MARTIN, Thaddeus “Tad” James Gardner
Portrayed by : Mathew Anton (1973-77); John E. Dunn (1978-81); Terrell Anthony (1990); Michael E. Knight (1982-86; 1988-90; 1992-present)
Family : Ray Gardner (Father); Opal Cortlandt (Mother); Joseph “Joe” Martin (Adoptive-Father); Ruth Brent Martin (Adoptive Mother); Tara Martin Jefferson (Sister); Bobby Martin (Brother); Jeff Martin (Brother); Joseph “Jake” Martin (Brother); Jenny Gardner (Sister); Adrian Sword (Brother); Petey Cortlandt (Brother); Adam “JR” Chandler, II (Step-Son); Jamie Martin (Son); Kathy “Kate Martin” Keefer (Daughter); Jenny Colby Carey (Daughter); Adam “Little A” Chandler, III (Grandson)
Marriages: Dottie Thornton; Hillary Wilson; Dixie Cooney; Brooke English; Dixie Cooney; Dixie Cooney

1973 : Orphan Tad Gardner called out for his mother and sister Jenny as he rolled into Pine Valley Hospital. The traumatized boy recounted his abuse and abandonment at the hands of his evil father, Ray Gardner. Dr. Jeff Martin and nurse Mary Kennicott took the young boy under their wings.

1974 : Tad was assigned by the courts to become a ward to the Martins. Jeff and Mary were now married and decided they were going to adopt Tad. Jeff went on an exhaustive search to find his biological parents so that they would waive their parental rights.



1975 : Tad made his daily trip to Jeff and Mary’s apartment when he witnessed a terrifying sight. Two gunmen bound Mary. She pleaded with Tad to run to safety, Tad ran back to the Martin home and called out for help. When the police arrived at the apartment, Mary was dead. She had been shot. Jeff needed to leave town. Tad was unsure where this put him. Joe assured Tad that everything was going to work out in the end. He asked Tad if it was alright with hi if Joe and Ruth adopted him instead. Already in love with the Martins, Tad agreed.

1977 : Tad got word that his father, Ray Gardner, was found to be living in Texarcana. All the Martins needed with his consent to finally adopt Tad. But if Tad knew his father, this would prove to be a lot easier said than done.

1978 : Tad was terrified to see his father in the Martin home. Ruth defended her son and told Ray that the Martins would never succumb to his demands. Ray took matters into his own hands and raped her. Tad was overcome with guilt for Ruth’s condition. When she recovered from her coma, Joe decided it was best that she recuperated away from the trial. Ruth took Tad to assure him that none of this was his fault.
When they returned, Ray was already in prison. Joe and Ruth could now formally adopt Tad.

1979 : As the other Martins rejoiced in the announcement of Ruth’s pregnancy, Tad was worried about what this meant for him. So much pain had befallen on the Martins over the last few years because of him. Ruth assured Tad that he had nothing to worry about. He was always going to be loved by Joe and Ruth. That Christmas, he welcomed his baby brother, Joey Martin.

1981 : Tad began to smoking pot to rebel against his newfound Martin upbringing. One day. Grandma Kate caught Tad stealing money from her sugar bowl. Even her intervention could not save him. After his girlfriend Suzanne broke up with him, Tad became more destructive. He crashed the family station wagon. Realizing what he did, Tad ran away from home.



1983 : Tad came back to Pine Valley, welcomed by the greatest news of his life: Ray was dead. Tad was welcomed back into the Martin home with open arms. But, his life on the Martin high life was compromised by the presence of his biological mother, Opal Gardner, who had recently made her way to Pine Valley. Opal wanted Tad to work for what he got and stop freeloading off of his new family.
Tad recognized a face in The Bulletin. It was another con artist from California, Connie Wilkes. Only, she was now going by Silver Kane. Tad revealed her identity at Erica Kane’s trial for the murder of Kent Bogard. This crucial fact exonerated Erica, and began their close friendship.
Tad had to attend Pine Valley University to prevent the Martins from cutting him off. At least, he got to spend more time with his sister, Jenny Gardner. One day, he unintentionally hurt Jenny by showing a pornographic film that someone had superimposed Jenny’s face onto. Jenny moved to New York and became a model full time. Tad followed his sister. His career was booming until he was caught sleeping with another model in Erica’s New York apartment.
Back in Pine Valley, Tad got extra spending money working at the Glamoramma. There, he met Marian Colby, a neglected housewife looking for love. Marian showered Tad with jewelry and expensive trips in exchange for his companionship. The only issue was that Tad was also dating Marian’s daughter, Liza Colby. Tad had seduced Liza to stop her from teasing Jenny all the time. But, his animosity turned into true compassion. Tad knew that if Liza ever knew the truth it would destroy her.
When Liza learned of Tad’s affair with Marian, she rejected both her mother and boyfriend. Tad tried to keep the truth from Jenny, but Liza was determined to make sure she knew the truth.



