Rae Cummings

Rae Cummings is a fictional character on the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live. Linda Dano played the role from 1978 to 1980, from June 28 to November 1999, and from May 2000 to March 12, 2004.

Rae Cummings
One Life to Live character
Commercial bumper of Linda Dano as Rae Cummings
Portrayed by	Linda Dano
Duration	1978–1980 1999–2004
First appearance	1978
Last appearance	March 12, 2004
Classification	Former, regular
Created by	Gordon Russell
Introduced by	Joseph Stuart (1978) Jill Farren Phelps (One Life to Live, 1999) Jean Dadario Burke (All My Children, 1999) Julie Hanan Carruthers (Port Charles, 2000) Jill Farren Phelps (General Hospital, 2003)
Crossover appearances	All My Children General Hospital Port Charles
In-universe information Occupation Psychologist Newspaper columnist Radio talk show host Professor, Llanview University Profiler, Llanview Police Department Marriage counselor Parents Marcello Angelini[1] Myrtle Fargate Adoptive mother Sarah Washburn Spouse Karl Schweikart[2](1972–1977) Daniel Faulkner (1981–2000) Asa Buchanan (2002–2003) Daughters Skye Chandler Granddaughters Lila Rae Alcazar Aunts and uncles Claudia Connor Clive Cummings (adoptive) Clarisse Cummings (adoptive) First cousins Ceara Connor George Connor, Jr. Kevin Connor Patrick Connor Susan Connor Linda Connor Rebecca Connor John Connor

Casting and awards

Gretel Rae Cummings was originated by Linda Dano from 1978 to 1980.^[3][4] Dano went on to appear on CBS's As the World Turns and on NBC's Another World until that series' cancellation on June 25, 1999.^[5] On June 28, 1999, Dano returned to One Life to Live as Rae.^[6][5] Anna Stuart filled in for Dano on April 25, 2002.^[4] Dano was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Supporting Actress in 2003,^[7] and left One Life to Live on March 13, 2004.^[4][5]

After playing Felicia Gallant on Another World, Dano was not looking forward to playing a character named Gretel, which she felt sounded less glamorous. She and the producers of One Life to Live reached a compromise where Gretel would now be using her middle name, Rae.^[8] It was later revealed on One Life to Live that Gretel had stolen the credentials of a man named Ray Cummings, and had been practicing psychology without a valid license.^[8]

ABC crossovers

In a move designed to "entice viewers to tune into soap operas that they might not have usually watched," in 2000, then-president of ABC Daytime Angela Shapiro orchestrated Dano's concurrent appearance as Rae Cummings on the three other ABC daytime dramas at the time — All My Children, General Hospital, and Port Charles — in an extended crossover storyline, which was the first time a daytime character had appeared on four series.^[6][9][10]