In April 1981, AS THE WORLD TURNS and its sister soap, THE EDGE OF NIGHT, celebrated their 25th anniversaries. Cutting the cake here are William Johnstone, Eileen Fulton, Don MacLaughlin, Helen Wagner, Don Hastings and Kathryn Hays. William Johnstone hadn't appeared on the show for a few years, and Helen Wagner quit the show a few months after the anniversary as she was unhappy with her lack of airtime. Don MacLaughlin appeared infrequently after that and eventually was taken off contract as well.
Eileen, Don and Kathy had taken a backseat to the younger characters on the show, but would emerge stronger than ever in the Doug Marland renaissance years to follow (though the story was pretty darn good in the early 1980s as well, with the James/Barbara saga, Tom/Margo romance, Steve/Betsy/Craig triangle and Stewart sisters prominently featured).
The 25th anniversary seemed as good a place as any to feature on the show's last telecast day. I never would have guessed in 1981 that the show I'd been watching only for about a year or so would still be a part of my life nearly thirty years later. Except for my family and a handful of friends, nothing else has stayed in my life that long, and there will be a big void in my life after the show's conclusion today. Still, I like Marie Masters' quote in the excellent Soap Opera Digest tribute magazine which came out: "Don't be sad it's over, be glad that it happened at all."
I remember seeing this festive, fun-looking photo in my soap magazines from this time period. Thanks For Posting, Rob! :-)
ReplyDelete