1984 : Tad watched helplessly as Jenny fell victim to a jet ski explosion while they were on vacation on the lake. Tad tried to get a hold of his mother, but she was lost somewhere in the Australian outback.
Tad acted out more without Jenny to keep him grounded. He was hired by Edna Thornton to date her daughter, Dottie Thornton. Tad was content to keep Dottie satisfied until he met Hillary Wilson. Hillary was living as Phoebe Wallingford’s guest in the English Estate. Phoebe disapproved of Tad’s pursuit of Hillary because of his reputation as a womanizer.
When Dottie learned she was pregnant, Tad knew he had to do the right thing. He entered into a loveless marriage.



1985 : Dottie miscarried, but continued to pretend to be pregnant so as to save her marriage. When Tad learned the truth, he declared his love for Hillary. But too many factors kept them apart again. Hillary was now engaged to a terminally ill Bob Georgia.
Tad began an affair with a call girl named Mickey Barlowe. Mikey’s roommate, Kristie planted a computer disk in Tad’s pocket that served as the black book for a pimp named Barton Crane. Crane threatened to kill Tad if he did not return it. Only, Tad could not find the disk. Joey had taken it to play with and left it in his toy chest. The misunderstanding almost cost Tad his life.
Alfred Vanderpoole discovered that Bob had recovered from his condition. That was enough for Hillary to ask for a divorce. Tad and Hillary were finally free to be together.
But in this happiest of times, a dark shadow soon descended on the Martin home. Grandma Kate died peacefully in her sleep. Since his return, Tad knew he could always turn to Kate with his problems. Tad was reunited with all his siblings. They pulled each other through the trying time.



1986 : Tad thought he had won Phoebe over. She got him a job at the Pine Valley Bank. Tad decided to work the morning he was to marry Hillary. It was the same morning that robbers decided to target the bank. A quick thinking Tad found refuge in the bank vault with fellow teller Robin McCall. Tad knew Phoebe was probably talking Hillary out of the wedding now. Luckily, Robin’s brother, Wad Mathews, went to bank after Robin did not come home from work. Tad made his way to the Wallingford Estate, hoping Hillary would still take him as her husband.
When he arrived, Tad was surprised to see Dottie and Hillary together. Dottie had given Hillary a ride to the Estate after almost hitting her with a car. Tad explained everything that happened that day. That night, Hillary and Tad married in a small ceremony.
Married life proved to be very hard for the new Martins. Hillary was jealous of Tad’s relationships with other women. Tad could not help that Robin and new neighbor, Skye Chandler, all openly flirted with him in front of his wife. Robin confided in Tad Wade’s plans to marry Phoebe for her money. Tad did not know to what extent Wade would go to secure this. When he realized Wade intended on killing her, Tad immediately called Langley Wallingford to stop Wade. When Hillary learned Tad had known of Wade’s plans all along, she left him.
The last few years paid its toll on Tad. He needed to get away from all the reminders of his past. Tad made the difficult decision to leave Pine Valley again.

1988 : Upon returning to town, Tad realized how much Pine Valley had changed. Many of his old friends were no longer around. Knowing there was always a scandal to uncover, he opened his own Private Investigation firm.



1989 : Brooke Chandler hired Tad to find out who was the father of Dixie Cooney’s baby. Tad began following Dixie. When they finally came face to face in The Boutique, Tad was overwhelmed with a sensation he had not felt in a long time. He was in love. But Tad had to put his job first. He uncovered a sordid web of lies. Adam Chandler was the baby’s father. He had intended to adopt the baby with Brooke.
Dixie and Adam married, but Tad worried about her welfare. He teamed up with Skye to get to the bottom of Adams plot. Adam was going to convince Dixie she was going crazy. No one believed Tad. They all thought he was jealous because Dixie had chosen Adam over him. When Dixie was carted off to Laurel Hill, Tad knew he had to do something.
Along with the help of Cecily Davidson and Nico Kelly, Tad broke Dixie out of Laurel Hill. They went on the run until Tad could prove Adam’s guilt. When they returned for Pine Valley, Dixie successfully sued Adam for custody of her son, Adam “Junior” Chandler, jr.
Tad arranged for a special dinner at Cortlandt Manor. In front of their families, Tad proposed to Dixie in a chicken suit. Palmer threw them a lavish wedding.



