with Steve with Traci divorcing Brad for the second time. For many years to come, Colleen saw Brad sporadically and breaking his heart by referring to him as "Mr. Carlton".

### Nikki, Diane and Abby

In 1993, Brad rekindled his affair with Lauren, even going back to work at Fenmore's temporarily. He even bonded with her young son, Scotty Grainger. But Traci disapproved of their affair, and when Brad had a heart attack after a night of passion in 1994, Traci and Lauren got into a catfight in the waiting room! Lauren left town the next year, but Brad had already moved on to Nikki Newman, the boss' ex. They planned to marry, in spite of her ever-present feelings for Victor and his flirtation with a returned-to-town Ashley. On their wedding day, Victor was shot and Nikki rushed to the hospital to be at his side. After Brad was cleared as a suspect, he ended his relationship with Nikki and left town.

Brad stayed away until 1998, when old foe Jack called with a tantalizing proposition: a hostile takeover of Newman Enterprises. Brad left his life in Italy to accept a job at Newman, constantly clashing with Jack in staged confrontations. With Victor's bitter ex-wife, Diane Jenkins, on the board, Jack felt they would eventually be able to take the company as Victor had taken Jabot years earlier. The time came sooner than anyone expected when Victor was once again presumed dead, this time in a plane crash.

Jack and Brad seized power, but after Victor returned they began their usual infighting, with Jack going to Jabot and Brad staying with Newman. Brad was then fired by Victor and had a contract precluding him from working anywhere else, but after considerable wrangling and heartache, Victor dropped this for Ashley because Brad paid part of the debt for the Abbotts to buy back Jabot.

Brad had friendly dinners with Diane and began another affair with Nikki over late 1999 and winter 2000 (she wouldn't commit and he broke up with her), but his feelings for Ashley had never gone away. Once her marriage to Cole Howard dissipated, Ashley came back from a cruise pregnant with a baby she said was fathered by her friend Christian Page. (The child could have been Victor Newman's, a time bomb only Ashley knew about). Brad came to her rescue, wooed her and talked her into marrying him, and raising the child as his own. Ashley went in to labor, leaving Brad and the wedding guests waiting. Victor rushed her to the hospital, Ash gave birth to a baby girl, and Brad and Ashley were married in her hospital room. Brad and Ashley are now happily married, and Brad has adopted Abby Carlton.

### Traci's Back, Colleen's Troubles and Ashley's Pregnancy

Problems are never far from the horizon, and Traci swept into town again after learning Steve had had an affair. She still loved Brad, and Colleen clung to the father she barely knew in favor of the father who had betrayed her and her mother. Before tensions between Traci and Ashley could reach epic proportions, Traci returned to New York to try again with Steve. Colleen was furious and began rebelling, turning to drugs and treating her parents shabbily. Traci sent her to Genoa City and Colleen is now living at the Abbott Mansion.

Brad and Ashley were allowing Colleen to baby-sit for Abby to show they trusted her. Not long after they left, Colleen walked outside to begin her smoke when baby Abby choked on a button and Colleen ran to her aid, saving her life. She was commended for her efforts after Brad and Ashley realized that the button was dropped by Ashley before she left. Eventually Brad intervened and convinced Traci to allow Colleen to stay with him and Ashley. Despite being banned from seeing J.T., the now 16 year old Colleen and 19 year old J.T. have fallen in love. Colleen and JT's romance still blooms as JT composes and sings love songs for her.

With Brad by her side, Ashley faced the biggest crisis of her life: the discovery that she had rapidly spreading breast cancer. She underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments and lost her hair. The stress involved affected their relationship, especially when Ash's former husband Victor was always right there for her support. Ash and Brad seem to have gotten things "back on track" but only after she drove him into her best friend Olivia's arms.

Brad was wise enough to stop it at one kiss, but Liv had a hard time forgetting - especially once she uncovered Ashley's secret - that Ashley's daughter Abby was fathered by theft of Victor's sperm. Olivia Winters and Drucilla Winters coerced Ashley into telling Brad the truth - or they would. Ash did, Brad was furious and left. Only days later, he and Liv made love. Then Ashley discovered she was pregnant with Brad's child. They reunited, and Liv was left out in the cold.

### Cosmetics Wars, Little Robert and Abby's Daddy

Ashley's SUV was broad-sided just outside Genoa City, and Jack and Brad were on the scene as she was cut out of her SUV and rushed to the hospital battered and bruised. As Brad held the hand of the unconscious Ashley, the fetal heart monitor stopped. Ash was rushed into surgery, but the baby, named Robert Carlton after John's father, died. Nearly everyone blamed Victor. John even went out to the ranch and punched Victor in the face.

