Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Today in Soap Opera History (September 25)

1970: ABC aired the final episode of THE BEST OF EVERYTHING.
1984: AMC's Tad was celebrated at his bachelor party.
1996: DAYS' Sami and Austin married. 1998: OLTL's Bo grieved
his son, Drew.
"In history, a great volume is unrolled for our instruction, drawing the materials of future wisdom from the past errors and infirmities of mankind."
― Edmund Burke

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1970: ABC aired the final episode of THE BEST OF EVERYTHING, a short-lived ABC soap opera that had only premiered on March 30, along with A WORLD APART, which ran until June 25, 1971. Based on the novel and 1959 motion picture of the same name, THE BEST OF EVERYTHING focused on three career girls who became friends at powerful Manhattan publishing company Key Publishing. April Morrison (Julie Mannix, who was later replaced by Susan Sullivan), Linda Warren (Patty McCormack), and Kim (Katherine Glass) soon discovered that achieving "the best of everything" was a difficult prospect, as they faced romance, intrigue, and publishing magnate Amanda Key (Gale Sondergaard) in the Big Apple.

Also starring in the cast were Geraldine Fitzgerald as Violet Jordan, Rochelle Oliver as Barbara Lamont, and Gwenn Mitchell as Ginnie Curtis, and Gregory Rozakis as Squirrel.



1979: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Lisa (Eileen Fulton) weighed in on Tom's (Tom Tammi) developing romance with Barbara (Colleen Zenk).



1984: On ALL MY CHILDREN, Tad (Michael E. Knight) was "a jolly good fellow" at his bachelor party.



1988: Actor Francis De Sales died at age 76. He played Rusty Lincoln in DAYS OF OUR LIVES in the 1960s and returned in 1971 to play James Spencer.

1996: Sami (Alison Sweeney) and Austin (Austin Peck) were married on DAYS OF OUR LIVES.



1998: On ONE LIFE TO LIVE, friends and family paid their condolences to Bo (Robert S. Woods) after his son, Drew, died.



2011: DIRTY SOAP premiered on E!

2012: Entertainer Andy Williams died age age 84. In 2007 he appeared and sang as a special guest star on AS THE WORLD TURNS when Jennifer Landon's Gwen (plus her look-a-like Cleo) and friends headed to Branson.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Barbara Walters (Former host of the Daytime Emmy Awards) - 84
Josh Taylor (Roman/ex-Chris, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Jed, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; ex-Quint, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Jack, BEVERLY HILLS, 90210) - 70
Mark Hamill (ex-Kent, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 62
Tommy Norden (ex-Gary, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW) - 61
Eduardo Yáñez (Jose, AMORES VERDADEROS; ex-Juan, CORAZON SALVAJE) - 53
Heather Locklear (ex-Amanda, MELROSE PLACE; ex-Sammy Jo, DYNASTY) - 52
Shell Danielson (ex-Dominique, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Laken, SANTA BARBARA; ex-Bunny, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 51
Matt Battaglia (ex-J.L., DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Drew, QUEER AS FOLK) - 48
Hal Sparks (ex-Michael, QUEER AS FOLK) - 44
Matthew Dale (ex-Ian, HOME AND AWAY) - 44
Justin Carroll (ex-David, PASSIONS)
Nikos Psarras (ex-Robert, GUIDING LIGHT) - 42
Clea DuVall (ex-Wendy, AMERICAN HORROR STORY) - 36
Hunter Garner (ex-Billy, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 34
Van Hansis (Thom, EASTSIDERS; ex-Luke, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 32
Sarah Jayne Dunn (ex-Mandy, HOLLYOAKS) - 32
Alexis Manta (ex-Amanda, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 24
Megan Corletto (ex-Abigail, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) - 21
Ashlyn Messick (ex-Belle, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) - 20
Kayley Messick (ex-Belle, 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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