1990 : Tad knew his marriage to Dixie was not going to work as long as Palmer had influence over Dixie. He made plans for them to move away from Pine Valley. But, Dixie was not ready to be separated from her family. Tad confided his growing marital insecurities in Brooke. He occupied most of his time working with her at Tempo.
Palmer hired Loretta Rutherford to claim that she and Tad had an affair. Dixie served Tad with divorce papers. That night, he turned to Brooke. They slept together. The next morning, both agreed it was only a one-night thing.
Billy Clyde Tuggle kidnapped Dixie. With Trevor Dillon and Derek Frye’s help, they tracked Dixie down to Billy Clyde’s cabin in the woods. After a police standoff, Tad slipped into the cabin and saved Dixie. Derek took a bullet for Tad as he and Dixie got away. Dixie admitted she never stopped loving Tad. They made plans to remarry that Christmas.
But, it was not all meant to be. On the day he was to marry Dixie, Billy Clyde lured Tad to a bridge. If he was not to have Dixie, no one would. After an altercation, Billy Clyde pulled a trigger that caused a nearby cabin to explode. Tad and Billy Clyde fell into the river below. Billy Clyde’s dead body was found on shore.
Tad’s body drifted down river. When Tad regained consciousness, he had no idea who he was. Tad hitchhiked on a vineyard truck and made his way out of Pine Valley.



1992 : Tad returned to Pine Valley under the guise of Ted Orsini, a wealthy Napa Valley Vineyard owner. For the last two years he had assumed Ted’s identity after hitchhiking his way to California. Suffering from amnesia, Tad arrived home with no memory of his past. Brooke discovered him while he was closing a business deal with Dimitri Marick at Wildwind.



1993 : Brooke confronted Tad who had no memories of his past. He wanted to hold off any reunions until he was sure about Brooke’s claims. Different pieces of his life in Pine Valley put together the fragments in his mind. Upon seeing his parents, Tad’s memories became intact. His final reunion was with Dixie. They shared a night of passion in the Napa Valley.
But a lot had changed in two years. Dixie had been married two times. Tad was now a father to Brooke’s child. Tad wanted to give Jamie a chance at a normal life. As much as it hurt, he left Dixie to marry Brooke.
Tad became jealous of Dixie’s relationship with the real Ted Orsini. Ted invited Tad on a hunting vacation in Canada. Ted planned to use this trip to rid himself of Tad. Ted was angry that his mother Nola Orsini had left the vineyards to Tad. Dixie found Tad before Ted could execute their plans. Together, they found their way out of the Canadian wilderness. Tad could no longer deny his feelings for Dixie. They fell into an affair.



1994 : Tad worried about Brooke. She was pregnant with his child. When he learned that Brooke was having an ecliptic pregnancy, she ran away, afraid that Tad would make her abort the child. When Tad could not reason with Brooke, he turned to Edmund Grey. Edmund found Brooke and convinced her to come back to Pine Valley for treatment. Still, Brooke miscarried. Brooke realized their marriage was over, and granted Tad a divorce.
Tad and Dixie were now free to marry. This time, Palmer opened his home to Tad and Dixie. They married in a lavish garden wedding.
But their happiness was short lived. Tad worried about Dixie’s brother, Del Henry. Del was in kidney failure, and needed Dixie’s kidney to save his life. Tad knew that any chances of them having a baby would be shot if she went through with the surgery. But before a resolution could be found, a tornado made its way to Pine Valley. At the Martin home, the tornado caused the ceiling to cave in on Tad. As Tad’s body lay near death, his spirit went to another realm.
Jenny and Nola Orsini greeted Tad’s spirit. Tad thought that he must be dead. He wanted to be with his loved ones, but Jesse Hubbard’s spirit made him see all that he would be leaving behind. It would be the site of Ray Gardner that shocked Tad into consciousness. He slowly began to recover with Dixie and his sons by his side.