When Ash was told, she blamed herself - especially after Olivia delivered the news that Ash can have no more children. When Victor came to see Ash, she told him to go away! Brad went gunning for Victor to even the score. Meanwhile Ashley had another mental breakdown, as she happily showed people her newborn son which was nothing but a baby blanket, and refused to allow Brad to have a memorial service. Ashley got the help and medication she needed, and returned home.

Convinced it was caused by her untold secret, Ashley was determined to tell Victor the truth, that her daughter Abby is his child by stolen sperm sample. Nikki begged her to be the one to tell, but adorable little Abby beat everyone to it, telling Victor, "Momma says you are my daddy." Victor confronted Brad. Brad told him it was true and Victor was livid with all involved. Victor wanted unsupervised visitation with Abby, Ashley wanted it too, but Brad was adamantly against it.

### Victor, Ashley and BON

Ashley, living in a dream world, suddenly announced to Brad that their marriage was over, because she wanted to be with her true love Victor. When Victor heard what she did, he confronted Ashley and made her realize that he was happily married to Nikki with no romantic interest in Ashley. Ashley and Brad separated, Ash moved home to the Abbott's, leaving Abby staying in the house with Brad. Victor was enjoying regular visitation with Abby until she fell from a horse on the ranch, and became rather afraid of him.

After a failed attempt to convince Victoria to return to Genoa City and become Jabot's new CEO, Jill Abbott was given the position. Brad, who was expecting to get the CEO position himself, quit his job with Jabot, and considered going into business with Victoria. Jack offered Victoria the position of Jill's right hand at Jabot, but instead she chose Victor's offer as Acting CEO at Newman. One of Victoria's first acts as CEO was to hire Brad. Despite their animosity, Victor approved. While Nick was still angry over his daughter Cassie Newman's death, Brad made plans with Sharon for her return to Newman working with him on the Beauty of Nature Cosmetics project. Nick and Sharon grew further apart while both were haunted by apparitions of Cassie. When Nick decided to return to Newman, Victor made him and Victoria Co-CEO's. Sharon grew closer to Brad and his daughter Abby, and was named spokesperson for the line. They had a close call with intimacy when in Denver on a business trip, but Sharon was dedicated to working on her marriage. After his declaration of love for Sharon was rebuffed, Brad instead asked Victoria to marry him and she accepted, and Brad and Ashley finally divorced.

### Colleen Returns and Brad's True Identity

Due to her grandfather's ill health and her stepmother being charged with the murder of Tom Fisher, Colleen returned to Genoa City with a bad attitude. Everywhere she went she ran into Kevin Fisher, who once tried to kill her. If that wasn’t enough, all her former friends were convinced Kevin had changed and were friends with him. Colleen won J.T. back from Mac after J.T. had a one-night stand with Victoria - her father Brad's fiancé. Brad forgave Victoria but Colleen gave a vile speech at Victoria’s wedding shower suggesting Victoria be checked for VD before the marriage! Sharon waited until Brad and Victoria's wedding day to let Brad know that she was about to be available for him, but she was rebuffed, and Brad married Victoria, much to her father Victor's dismay. Weeks later, Brad and Sharon had a one-night-stand. Brad rebuffed any further advances by Sharon, but they were still confidants. Colleen moved into the loft apartment with J.T.

Victor hired Paul Williams Detective Agency to check on new son-in-law Brad's past, but after Victor sustained a head injury which changed his perspective on things, he asked Paul to drop the case. Then after Paul discovered in Cleveland from a high school annual photo, that this person was not the real Brad Carlton, J.T. became concerned for Brad's daughter Colleen, and stayed on the case. Colleen found out about it, and encouraged the investigation. With the help of Paul's Cleveland PI contact, Kara Ludwig, clues showed that The Kaplan Family, including their 15 year old daughter had been murdered, and their 18 year old son George had been sought for questioning. Three months later George's body had been found, presumed the victim of a hit and run, and the police thought they had the murderer. At that same time Brad Carlton joined the Navy Seals.

Brad later revealed his side of the story: His mother Rebecca Montalcini was born in Rome to a wealthy Jewish family. George and Rebecca hid out from the Nazis and police in George's friend Brad Carlton's basement until his father threw them all out. They were living in an abandoned farmhouse when George and Brad were out hunting food, and Brad was hit by a car and killed. George then switched ID's with Brad and Rebecca took the last name of Carlton too. Once Brad's decomposed body was found, the police ID'd him as George and stopped the investigation, thinking they had the killer. George got his mother connected with the underground and joined the Navy as Brad. Eventually he ended up in Genoa City with Rebecca still in hiding.

### Sharon and Brad's Past

Meanwhile, Nick and Phyllis became attracted to each other, and began a steamy affair. Sharon found out, she and Nick separated and Sharon went to Brad for comfort. They ended up having sex on a business trip to NYC. Nick told Sharon that Phyllis was pregnant and he was the father but he was staying with Sharon. She decided she didn't want Nick to stay out of obligation, ran out of the office screaming divorce and ended up in the parking garage pounding the steering wheel of her SUV.

