Saturday, November 17, 2012

Today in Soap Opera History (November 17)


On this date in...

1925: Actor Rock Hudson was born (his birth name was Roy Harold Scherer Jr.). In the 1984-1985 season he played Daniel Reece in DYNASTY. Hudson began having health problems in the early 1980s. After years of heavy smoking, he underwent quintuple bypass heart surgery in 1981. His health continued to decline when, three years later, he announced that he was dying from AIDS. Because Hudson was the first celebrity to publicly acknowledge his suffering from the disease, his illness changed the overwhelming perception of AIDS and brought new attention to the epidemic. Tragically, Hudson died of the disease on October 2, 1985 in Beverly Hills, California. His remains were cremated and scattered at sea.



1964: On ANOTHER WORLD, Ken (William Prince) assured Laura (Augusta Dabney) they would put their life in order.

1979: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Steve (Denny Albee) confessed to Deborah (Frances Fisher) that he still loved her.



1981: Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura's (Genie Francis) wedding concluded on GENERAL HOSPITAL. After Scott (Kin Shriner) caught Laura's bouquet, he got into a huge fight with Luke. Elizabeth Taylor guest starred as Helena Cassadine.



1986: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Steve (Frank Runyeon) and Betsy (Lindsay Frost) were at odds.



1986: On ANOTHER WORLD, Michael (Kale Browne) and Donna (Anna Stuart) were married.



1987: Actress and producer Betty Corday died at age 75. She was as a producer for PEPPER YOUNG'S FAMILY and YOUNG DOCTOR MALONE, and a consultant for THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. In 1965, she created DAYS OF OUR LIVES with her husband, Ted. When he died of cancer a year later, she took over production of the show. Their son, Ken Corday, became executive producer of DAYS along with his mother in 1986.

At the end of the December 17 episode of DAYS, original cast members Macdonald Carey (Tom) and Frances Reid (Alice) paid tribute to Betty Corday.



1989: On GUIDING LIGHT, Phillip (Grant Aleksander) pleaded with Rick (Michael O'Leary) to believe him.



1995: On ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Dorian (Robin Strasser) had a heart-to-heart chat with Viki (Erika Slezak) about Victor.



1998: Actress Esther Rolle, best known for her role as Florida Evans in GOOD TIMES (and MAUDE), died at age 78.  In 1971 she played Sadie Gray on ONE LIFE TO LIVE when Lillian Hayman was unavailable.

1998: Actor Dick O'Neill died at age 70.  He played Fred Wilkinson in FALCON CREST in 1987.  A year later he guest starred in KNOTS LANDING.

2008: Actor John Napier, who played Cliff Williams in SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, died at age 81.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Lauren Hutton (ex-Linda, CENTRAL PARK WEST; ex-Liz, FALCON CREST; ex-Colette, PAPER DOLLS) - 69
James O'Sullivan (ex-Jerry, SOMERSET; ex-Jeff, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Ralph, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW; ex-Pete, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) - 68
William R. Moses (Morgan, THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER; ex-Cole, FALCON CREST; ex-Keith, MELROSE PLACE) - 53
Dylan Walsh (ex-Sean, NIP/TUCK) - 49
Daisy Fuentes (ex-Tess, LOVING) - 46
Leslie Bibb (ex-Amanda, GCB) - 38
Darian Weiss (ex-Will, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) - 20

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].

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