1995 : Tad, Dixie, and Charlie planned a housewarming for the new Martin home. Tad recognized his mother’s severe depression and hoped that her old friends and families would help turn her mood around. To help his mother cope, Tad had to come to grips with his own demons from the night of the tornado first.
Dixie went through with the kidney transplant. Del made it out of the ordeal unscathed, but Dixie experienced many complications. The doctors told Dixie and Tad that they should no longer have children; less they risk Dixie’s life.
This only contributed to the growing tensions in the Martin marriage. Tad was consumed with his work as producer and host of “ The Cutting Edge.” He retired from Orsini Vineyards in hopes of increasing his time at home. While taking the boys on a camping trip, Tad lost track of Jamie. Jamie was swimming in the lake and began to drown. Before Tad could reach him, another person brought him out of the water. It was none other than Janet Green. Janet had been gas lighting Dixie by hiring an actor to impersonate her late brother, Will Cortlandt. Tad had unknowingly hired Janet as an accountant at Orsini while she went under the alias Jane Cox.
Tad hope his work on “The Cutting Edge” would give him an edge for the Station Manager job at WRCW. Tad was furious when he was passed up for the promotion. He was even more surprised to meet the woman who was hired. Liza was back, and now she was his boss. Though Tad was over Liza, it was apparent Liza was not over Tad. Before the year’s end, they shared a kiss.



1996 : Tad and Liza were driven to by The Cutting Edge’s increasing ratings. Tad invited Laurel Banning and Michael to the show to talk about homophobia in Pine Valley. Unknown to Tad, Jason Sheffield was in the rafters with a gun intent on killing Michael. He missed, instead fatally shooting Laurel. Dixie blamed Tad for the whole ordeal. Dixie accused Tad of turning the show into tabloid journalism for the sake of the ratings. Dixie kicked Tad out of the house.
Tad found his way to Liza’s apartment. Liza saw it as the opportune moment to reveal her feelings to Tad. In a moment of weakness, Tad slept with Liza.
Dixie wanted to give their marriage another go; but, too much damage was done. Marian played a tape to Dixie of Tad and Liza talking about their affair. Dixie confronted Tad with the truth. Tad admitted he was wrong for lying to Dixie. Dixie wanted Tad to promise that he would never hurt her again. When Tad could not make that promise, Dixie left him again. This time, she took Junior and left for Pigeon’s Hallow.
Tad left The Cutting Edge and pushed Liza away. He found comfort in Gloria’s arms. Gloria was the only person in Pine Valley that Dixie was still talking to.



1997 : Tad thought he had found love again in Gloria. But, she was hesitant to start a relationship based on his past reputation. Gloria also became intimately close with Dimitri. Tad believed that Dimitri’s intentions for Gloria were less than honorable. The breaking point came when Liza found out she was pregnant. Gloria wrongly assumed that Tad was the baby’s father and broke up with him. Gloria embarked in an impromptu marriage with Dimitri.
Edmund needed Tad’s help after Skye revealed that he was Madelyn Grey’s biological father. Dimitri was on the run in Hungary. Tad and Edmund were forced to infiltrate the country dressed as women. Upon arriving in Vadzel, Tad appealed to Gloria for help. Gloria read the court papers that proved Madelyn was Edmund’s child. She convinced Dimitri to turn over Madelyn to Edmund.



1998 : Gloria left Pine Valley after her marriage to Dimitri crumbled. Tad met Camille Hawkins, another Pigeon Hallow native. Camille claimed that Adam had killed her mother, Joy Hawkins. Tad investigated the story, and learned that Joy was in fact in hiding from Camille’s abusive father, Lee Hawkins. Camille learned that Lee had a greater plan for all the Chandlers. He was going to kill them in an explosion at Hayley Vaughan’s restaurant, Holidays. Camille was able to warn everybody to get out in time. She tried to disarm the device, but it still went off, killing her in the process. As Tad tried to help the survivors out of the ruble, he was greeted by a vision from his past. It was Dixie. She was back in Pine Valley.
Adam had temporary custody of Junior, now going by JR, after the threats Lee made on his family. Dixie had tried to avoid see Tad. After a while, it seemed like no time had passed between them. They spent most of their time trying to track down Palmer, who was on the run with Nazi artifacts. In New York, they were forced to come to terms with their residual feelings for each other. If they wanted to be together again, they would meet at the top of the Empire State Building at midnight. Tad arrived on time, but Dixie was nowhere to be found.
As a child, Tad remembered a time when Opal was able to escape Ray. They had gone to live with a man named Fred Dawson. Ray kidnapped Tad and used him to lure Opal back. Unknown to Tad, Opal had a son with Fred. His new brother, Adrian Sword, was the spy hired to find Palmer’s Nazi artifacts.