Brad discovered her there, and his consoling turned to heavy making out. Sharon saw Nick watching them, but continued on with Brad. Nick decided to tell Victoria that he caught her husband making out with Sharon, but Brad beat him to the punch and confessed that they'd shared a kiss - but that his heart belonged to Victoria. Victoria seemed to accept that, but secretly consulted a lawyer about how to get Brad's Newman stock if the marriage should end.

Victoria confronted Sharon about kissing Brad, then fired her from Newman. Sharon went running to Brad who sent her on a mysterious errand to deliver a red tote bag to a car downtown for him. Brad's daughter Colleen confronted him with what she knew about his mysterious past, and accused him of kidnapping JT. Brad explained his past to Colleen, then hustled her and Abby off to the private jet where they met his mother Rebecca, and were jetted to safety in Hawaii. Meanwhile Sharon arrived at Brad's to find the door ajar, and being mistaken for Brad's wife, was kidnapped and held captive with JT in Cleveland. Brad received a call from the kidnapper telling him they had Sharon. Victoria and Brad went back to Newman, and brought Nick and Paul in on the case. Nikki volunteered to take Noah away on a mini-vacation to see her sister Casey to keep him safe and oblivious to the fact that his mother was missing. Brad had to explain to all his past as George Kaplan and that the kidnappers wanted an artifact called the Grudgeon Reliquary. Then JT was dumped on Brad's doorstep as a warning. After they wasted days trying to track down the Reliquary on the Internet and through art dealers, Victoria decided to create a fake using two other similar Grudgeon pieces. They took the fake to Cleveland and Nick met the kidnapper and his henchman for the exchange at a church. Meanwhile, misled by the kidnappers, Brad, Paul and JT were converging on the shipping crate where Sharon had been held which was booby-trapped with explosives. They disarmed it in time, then arrived just in time to rescue Nick and Sharon as explosives attached to Sharon were about to detonate. Brad ended up fighting with the bad guys, and killed them both after the head guy admitted he was Oscar Volkmann, son of the Commandant who was executed after Brad's mother Rebecca's testimony. All arrived safely back in GC and vowed to never tell what went on for everyone's safety. Then Brad and Victoria told Victor and Nikki, and Nick told Phyllis. Victor became determined to find the Grudgeon Reliquary. He and Brad posed as art connoisseurs searching for the reliquary. After some tense moments they managed to fool some art thieves and purchased it. They brought it home to Rebecca who found an inscription which was in code. Thanks to Colleen confiding in her art history professor and lover, Adrian Korbel, he solved the puzzle which revealed a treasure worth billions that was concealed in the catacombs in the Czech Republic.

Jana Hawkes kidnapped Colleen so that Jana and her father, Milan Hawkes, could get to the Nazi treasure in the Czech Republic before Brad and Victor. Jana's father Milan turned up at the catacombs after Victor, Victoria and Brad discovered the treasure. Milan locked them up, but was killed by the authorities, as he tried to escape with the treasure. As the smoke got thicker, Kevin gave Colleen his water soaked shirt to help her breathe, they bonded, and were later rescued by JT and Adrian, and Jana disappeared.

### NVP Retreats, Nikki's Campaign and Colleen's Affair

The controversial NVP Retreats spa project known as Clear Springs had everyone at Newman taking sides. Jack, Victor, Phyllis and Nick felt a large development would revitalize a dying town, and Nikki, Brad, and Victoria were opposed because it would wipe out historic structures in the town. Nikki and Neil ran for the vacant Newman board seat to boost the votes for their side, and thanks to Phyllis's blackmail of Brad over his affair with Sharon, Victor's yes-man Neil won, so they appeared to have the upper hand on Clear Springs. But Brad got Phyllis arrested for extortion, she was found guilty, and later went to prison.

Adrian and Colleen went back to being together again secretly so that he would not get in trouble with the college, and she with her father who forbade the relationship. But Brad found out and Colleen stood up to him, moved out, and Brad cut off her funding and her car. Jack asked her to move in with him and is paying Colleen's tuition as a loan. Adrian got an offer for a job at a prestigious museum in Paris, and they were all ready to leave GC together. But Brad found out and got the job offer rescinded by donating a piece of art to the museum. Colleen and Adrian are openly a couple now that he is no longer her professor, are now living together in his apartment, and Adrian is writing a book on the Kunta Hora. Jana has given him information on Brad's secret past, and Colleen has verified it, probably putting everyone in danger once again.

