Caleb Nichol

Caleb Nichol
The O.C. character
Alan Dale as Caleb Nichol
First appearance	"The Girlfriend" (episode 1.06)
Last appearance	"The O.Sea" (episode 2.23)
Created by	Josh Schwartz
Portrayed by	Alan Dale
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Entrepreneur Real estate tycoon
Title	Former: CEO of the Newport Group
Spouse(s)	Rose Nichol (wife; 2 children; deceased) Julie Cooper-Nichol (widow)
Significant other(s)	Renee Wheeler (affair [before pilot]) Gabrielle (ex-girlfriend)
Children	Kirsten Cohen (daughter, with Rose) Hailey Nichol (daughter, with Rose) Lindsay Gardner (daughter, with Renee) Marissa Cooper (stepdaughter, via Julie; deceased) Kaitlin Cooper (stepdaughter, via Julie)
Relatives	Seth Cohen (grandson, via Kirsten) Ryan Atwood (adoptive grandson, via Kirsten) Sophie Rose Cohen (granddaughter, via Kirsten) Sanford "Sandy" Cohen (son-in-law, via Kirsten) Summer Roberts (granddaughter-in-law, via Seth)
Residence	Newport Beach, California

Caleb Nichol is a fictional character on the FOX television series The O.C., portrayed by Alan Dale during the show's first and second seasons. Caleb Nichol is loosely based on Donald Bren, owner and Chairman of the Irvine Company, based in Newport Beach, California.

Character's background

Season 1

Caleb was one of the wealthiest people in Newport Beach (said to be the Donald Trump of the West Coast), owning the real estate company The 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 very controlling, manipulative, and deviant 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, or by the way he judged, and attempted to dominate the lives of everyone around him to fit his needs in a very contemptuous way. He did appear however to genuinely care for his children and was something of a prominent social figure. According to Kirsten, he has a very strong disliking for cilantro. In "The Girlfriend", the episode where Caleb first appears, Seth tells Ryan that like him(Ryan], his grandfather comes from a very humble upbringing. 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.

Season 2

Caleb becomes a main character in 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. Later he had a heart attack and slipped into the pool and died. His funeral was the biggest in the 4 years of the O.C., with every resident attending & giving speeches.

Season 3

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. In The Chrismukkah Bar-Mitzvahkkah when Seth is watching a video tape of his Bar Mitzvah when he was 13, Caleb's voice is briefly heard on the tape.

Nichols/Cohens/Coopers Family Tree

Nichols

• Rose Nichol (wife) (deceased)
• Hailey Nichol (daughter, with Rose)

Cohens

• Kirsten Cohen (daughter, with Rose)
• Sandy Cohen (son-in-law,via Kirsten)
• Seth Cohen (grand-son,via Kirsten)
• Ryan Atwood (adopted-grand-son,via Kirsten)
• Sophie Rose Cohen (grand-daughter,via Kirsten)

Coopers

• Julie Cooper (widow)
• Marissa Cooper (step-daughter,deceased,via Julie)
• Kaitlin Cooper (step-daughter,via Julie)

Other Relatives

• Lindsay Gardner (illegitimate daughter,with Renee Wheeler)
• Renee Wheeler (affair)