Can anyone fill me in April Stevens? I know she was an older character.

Can anyone fill me in April Stevens? I know she was an older character.

April Stevens was the scheming blonde who came to Dallas to get money from either Casey Denault or it might have been Jaime Ewing brother (played by Dack Rambo). She went on to marry Bobby Ewing after Pam left town due to catastrophic injuries that led to her staying away for years. During a trip to europe, Susan Lucci killed April. This was when the show was at the bottom of the barrel.

Confusion reigns!!

Both Dallas and Y&R had characters named April Stevens.

Y&R was first. April is Heather's mother.She first came on around 79 played by Janet Wood.but was recast with Cynthia Eilbacher.She was a neighbour of Chris & Snapper Foster.I think she already had Heather and Paul was the father.April got involved with Greg Foster but ended up marrying Paul.

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She left town a few years later after discvering she had a long lost twin Barbara.

She returned in the 90's,having married the abusive Robert Lynch,whom she killed.Heather,then around 12 was unaware Paul was her father.

When Heather recently returned to town,April visited -now played by Rebecca Staab.

Confusion reigns!!

Both Dallas and Y&R had characters named April Stevens.

Y&R was first. April is Heather's mother.She first came on around 79 played by Janet Wood.but was recast with Cynthia Eilbacher.She was a neighbour of Chris & Snapper Foster.I think she already had Heather and Paul was the father.April got involved with Greg Foster but ended up marrying Paul.

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She left town a few years later after discvering she had a long lost twin Barbara.

She returned in the 90's,having married the abusive Robert Lynch,whom she killed.Heather,then around 12 was unaware Paul was her father.

When Heather recently returned to town,April visited -now played by Rebecca Staab.

I didn't know April had a twin! Interesting. Not that they seem to have any plan on resurrecting her character, but just did not know she had a twin. Anyone remmeber the s/l?

Excerpts from: Irwin, Barbara & Cassata, Mary. (1998). The Young and the Restless: Special Silver Anniversary Collector's Edition. Los Angeles, CA: General Publishing Group

1979

p. 55

Always one to help those less fortunate, Chris soon turned her attention to their new neighbor, April Stevens, who was only 19 years old and was raising a child alone. Chris intended to help April in any way she could.

1980

p. 61

Meanwhile, Chris was doing her best to be a good friend to April Stevens, who finally told Paul he was the father of her baby. Stunned, Paul made it perfectly clear he had no interest in April or their daughter. April's parents didn't know the father's identity, but felt that he should take responsibility and marry their daughter. April begged them not to interfere. To further complciate April's life, her mother, Dorothy, impulsively admitted she'd given up Arpil's twin sister for adoption when she was a baby.

With his marriage to Nikki at an end, Greg [Jill's brother, and Nikki's ex-husband] began to date April who, in turn, was beginning to feel more in control of her life. April decided not to put Heather up for adoption as she had considered doing. Greg was stunned to learn that his nemesis [i.e., rival for Nikki's affections], Paul Williams, was Heather's father, but came to the conclusion that even his long-standing resentment for Paul could not undermine his commitment to April.

1981

p. 64

When Heather became desperately ill, Greg put his own feelings aside and urged Paul to do the right thing. Greg thought Paul should marry April and give the daughter he shared with her a name before she died. Paul struggled with the decision, but finally agreed to marry April. Heather's condition improved, and Paul was beginning to accept his responsibilties as a husband and father. He put off going to school, got a second job, and tried his best to make ends meet. But once Heather was well again, April and Paul mutually agreed they would end their marriage. Paul, at least for the time being, did not stand in Greg's way when Greg said he wanted to pursue his relationship with April.

p. 65

Greg and Paul eventually squared off when Greg wanted to wed the still-married April. Paul wanted to be a father to Heather after all. Then, when April learned her twin sister was alive, she left Greg behind and set out with Paul to find her. They grew closer again. Peggy Brooks, in the meantime, became interested in Greg....It was clear April and Greg were separately prusuing new chapters in their lives.

Before too long, Paul and April would learn her twin's name: Barbara Ann Harding. April and Paul located Barbara in New York, but before they could connect with her, she was heading back to Chicago to interrogate her father, whom she hadn't seen in almost ten years. Barbara's father confessed that she'd been adopted--something she didn't know--and gave her the names of her biological parents: Dorothy and Wayne Stevens of Genoa City. Barbara headed there, and Dorothy and Wayne were shocked to learn that their new boarder, "Bobbie Smith" as she'd introduced herself, was actually their daughter. When Barbara met Paul, she wanted to have a relationship with him, but he told her he was married. He would soon learn that Barbara was April's sister.