### Reed, Amber and Skye

Victoria and Brad were expecting a baby, but Brad still could not stop finding ways to be with Sharon (who was engaged/now married to Jack) and let her know how much he still loved her. Victoria got suspicious and hired JT to find out what is going on, and he discovered the short affair with Sharon. Finding this out caused Victoria to miscarry, and she filed for divorce. Brad went to Sharon telling her that he was about to be free, but she shut him down and said she was happy with Jack.. Meanwhile Victoria and JT began an affair and she moved in with him after she found out she was again pregnant. Thanks to one night with Brad after the miscarriage, Victoria did not know who the father of her baby, Reed, was, but a DNA test has since proven it was JT.

Nikki hired her lover David as Co-CEO and Brad Carlton as another Jabot executive. Jill was micro-managing Jabot, not being confident in Nikki's abilities.

As the new Chief Operations Officer of Jabot, Brad felt David was ill suited for the co-CEO position, and began to hatch a plan to get David to gamble once again. Brad began setting him up with his bookie to lose bets, holding impromptu poker nights at his place, and lending David money. One of the card sharks who played in the games turned out to be Victor's son Adam's college friend and lover, Skye Lockhart. When Skye was in town, she would hook up with Adam, then take David for a lot of money. Brad disclosed David's gambling habits to Jill and Jill led him to believe that he would become CEO of Jabot once they got rid of Nikki and David.

### Adrian's Book, *Restless Style* and Victor's Death

The time finally came for Adrian's book "SAVED: From the Ashes" about Brad's former life to be published, and he gave Colleen an advance copy to read. Though she had edited and consulted on the book, she had major regrets and fear for her family once saw it all there in black in white. She gave the book to Brad, and he used his power and money to stop the publication. After David was killed and Nikki was fired, Jill made Cane CEO of Jabot.

Brad was furious, and took his story about Jill and David to *Restless Style* for an expose. As a result Jill was put under investigation by the SEC. In retaliation against Brad, Jill made a deal to get off by exposing Brad for his financial relationship with David. The FBI investigation found money given to Chow by Brad ended up with the mob when he gave it to Walter Palin AKA Tony Amato, and he was arrested for money-laundering.

When Victor was declared dead when the fishing boat he was on was caught in a storm in Mexico, the will was read leaving his youngest son Adam in charge of Newman. Adam fired Neil and hired Brad as CEO of Newman, naming himself as Chairman of the Board. Only days later Victor was discovered to be alive and Adam was fired. JT had the pleasure of ushering Adam out of Newman Towers. To avoid paying Brad's hefty severance package, Neil and JT talked Brad into voluntarily resigning, or his taking company secrets from Newman to Jabot would be exposed. Then JT got to escort him out as well. Since Brad quit Jabot to go to Newman, he is now without a job.

### Phyllis' Matchmaking and Brad's Death

After witnessing a kiss between Nick and Sharon in Paris, and convinced that Jack and Sharon's marriage is on the skids, Phyllis is doing all she can to keep Sharon from falling back to Nick. She has approached Brad to let him know the field is open for him again, and if he needs any help, she is willing. Brad found Sharon at the GCAC bar, and began working on getting her back himself. Nick and Phyllis celebrated New Years Eve 2008 there, and seeing Sharon alone, Phyllis called Brad to come be with her.

Jack saw them going into her room together, and went home to bed alone, his world fallen apart thanks to his own lies. Jack has since been served with divorce papers.

In late January of 2009, Sharon went up to the Abbott cabin at Twin Lakes to be alone and think about what to do with her life after divorce papers were served on Jack. Brad showed up and declared his love, but Sharon sent him away. On the drive home, Brad had car trouble, got out, and heard the screams of Noah Newman who had gone skating with Eden Baldwin and fallen through the ice. Brad died a hero after he pulled Noah from the hole in the ice, when he fell through himself and drowned. Meanwhile back in Genoa City, Abby and Colleen, concerned that Brad never showed for his dinner date with them, got JT and Billy to help search for him. Colleen and JT found Brad’s car about the same time Noah remembered and told Victoria that it was Brad who rescued him. JT and Colleen heard a boy playing on the ice scream as he discovered Brad's body showing through the ice. JT checked out the situation and had to deliver the bad news to Colleen. Colleen and Abby were both devastated by the news, and Victoria and Ashley commiserated over the loss of their former husbands. Noah and Sharon both felt very guilty over Brad's death.

### Last Goodbyes

A Jewish service was held with the immediate family, his daughters Colleen and Abby, and his ex-wives Traci, Victoria, and Ashley. Brad's mother was unable to attend, and former lover Nikki was out of town. Sharon visited the grave alone, told him she always loved him and thanked him for saving Noah’s life. In the Jewish tradition, a headstone was not laid until a week later. The reading of Brad’s will was held giving his mother an undisclosed share, and Colleen and Abby half of the remainder of Brad's estate. Colleen was named the Trust-holder until Abby is of age. A letter from Brad to Ashley explained his reluctance to trust her with this position due to her continual unwise relationship with Victor.