Ross Marler
| Ross Marler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Guiding Light character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Jerry verDorn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1979–2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | March 19, 1979 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | October 11, 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Bridget and Jerome Dobson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Allen M. Potter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former, regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation |
Congressman Former Mayor of Springfield Lawyer Former Law professor at Springfield University Former Springfield District Attorney Former Candidate for Senate Former Co-Owner of WSPR-TV Former President of Spaulding Enterprises Former Partner in Los Tres Amigos | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ross Marler is a fictional character from the CBS daytime soap opera Guiding Light. The role was portrayed by Jerry verDorn, who joined the series on March 19, 1979 and remained with the series until October 11, 2005.
Casting
As portrayed by actor Jerry verDorn, the role of Ross was introduced to Guiding Light in 1979 by head writers Bridget and Jerome Dobson and executive producer Allen M. Potter. verDorn received Daytime Emmy Awards in the Best Supporting Actor category for his portrayal of Ross in 1995 and 1996. In June 2005, following twenty-six years in the role, verDorn was dropped to recurring status, and left the series altogether the following October. verDorn was subsequently hired by rival daytime series One Life to Live to take over the role of Clint Buchanan. In April 2006, verDorn's absence was addressed when Ross was killed in a plane crash offscreen.
Storylines
Ross Marler arrived in Springfield in March 1979 as an ambitious young lawyer, whose first case was to defend Roger Thorpe against allegations that he had raped his wife, Holly Norris. Ross made every effort to prevent Roger's conviction, but this was stymied by Holly's effort to murder Roger and Roger's subsequent attempt to fake his own death, Following the debacle of Roger's trial, Ross was approached by Mike Bauer, who offered Ross a position as partner in his law firm. Ross turned down Mike's offer and began pursuing Amanda Wexler, as Ross viewed her money as the perfect launching pad into a career in politics. With Amanda drawn to Ben McFarren, Ross sought the help of Amanda's mother, Lucille, to aid him in catching Amanda's attention. However, Ross also began spending time with Eve Stapleton, and a genuine relationship blossomed between the two. In June 1980, Ross's ex-fiancee, Vanessa Chamberlain arrived in Springfield, and caught up in the memory of old times, Ross has a one night stand with her. When Vanessa wanted to pursue the affair further, Ross refused to do so, and Vanessa staged a suicide attempt in order to gain his attention.
In 2006, Ross had scheduled a series of meetings with Alan-Michael Spaulding but on the way home to Springfield, the plane he was on crashed, killing himself and his assistant, Nicole Landers. While suspicion was aroused that Ross and Nicole were having a torrid affair at the time of their deaths, this was dismissed as rumour. Nicole was eventually discovered to be a private investigator that Ross had hired to search for his wayward nephew, Phillip. With this new information, suspicion grew that the cause of Ross's accident was intentional sabotage, and Rick Bauer revealed that Phillip had hired a mechanic to tamper with the plane in an effort to keep Ross off of his tail.
References
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