Thursday, March 21, 2013

Today in Soap Opera History (March 21)

On this date in...

1912: Elizabeth Shay (later known as Betty Corday) was born. She was executive producer of DAYS OF OUR LIVES from from 1966 to 1987, semi-retiring in 1985 turning the show over to her son, Ken Corday. She died on November 17, 1987 at age 75.

1934: Actor Al Freeman Jr. was born. Known for his long run as Ed Hall on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Freeman died in August at age 78. Former OLTL co-stars Ellen Holly and Phylicia Rashad spoke a farewell tribute for the actor at Howard University. Rashad recalled filming with Freeman as "not like acting at all."

1952: On SEARCH FOR TOMORROW, Irene wanted to visit Keith, who was in critical condition at the hospital. But Victor felt that Irene had better not see Keith just yet. Meanwhile, Joanne (Mary Stuart) learned that another blood transfusion would be necessary in order to stabilize him. When Victor finally updated Irene on Keith's condition, she felt bitter because Joanne had the power to make all of the medical decisions for Keith.

1955: On VALIANT LADY, Mickey (James Kirkwood Jr.) read the letters Bonnie write to him that had never been mailed.

1955: On THE BRIGHTER DAY, Sandra (Diane Gentner) told Sharky to stop hounding innocent people.

1955: On THE INNER FLAME, after telling Portia of Walter's arrest, Dorie (Jean Gillespie) confessed her true feelings for him.

1955: On ONE MAN'S FAMILY, Claudia went to see Dr. Thompson to have her pregnancy confirmed.

1968: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Michael returned home and was shocked to realize that Claire was drunk. She proceeded to explain why this was so. Following her explanation about the real father of Lisa's baby, Claire threw Michael out of the house and said she never wanted to see him again. Later, Bob paid a visit to the house and found Claire passed out on the couch and in need of medical attention.

1969: On DARK SHADOWS, Magda read Rachel's palm.

1980: On DALLAS, J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) was shot in the episode titled "A House Divided."



1980: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Raven (Sharon Gabet) agreed to rekindle her affair with Elliott as long as he helped her kidnap Jamey.



1987: The 8,000th episode of DAYS OF OUR LIVES aired on NBC.

1994: Actor Macdonald Carey, who played DAYS OF OUR LIVES patriarch Tom Horton, died at age 82.

1994: Actor Dack Rambo (ANOTHER WORLD, DALLAS, ALL MY CHILDREN, PAPER DOLLS, NEVER TOO YOUNG) died at age 52. Check out our World AIDS Day tribute to Rambo here.

1997: On ANOTHER WORLD, Rachel (Victoria Wyndham) invited Carl to move back into the mansion.

2001: On PORT CHARLES, Arianna wanted Eve (Julie Pinson) to stay away from Ian.



2005: Amelia Heinle debuted on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS as Victoria Newman.



2005: Mexican telenovela REBELDE premiered.

2006: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Robin (Kimberly McCullough) found Patrick dancing with Carly, and then apologized to him.



2007: Marnie Schulenburg debuted as Alison Stewart on AS THE WORLD TURNS when Emily saw her sister in a porn video. Schulenburg had previously debuted in the role on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS and the web series L.A. DIARIES.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Kathleen Widdoes (ex-Emma, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Una, RYAN'S HOPE; ex-Rose, ANOTHER WORLD; ex-Jill, YOUNG DOCTOR MALONE; ex-Helen, SECRETS OF MIDLAND HEIGHTS) - 74
Duncan Gamble (ex-Ted, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Frank, CAPITOL) - 67
Gary Oldman (ex-Don, KNOTS LANDING) - 55
Kassie DePaiva (Blair, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; Blair, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Chelsea, GUIDING LIGHT) - 52
Rosie O'Donnell (ex-Loretta, QUEER AS FOLK, ex-Naomi, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 51
Julie Ronnie (ex-Laken, SANTA BARBARA) - 50
Vanessa Branch (ex-Paige, PORT CHARLES) - 40
Laura Allen (ex-Hannah, AWAKE; ex-Laura, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 39
Ryan Bittle (JR, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Logan, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-DAWSON'S CREEK) - 37

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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1 comment:

  1. Wow, I didn't remember that MacDonald Carey and Dack Rambo died on the same day.

    ReplyDelete