Today in Soap Opera History (July 24)

On this date in...

1914: Actor Robert Emhardt, the original Mac Cory on ANOTHER WORLD, was born. He died on December 26, 1994.

1933: THE ROMANCE OF HELEN TRENT first went on the air in Chicago. It was the forerunner of many daily, 15-minute soap operas. The program lasted until June 24, 1960. During its 27-year run, three actresses played Helen--Virginia Clark and Betty Ruth Smith in Chicago, and later Julie Stevens in New York. HELEN had a following so intense that at the height of its popularity the show received 1,000 letters a week offering advice on her many problems.

1939: Radio soap opera THUNDER OVER PARADISE premiered on the Blue Radio Network. Laurette Fillbrandt starred.

1992: Reba McEntire guest starred on ONE LIFE TO LIVE (she also appeared on July 27).



1996: Former soap opera actress Catherine Ann Christiansen (ALL MY CHILDREN; ONE LIFE TO LIVE) was arrested and charged with plotting to have her husband killed. She would later be sentenced to a year in prison.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Jacqueline Brookes (ex-Beatrice, ANOTHER WORLD; ex-Flora, A FLAME IN THE WIND; ex-Miss Thompson, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Sister Mary Joel, RYAN'S HOPE; ex-Ursula, THE SECRET STORM) - 81
John Aniston (Victor, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Martin, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW; ex-Eddie, LOVE OF LIFE) - 78
Chris Sarandon (ex-Tom, GUIDING LIGHT) - 69
Sam Behrens (ex-Maxwell, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; ex-Gregory, SUNSET BEACH; ex-Jake, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Adam, RYAN'S HOPE) - 61
James Goodwin (ex-Kevin, ANOTHER WORLD; ex-Johnny, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Jerry, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 50
Kristin Chenoweth (April, GLEE) - 43
Elisabeth Moss (Peggy, MAD MEN) - 29
Anna Paquin (Sookie, TRUE BLOOD) - 29
Mara Wilson (ex-Nikki, MELROSE PLACE) - 24

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you would like to submit a piece of soap opera history for this daily column, please email it to [email protected].