Caleb Nichol

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Caleb Nichol
Alan Dale as Caleb Nichol
First appearance	The Girlfriend (episode 1.06)
Last appearance	The O.Sea (episode 2.23)
Cause/Reason	Fatal Heart Attack
Information
Gender	Male
Age	60s
Year of death	2005
Occupation	CEO of the Newport Group
Family	Kirsten Nichol Cohen (Daughter), Hailey Nichol (Daughter), Lindsay Gardner (Daughter), Seth Cohen (Grandson), Ryan Atwood (Adopted Grandson), Sophie Rose Cohen (Granddaughter)
Relationships	Gabrielle (ex-girlfriend) Julie Cooper (ex-wife)
Episode count	35
Portrayed by	Alan Dale
Created by	Josh Schwartz

Caleb Nichol was a fictional character on The O.C.. He was portrayed by Alan Dale. He was a recurring character throughout the first season, joining the cast as a regular throughout the second season. His character is most well known for being the father of Kirsten Cohen, Hailey Nichol, and Lindsay Gardner.

[edit] Season 1

Caleb was one of the wealthiest people in Newport Beach, owning the real estate company Newport Group which owned a large amount of properties in Newport. He was portrayed as quite a suave businessman that was known for dishonest business dealings and practice. He also was somewhat controlling and manipulative, shown perhaps by the way he treated his daughter Kirsten who worked for him, who found it increasingly hard to please him and earn his approval. He did appear however to genuinely care for his children and was something of a prominent social figure. His relationship with his son in law, Sandy Cohen, was mixed, being particularly bad and resentful during season one to being somewhat of a mutual understanding in season two when Sandy helped Caleb with his legal troubles. At the end of the season, Caleb married Julie Cooper in an uneventful ceremony. Many suspected the union was for social and financial gain for both parties concerned, and proved to be a troubled marriage.

[edit] Season 2

With the Newport Group in deep financial debt, which began towards the end of Season 1, a long kept secret of an illegitimate child, Lindsay Gardner, came back to haunt him. He attempted to build a relationship with her at the start and at one point was intent on adopting her, but this relationship collapsed when he caved into Julie's demands for a blood test. The blood test confirmed Lindsay was Caleb's daughter, but Lindsay left with her mother shortly after. Caleb also developed a heart condition throughout season two as well, after having a confrontation with Ryan Atwood about Ryan's interference with his relationship with Lindsay. He also eventually ended his troubled marriage with Julie when he found out she had been having an affair with a man from her past called Lance, who released a pornographic video tape of Julie, humiliating both Caleb and her. Julie originally intended to kill him with poison after she found out she would not get anything from the divorce settlement as a result of not having been married to him for a year, a requirement stipulated in their pre-nuptial agreement. However at the last minute, she backed out but instead Caleb suffered a fatal heart attack. His death hit Kirsten very hard, pushing her already excessive drinking into full-fledged alcoholism. Despite Caleb's status in both the corporate and social world of Newport, it was later revealed that he was bankrupt, with massive company debts in the Newport Group and high interest loans and mortgages. Caleb left both Julie and Kirsten with no money, though he had intended in his will to divide his fortune and assets equally between them. In season 3, it is revealed that Caleb took Julie's suggestion of writing Kirsten an apology letter which is given to her at the reading of his will.

[edit] Family tree

• Kirsten Cohen (daughter)
  • Sandy Cohen (son-in-law)
    • Seth Cohen (grandson)
    • Ryan Atwood (adoptive grandson)
    • Sophie Rose Cohen (granddaughter)
• Hailey Nichol (daughter)
• Lindsay Gardner (daughter)
• Julie Cooper (widow)
  • Marissa Cooper (step daughter) (deceased)
  • Kaitlin Cooper (step daughter)

Caleb's late wife was mentioned briefly in some episodes such as The Best Chrismukkah Ever, however her name has never been revealed.

THE OC
EPISODES   |   CATEGORY   |   BROADCASTERS  |   SONGS  |   WEBSITE
Primary Characters	Ryan Atwood | Kirsten Cohen | Sandy Cohen | Seth Cohen Jimmy Cooper | Julie Cooper | Kaitlin Cooper | Marissa Cooper Caleb Nichol | Summer Roberts | Taylor Townsend | Luke Ward
Secondary Characters	Dawn Atwood | Frank Atwood | Trey Atwood | Taryn Baker | Lance Baldwin Rebecca Bloom | Carter Buckley | Gordon Bullit | Sophie Cohen Theresa Diaz | D.J. | Holly Fischer | Lindsay Gardner | Johnny Harper Alex Kelly | Charlotte Morgan | Hailey Nichol | Neil Roberts | Anna Stern Zach Stevens | Veronica Townsend | Oliver Trask | Kevin Volchok
Places	Newport Beach | Orange County | Chino | Berkeley | Providence
Music	Mix 1 | Mix 2 | Mix 3 | Mix 4 | Mix 5 | Mix 6
Related	Atomic County
Key Creators	Josh Schwartz | McG | Stephanie Savage | Allan Heinberg
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