1982

pp. 75-76

April's twin, Barbara, was at first reluctant to get close to her newfound family. But she did grow close to them, and had the means to support them comfortably. Dorothy and Wayne left Genoa City and moved with her to New York. April followed. She thought it would be good for Heather, who could go to the finest schools and have all of the advantages Barbara's money could offer her. April asked Paul for a divorce, and Paul agreed, hoping Heather would never forget him.

Paul then decided to take his life in a different direction and joined the polic force, which pleased his father....Carl was subsequently framed and suspended from the police force...Captain Frank Lewis believed Carl's case was related to department corruption, so he asked Paul to infiltrate the mob to find out...

1993

pp. 151-152

Mary Williams, forever meddling in her son's affairs of the heart, convinced Paul he should go to New York to check on April and his daughter--she was concerned about them. Paul was disturbed to see April's bruised face, and wasn't entirely convinced of the explanation that she gave him (that she'd been in a car accident) or that Robert Lynch was a good husband and father. when she admitted that Robert occasionally resorted to violence if she displeased him, Paul was outraged.

p. 157

Paul, now fearing for April's safety, convinced her to leave Robert and return with him to Genoa City on the pretext of visiting her mother. In Genoa City, Cricket and Paul introduced April to a domestic violence support group. April attended meetings but, fearing her husband might become suspicious of her long absence, she returned to New York after assuring Mary and Paul that Robert would never do anything to harm Heather. Even greater trouble was ahead for April, however, because Robert doubted her story that she was visiting her mother. This ordeal brought Cricket and Paul closer together [than they had been after Rainbow Gardens], and Paul admitted that he was developing feelings for Cricket.

1994

pp. 163-164

After April took another beating from Robert, she sought refuge in Mary Williams's home. A friend of hers at the spousal abuse group, fearing that April might decide to return to her abusive husband, gave her a gun for protection. When Robert learned that his wife was in Genoa City, he tracked her down. He'd almost convinced her to return with him to New York when they got into a violent argument, which, unfortunately, was how their discussions usually turned out. This time, however, he went too far and threatened the welfare of their daughter, Heather. April grabbed a letter opener and plunged it into Robert's back, killing him.

When April was arrested, Heather was brought back to Genoa City for the first time since her early childhood. She stayed with Mary, not knowing the kindly woman was her grandmother, or that Paul was her father. April's own heart-wrenching testimony and that of a doctor who treated her for injuries she'd claimed were from a car accident, but which were in fact caused by her husband's brutal beatings, led to a conviction of involuntary manslaughter and a five-year suspended sentence. April would also do community service to heighten the public's awareness of spousal abuse. She and heather returned to New York to get on with their lives.

Greg and Paul eventually squared off when Greg wanted to wed the still-married April. Paul wanted to be a father to Heather after all.

And this is the part that Lynn Marie Latham and company messed up completely during the story where Paul told Heather that he was her father. Paul made it sound like he didn't want to be a father and that was why April had decided not to tell Heather who her father was. But while Paul initially was a reluctant dad, he stepped up once he married April to legitimize their daughter, and he found that he did want to be a father after all. It was only when the Stevens family, including April, decided to move to New York with Barbara that Paul had to accept that his marriage to April had to end.

They could have explained Paul's statement to Heather as being a lie he told so she wouldn't blame her mother for keeping her from knowing her true dad, but they never really got into it during the brief time April came to town.

Excerpts from: Irwin, Barbara & Cassata, Mary. (1998). The Young and the Restless: Special Silver Anniversary Collector's Edition. Los Angeles, CA: General Publishing Group

1979

p. 55

1980

p. 61

1981

p. 64

p. 65

1982

pp. 75-76

1993

pp. 151-152

p. 157

1994

pp. 163-164

Ask and it is given! wow Mark! YOu really outdid yourself in the research dept. Thanks!

Wow Mark, thank you for this! I had no idea Rebecca Staab had played the role. Was the last actress unavailable?

Not sure if Cynthia Eilbacher was available or even considered.

If she was,the show could've have used flashbacks which would've been so cool.