Today in Soap Opera History (July 4)

On this date in...

1926: Legendary actress Mary Stuart was born. She died in February 2002.  She was best known for playing Jo on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW for its entire 35 year run, and later for the role of Meta Bauer on GUIDING LIGHT which she played until her death.

1955: BACKSTAGE WIFE switched networks moving from CBS Radio to NBC Radio.

1980: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Molly caused a commotion when she heard Emily and April (Terry Davis) sharing similar stories about Draper.



1983: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Bo (Peter Reckell) and Hope (Kristian Alfonso) shared their first kiss in a kissing booth.



1984: On GUIDING LIGHT, the Bauers held their annual Bauer Barbecue.



1985: Louan Gideon debuted as Liza Sentell in SEARCH FOR TOMORROW.

1988: On GUIDING LIGHT, Fletcher (Jay Hammer) and Maeve were married.



1989: On ANOTHER WORLD, Cass (Stephen Schnetzer) and Frankie (Alice Barrett) helped Stacey moved into her new apartment.



1996: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Adam worried about whether or not he would ever see his missing brother, Casey, again. Meanwhile, Margo (Ellen Dolan) organized a search for Casey.

2000: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Chloe (Nadia Bjorlin) revealed her new look.



2001: ONE LIFE TO LIVE aired a special "Trading Places" episode.



2002: On THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, Bridget threw Deacon (Sean Kanan) out after Hope's birth.



2002: Eric Braeden celebrated the 4th of July by riding in a parade.



2002: ONE LIFE TO LIVE aired its special "Babes Behind Bars" episode.



2003: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Carly (Maura West) revealed to Jack (Michael Park) that he was Sage's father.



2007: On PASSIONS, Ethan (Eric Martsolf) prevented the blackmailer from committing suicide.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
Gina Lollobrigida (ex-Francesca, FALCON CREST) - 86
Signy Coleman (Sharon, RIVER RIDGE; ex-Hope, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS;ex-Annie, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Celeste, SANTA BARBARA) - 53
David Joyner (ex-Keith, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 50
Scott Major (Lucas/ex-Darren, NEIGHBOURS; ex-Murray, HOME AND AWAY) - 38
Andrea Gabriel (ex-Nadia, LOST; ex-ANOTHER WORLD; ex-ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-GUIDING LIGHT) - 35
Becki Newton (ex-Amanda, UGLY BETTY; ex-Fantasy Daughter, GUIDING LIGHT) - 35

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you have a tip on a bit of soap history on this date or future dates, let us know. Send an email to [email protected]