COUPLE: Tom Hughes & Margo MontgomerySHOW: AS THE WORLD TURNS
RANK: 12
PLAYED BY:
Tom: Justin Deas, Jason Kincaid, Gregg, Marx, Scott Holmes
Margo: Margaret Colin, Hillary B. Smith, Ellen Dolan, Glynnis O'Connor
YEARS: 1980-2010
STORY:
Margo was a nurse when she arrived in Oakdale. She quickly became involved with the newly married James Stenbeck. Tom had moved to Sweden to investigate Stenbeck (Anthony Herrera) after Barbara Ryan (Colleen Zenk) dumped him at the altar to be with James. When Tom returned he became entangled in Margo's life in many ways, including forcing her mother, Lyla, to reveal that John Dixon was Margo's biological father. Tom began dating Margo's aunt, Maggie, but his attraction to Margo would soon become strong. Margo eventually freed herself from the clutches of James and got to know Tom better while working at his family's law firm. It wasn't long before they began a series of adventures around the world while investigating the notorious Mr. Big (Brent Collins) and his connection to James. On June 1, 1983, Tom and Margo called their friends and family to the park for an impromptu, come-as-you-are wedding which was both funny and poignant.
Tom and Margo would face many obstacles from third parties, their jobs and their children over the years. Some of the most memorable storylines involved the secret of Adam's father (Adam didn't learn Hal was his father until he was a teenager), Margo's rape, and Tom's affair with Emily. When AS THE WORLD TURNS ended in 2010 Margo and Tom were still happy and together, swapping houses with Margo's sister, Katie.
IMPACT:
Tom and Margo are special in multiple ways. First, no other soap opera couple that viewers saw fall in love and get married actually stayed together as long as they did without getting a divorce (on screen). They had been married more than 27 years when ATWT ended. Second, no other supercouple combination survived this many recasts and remained popular. Depending on which ATWT fans you talk to you might hear Deas/Colin, Marx/Smith, Holmes/Smith or Holmes/Dolan as their favorite Tom and Margo.
Both Deas and Marx won Emmy Awards for their work playing Tom (Deas also won five other Emmys for his soap work). Holmes received four Soap Opera Digests Awards nominations as the longest-running actor in the role. Smith garnered three Digest Award nominations for her work on ATWT (and later won an Emmy for her work in ONE LIFE TO LIVE and an Indie Soap Award for her work in VENICE). Dolan won the Digest Award in 1993 as Outstanding Supporting Actress and received an Emmy nomination that year as well.
If all that weren't enough, Deas and Colin were married in real life in 1988 and are still together to this day.
From Patrick Erwin (A THOUSAND OTHER WORLDS): Two characters that have stayed compelling through multiple actor changes. Tom’s structured, slightly stuffy lawyer and Margo’s headstrong, impetuous nature played wonderfully together. Tom’s patience and deep love for Margo kept them together when Margo made all the wrong decisions for all the right reasons.
CLASSIC CLIPS:
- Tom, Margo and Mr. Big (1982)
- "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful" (1986)
- Margo's rape (1993)
- Tom and Margo struggle to keep the truth about Adam a secret (1996)
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