Monday, October 28, 2013

Today in Soap Opera History (October 28)

1968: OLTL's Jim asked Price to assist with Carla's case.
1980: EON's Geraldine interrupted Raven's plans. 1985: DAYS'
Patch attacked Hope. 2010: GH's Mike appeared for the
final time.
"The man for whom history is bunk is almost invariably as obtuse to the future as he is blind to the past."
― J. Frank Dobie

"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...

1968: Joan Crawford made the second of four appearances on THE SECRET STORM as Joan Borman Kane, substituting for her sick daughter Christina.

1968: On ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Joe (Lee Patterson) told Anna (Doris Belack) about his feelings for her, which went beyond the boundaries of friendship. Meredith (Trish Van Devere) had left the hospital but nobody knew where she went. Karen (Niki Flacks) was the only person who saw Meredith leave, and Larry (Paul Tulley) was concerned since he and Meredith were supposed to be getting married tomorrow. Dr. Jim Craig (Robert Milli) told Dr. Price Trainor (Thurman Scott) about a patient, Carla (Ellen Holly), who had been receiving outside treatment. Jim wanted Price to assist him with Carla but he was unaware that Price was attracted to her as well.

1975: On RYAN'S HOPE, Delia (Ilene Kristen) intensified her efforts to make trouble for Frank. After Mary (Kate Mulgrew) found out that Delia destroyed the campaign headquarters, Delia convinced Mary that she wanted only good to come out of the campaign for Frank.

1978: On DALLAS, Lucy (Charlene Tilton) ran away from home and hooked up with bad seed Willie Gust (Greg Evigan).

1980: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Geraldine (Lois Kibbee) stopped Raven (Sharon Gabet) from kidnapping Jamey (James Noseworthy).



1980: Actor Leon Janney died at age 63. He played Eric Barrington in THE EDGE OF NIGHT and was the second Jim Matthews in ANOTHER WORLD.

1981: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Susan (Gail Ramsey) asked Alan (Stuart Damon) for an update on his divorce from Monica (Leslie Charleson).



1985: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Steve (Stephen Nichols) attacked Hope (Kristian Alfonso).



1985: On RYAN'S HOPE, Jillian (Nancy Addison) told Dakota (Christopher Durham) she couldn't remember anything after he found her lying on the pier.



1986: On SANTA BARBARA, Martin (John Wesley Shipp) almost hit Eden (Marcy Walker) during a confrontation.



1988: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Tom (Scott Holmes) and Margo (Hillary B. Smith) hosted a family gathering.



1991: On THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, Cricket (Lauralee Bell) was convinced Drucilla (Victoria Rowell) would make a great model.

1994: Mark Valley debuted as Jack Deveraux in DAYS OF OUR LIVES. He had previously played Father Pete in ANOTHER WORLD prior to DAYS.

2008: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Kate (Lauren Koslow) received her first chemo treatment.



2010: Ron Hale aired for the final time as Mike on GENERAL HOSPITAL before he retired. Hale broke the news of his retirement in an interview with We Love Soaps in July 2010: "I can’t totally go into it. But it’s the way the show is going, and that’s fine. It’s fine because I’m getting to the end of my long run in my own mind. Jill [Farren Phelps] knows this. I’m going to be moving on. Not tomorrow or anything. But I've had a great run there, and I’m ready to leave Southern California. I've gotta go find me a farm somewhere." Hale's longtime RYAN'S HOPE co-star, Ilene Kristen, is reprising the role of Delia Reid Ryan on GENERAL HOSPITAL today.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
Susan Harris (Creator, SOAP) - 73
Tom Fitzsimmons (ex-Price, LOVE OF LIFE; ex-Dr. Meeker, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 66
Annie Potts (ex-Gigi, G.C.B.) - 61
Julie Osburn (ex-Kathleen, ANOTHER WORLD) - 56
Mark Derwin (ex-George, THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER; ex-Ben, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Mallet, GUIDING LIGHT) - 53
Daphne Zuniga (Andrea, SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED; ex-Victoria, ONE TREE HILL; ex-Jo, MELROSE PLACE) - 51
Lauren Holly (ex-Julie, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 50
Sheryl Underwood (ex-Justice of the Peace, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 50
Chris Bauer (Andy, TRUE BLOOD) - 47
Lauren Woodland (ex-Brittany, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; ex-Anika, UNDRESSED; ex-Sara, SUNSET BEACH; ex-Janelle, PORT CHARLES) - 36
Matt Smith (The Doctor, DOCTOR WHO) - 31
Finn Wittrock (ex-Damon, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 29
Troian Bellisario (Spencer, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS) - 28
Lexi Ainsworth (ex-Kristina, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 21

Former THE EDGE OF NIGHT star Dennis Parker would have turned 67 today.  He died in 1985 at age 38.

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].

6 comments:

  1. Happy Birthday Lexi Ainsworth! I wish she would come back to GH. She is so beautiful. Big mistake GH getting rid of her cuz they thought she looked too young for a romantic relationship. Total nonsense.

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  2. I wish those early episodes of One Life To Live were available on youtube.

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    1. Me too. I was at Ms. Holly's place last year and she said she had an old reel-to-reel tape and went to look for it. I was so excited. But she couldn't find it that day. I'd love to see whatever it was at some point.

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  3. Still miss Lois Kibbee's Geraldine Saxon. Do not have actors or characters like this on soaps anymore.. Jeanne Cooper was probably the last.

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  4. You could add Erika Slezak to that list, but since OLTL is on indefinate hiatus I see your point. With that, I agree

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  5. Thank you for being a talent, Susan Harris. And Happy Birthday! The Golden Girls still stands up as a smart, wildly funny show, through most of its run.

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