1999 : JR came to Tad’s home, distraught over something. Before Tad could find out what was wrong, Dixie arrived to take JR home. Liza found out that JR had viewed Dixie’s living will, a tape where she confessed that she was suffering from a chronic heart condition. The heart condition was what kept them apart in New York. Tad confronted Dixie with the truth. They admitted their feelings for each other and finally became a couple again.
Tad and Dixie remarried at the Valley Inn. JR’s closeness to Tad made Adam weary. He attempted to send JR to boarding school, but Dixie intervened. Adam retaliated by selling WRCW from under Tad. He was out of a job.
Liza turned to Tad after Marian imprisoned Adam in his safe room. Liza saw it as an opportune moment to make Adam pay by taking over Chandler Industries.



2000 : Liza blackmailed Adam into giving her power of attorney after learning he was responsible for hiring a gigolo to sleep with Marian. Liza and Tad took over Chandler Industries. Liza sent Adam to Oak Haven to think about what he had done. JR became distraught over thinking about his dad being trapped in a sanitarium. Dixie begged Tad to stop he plot for revenge after seeing what it did to JR.
Dr. David Hayward had fallen in love with Dixie. He recognized that Tad and Dixie’s love was unwavering. David teamed up with attorney Leslie Coulson to break them up. Leslie secretly had a crush on Tad since high school. David drugged Tad, along with all of the other guests at the IncredibleDreams.com launch party, with a drug named Libidizone. In a drug induced haze, Tad slept with Leslie. Realizing what he did, Tad made Leslie promise to never tell Dixie.
Tad did not realize that Leslie was mentally unstable until it was too late. Leslie began to stalk Tad. She even took out a room at the Valley Inn in their name.

2001 : Leslie revealed Tad’s infidelity to Dixie. She began her own affair with David. Tad tried to make Leslie admit to David’s part in the Libidizone drugging. When Tad spurned her advances too many times, Leslie kidnapped Dixie. She tried to force Dixie off the ledge of Tad’s office at Chandler Industries by threatening to hurt JR. Leslie was admitted to Oak Haven. With Jake’s help, Tad got his hand on a tape that caught David drugging the guests in Fidelity.
JR and Dixie reunited to deal with JR’s growing drug problem. Tad uncovered that JR was one of the victims of crime lord Proteus’ growing drug ring. When JR’s provider Sweeney was found dead, Tad was afraid JR had killed him. Tad went to Derek and took the fall for Sweeney’s death. Before he could be taken into custody, he went on the run. Tad received guidance from Jesse’s spirit who told him not to give up on his marriage and family.
Tad wanted David out of his family’s life. He signed Leslie’s release letter from Oak Haven if she agreed to admit to David’s role in breaking up his marriage. Instead, Leslie threatened to kill Tad if he did not leave Dixie. After Leslie was taken back into custody, Dixie told Tad they were over. She could not believe Tad chose his hate for David or his love for her.



2002 : Dixie petitioned Tad for a quick divorce. They flew the Caribbean, but their weekend quickly became a romantic getaway. Tad could not understand why Dixie would divorce him if they still had feelings for each other. Dixie then left town and broke all contact with Tad. Tad worried about his ex-wife and began a fruitless search.
Dixie finally told Tad what was going on. She was pregnant with his daughter. Afraid that he would make her abort the child, Dixie turned to David to find her a clinic. She was living in Switzerland and successfully made it to her third trimester. She wanted Tad to join her for the birth of their baby: Kate Martin. Tad got on the first flight. But before her arrived, Dixie lost control of her car and drove it off a cliff in the Alps. Dixie and Kate were dead.
Tad sunk into a deep depression that not even the boys could lift. Tad began to lean on Brooke. Edmund was concerned that Brooke was going to leave him for Tad again.



2003 : Tad pushed everyone away as he tried to deal with Dixie’s death. JR and Jamie had a falling out over Laurie Lewis. JR decided to leave town. The family Tad had created was falling apart.
Erica and Tad teamed up to blackmail Mary Smythe. Mary had just revealed that Greenlee duPres was Jackson Montgomery’s daughter. Tad uncovered that Mary was on the run for an affair she had in France with a teenager.
Tad found some solace in the arms of Simone Torres. Simone made Tad smile again. But Liza wanted Tad back. She finally divorced Adam, this time for the last time. Tad tried to juggle the two women, but Simone was not going to be second fiddle to anyone.
JR returned to Pine Valley with a surprise: he was married. When JR introduced his family to his new wife, Babe Chandler, Jamie was shocked to see the women he had just slept with the night before. The affair continued the boys’ estrangement. Tad was more suspicious of Babe. Tad began an investigation into Babe’s past. But, Tad was soon distracted by the sudden arrival of Babe’s mother, Krystal Carey.