A staple on daytime drama throughout soap opera history is the teen heroine with whom young female viewers can identify. That’s one reason Lily Walsh (played the longest by two-time Emmy-winner Martha Byrne) was so popular over the years on As the World Turns!
Hold On, Dusty
Lily came to Oakdale with her helicopter mother, Lucinda Walsh, in the mid-1980s. She shared a teen romance with good guy Dusty Donovan but felt an immediate attraction to brooding stable boy Holden Snyder. Holden and his sister Meg set out to win, respectively, Lily and Dusty for themselves.
Lily blasted Meg for her duplicity, but Meg fired back that Lily didn’t really care for Dusty since she was crazy in love with Holden, who in time, grew to develop true feelings for Lily. Meanwhile, the troubled teen developed a strong friendship with Meg’s older sister, Iva, not knowing that Iva was her birth mother.
Mother’s Daze
Iva blurted out to Lily that she was her mother after mistakenly assuming that her birth father Rod Landry (AKA Josh Snyder) was attacking her. Lily ran away with Holden but dumped him after finding out he knew about her parentage. She made love to Dusty, but their relationship ended after he moved to Europe. Lily had a fling with Holden’s brother Caleb but then wed Derek Mason on the rebound.
A New Look
Lily left Oakdale after surviving an explosion that took Derek’s life (her greedy father-in-law, Niles, tried to off Lily so Derek would inherit her millions). Lily came home with plastic surgery and a much tougher edge. She got into business, but she felt threatened by Angel Lange, Holden’s new wife. Holden and Angel eventually split. Lily and Holden were wed in a beautiful church ceremony surrounded by family and friends.
The Honeymoon’s Over
Holden was mugged and had the part of his brain responsible for memory removed during surgery before he could tell Lily he’d impregnated Julie Wendall. Lucinda discovered Holden was alive but chose to keep this news from Lily. She left town over the betrayals, got plastic surgery, and wed Damian Grimaldi on the rebound.
Lily “divorced” Lucinda over her meddling but of course, they eventually reconciled. Miraculously, some of Holden’s memories returned. He helped deliver Lily’s son, Luke, when she went into labor. Lily’s unbalanced mother-in-law, Orlena, kidnapped and drugged her. Orlena fell to her death, bringing Lily some relief.
Diggin’ Diego
Lily was convicted of killing Diego on their wedding day after finding out he was the man responsible for Damian’s plane crashing. Next, Holden returned with his memory restored. He and Lily made plans to marry, but they were thwarted when Holden learned he had a teen daughter, Abigail.
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Damian turned up alive, but Lily wed Holden anyway. Next, she was kidnapped by David, the deranged lawyer, who prosecuted her for Diego’s death. Lily learned that the daughter she was raising really belonged to Andy Dixon and Denise Maynard. Lily and Holden regained custody of their daughter, Faith.
By Any Other Name
Lily learned she was a twin and her sister was a woman named Rose D’Angelo, a nightclub performer in Atlantic City. Nefarious Simon wanted a diamond that Rose had. Celia, Simon’s unbalanced sister, kidnapped Lily.
Simon turned good guy and rescued her, but they ended up marooned on an island. Holden arrived to rescue Lily just as she was giving Simon a comforting kiss after Celia died. Lily managed to forgive Rose for taking over her life in Oakdale and gave birth to a third child, Natalie.
The Bloom Is Off The Rose
Rose was poisoned on her wedding day to Paul and died. A devastated Lily assumed her sister’s persona to deal with her passing. Dusty returned, saving Lily’s life. Thinking Luke had a hand in Julia’s death, Lily confessed to the murder. Nefarious Keith blackmailed Lily into marriage in exchange for a kidney that would be given to Luke. Keith released Lily from her vows, letting her and Holden marry once more.
My Gay Son
Lily encouraged her questioning son, Luke, to go through conversion therapy after Luke said he was gay. Luke and Lily struggled. She fell down some stairs and into a coma during which time Lily’s son with Holden, Ethan, was delivered by caesarian. Next, Craig coerced Lily into signing over her mother’s company to him! Holden and Lily split after she tried to help Dusty when he was accused of murder.
Perils Of Pauline
Lily went on to encounter endless drama in her life. Pill addiction, more kidnapping…her life was never dull. But then Lily faced perhaps the greatest crisis ever when her portrayer, Byrne, was recast with Noelle Beck, who played out Lily’s last few years before the show was canceled.
Lily made peace with Lucinda, who handed over Worldwide to her daughter so that she could travel with John. While Holden and Lily didn’t fully reunite when the world stopped turning, they left the door open to a possible future together.
Video Credit: Garrett
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