Today in Soap Opera History (November 8)

1965: DAYS OF OUR LIVES premiered on NBC.

"History is a vast early warning system."
― J. Norman Cousins

"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...

1965: On ANOTHER WORLD, Bill (Joseph Gallison) pressed Missy (Carol Roux) to marry him while they were at the Kopper Kettle, but she declined.

1965: On PEYTON PLACE, after the interrogation of Kim, Stella (Lee Grant) was called to the witness stand.

1965: Ted Corday's DAYS OF OUR LIVES premiered on NBC, starring Macdonald Carey and Frances Reid as Tom and Alice Horton.



Watch the rest of the first episode here.

Read "The Complete Story of DAYS" from 1965 to 1973 here.

1966: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Laura (Millette Alexander) confessed to the murder of Rick Oliver.

1968: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Nancy (Ann Flood) and Mike (Larry Hugo) consulted with police chief Phil Capice about Lee's (Tony Roberts) possible involvement in the Kurtz murder. When Nancy visited Lee's instructor at the art institute, she learned that Lee's work began to suffer right after the murder took place.

1976: Australian evening soap opera THE YOUNG DOCTORS premiered. It ran for 1,396 episodes until 1983.



1979: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Kim (Kathryn Hays) visited Lisa (Eileen Fulton) at The Willows.



1999: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Vicky McKinnon (Jensen Buchanan) was presumed dead in a plane crash.

2000: DAYS OF OUR LIVES celebrated its 35th anniversary with a musical montage.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
Alfre Woodard (Ruby Jean, TRUE BLOOD; ex-Betty, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES) - 61
Courtney Thorne-Smith (ex-Allison, MELROSE PLACE) - 47
Kamar de los Reyes (ex-Antonio, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) - 46
Bruno Gunn (ex-Rawley, GUIDING LIGHT) - 45
Parker Posey (ex-Tess, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 44
Joe Duer (ex-George, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Ralph, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Agent Morrison, PASSIONS) - 44
Gretchen Mol (Gillian, BOARDWALK EMPIRE) - 41
Matthew Rhys (ex-Kevin, BROTHERS & SISTERS) - 39
Azura Skye (ex-Fiona, AMERICAN HORROR STORY) - 32
Connie Fletcher (ex-Erin, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 30
Jessica Lowndes (ex-Adrianna, 90210; ex-Mandi, GREEK) - 25

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].