Henry Carlson

Henry Carlson was a fictional character in the now-cancelled American Soap Opera Love of Life. He was played by actors Tom Shirley and Jack Stamberger. The role of Henry was the second role played by Tom Shirley, who had played ne'er do-well Senator Ed Deakins, in the show's earlier years.

Friendly father in-law

Henry was the owner of the Carlson Paper Company, a leading industry in the fictional community of Rosehill, New York. He was married to the somewhat snobbish, Vivian Carlson and with her, had a daughter named Gaye. Gaye was the first wife of Bruce Sterling. Through Bruce, or thought to be at first, she had two children, Barbara and Alan. Then, Gaye died in a car accident.

Meanwhile, a lawyer friend of Bruce's, Tom Craythorne, had introduced the recent widower to another friend, a woman named Vanessa Dale, a recent widow herself, from New York City. The two fell in love and married.

Henry grew to like Vanessa, because she was such a nice woman, as did his grandson, Alan, who needed a mother figure. Vivian however, thought it heartless for Bruce to remarry so soon after Gaye had died. Barbara didn't have any liking for Vanessa either, after she had told Bruce about Barbara's attempting to elope with a doctor she was in love with.

Meanwhile, some terrible secrets had come to light. Gaye, Henry and Vivian's so-called "sainted" daughter, was proven indeed to be anything but. She had had an affair with the headmaster of Winfield Academy, a private school that Bruce taught at. That affair produced Alan. When Van discovered this, she considerately had kept the info secret so people wouldn't get hurt.

However, the headmaster exposed the secret, because he was feuding with Bruce to gain custody of Alan. Henry and Vivian had found out about the sordid secret, and Vivian fell apart over it. Van, whom Vivian hated, stayed by her nemesis, during this horrible time, continually reassuring her. Vivian, amazingly, had found herself grateful to Vanessa for the unconditional support, and then Vivian became Vanessa's friend.

Henry found Bruce a job at the paper company, and the two had to contend with a swindler named Guy Latimer who was trying to steal a patent. They stopped him in due time.

Henry and Vivian remained in Rosehill, but wasn't seen much after 1971.