Johnny

Johnny was Marlena's foster child from 1980-82. He first came to live with Marlena and Don in late 1980, after they learned that he was going to be put in a state orphanage. Marlena met him when she and Don went to a fundraiser at the David Martin Clinic. He was one of the children who lived there. The boy had been abandoned by his mother and Marlena felt a kinship to him. Although she knew she could never adopt him, she devoted two years of her life to him, trying to help him. She gave him up when his mother came to reclaim him.

Foster Parents are: Marlena Evans and Don Craig

Since we don't know much about Johnny's family, we are instead including information about his life in Salem:

After Marlena met Johnny at the fundraiser, she started to volunteer at the clinic. She and Joshua Fallon were the only people who could get through to him. The more he took to her, the more she was sure she could help him, so she convinced Don to take him in. Marlena was told up front that she could not adopt him because there was no way to adopt him. No one knew where the mother was and she had not given up rights to Johnny. She was married to a man who abused both her and Johnny. She left Johnny so that the man wouldn't hurt him anymore. She never intended to permanently give up her son.

Johnny and Don never got along. Johnny was in a bad mood the day Don met him and Don was unsure of caring about a child after losing 2 of his own. When Johnny came to live with them, Don was on the road with Kellam Chandler's campaign so Johnny didn't see much of him and didn't have time to get attached. Don also was wary of taking in a kid with problems, as well as a kid who they couldn't legally adopt. He kept warning Marlena that his mom show up at anytime and reclaim her son. Johnny wanted Marlena and Joshua to be his parents, because they were the ones he got close to.

Also, Johnny really liked Kellam. He was the one who gave Kellam entry into the apartment the night he raped Marlena. Johnny, of course, had no idea that he was part of the reason for the crime.

Johnny was still with Marlena when she first met Roman, during the time the Salem Strangler was killing women. Johnny's mom came to reclaim him soon after Roman proposed to Marlena. She had divorced her abusive husband, remarried a good man and turned her life around. She decided to fight Marlena for her boy, but Marlena couldn't do that to Johnny. She gave him up and saw him from time to time (off screen) but he disappeared from the storyline shortly after.

Johnny was played by one actor, Jeremy Schoenberg.

Jeremy Schoenberg

Thanks to: Andrea Lehrer and Stacy Krugman for providing information on Johnny's time in Salem.

Return to The Children of Salem Page