Monday, May 5, 2014

Today in Soap Opera History (May 5)

1965: As the World Turns spin-off Our Private World premiered.
1985: Days or our Lives' John rescued Marlena.  1992: Another
World's Donna and John shared a kiss.  2004: The Young
and the Restless' Kevin flatlined.
"The whole past is the procession of the present."
- Thomas Carlyle

"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...

1948: On This is Nora Drake, Bob had disappeared from the hospital, and Nora knew that she was the cause of Bob's unhappiness. Peggy found him in the park, took him to his room and got him a prescription.

1948: On Claudia, Claudia (Patricia Ryan) and David (Richard Kollmar) waited for their new maid to arrive.

1965: Our Private World, a primetime spinoff of As the World Turns created by Irna Phillips and William J. Bell, premiered on CBS. Eileen Fulton's Lisa Hughes, one of lead characters in top-rated As the World Turns, left her home town of Oakdale and went to Chicago to forget all her sorrow and problems.

Our Private World stars Geraldine Fitzgerald & Eileen Fulton are
in the foreground. Also pictured:  Robert Drivas, Julienne Marie,
Nicolas Coster, David O'Brien and Sam Groom.
The twice-a-week series was the first attempt by a competing network to capture some of the popularity of Peyton Place, a primetime soap opera on ABC which was itself an attempt to copy the success of another show, the UK's Coronation Street.

The premiere of Our Private World received a Nielsen rating of 15.1, a 25 share of the audience. The second episode, which aired two nights later, only drew an 11.9 rating and 21 share. For that week, As the World Turns had an 11.1 rating.

1982: On General Hospital, Alan (Stuart Damon) accused Monica (Leslie Charleson) of trying to make him jealous after she got dressed up for her dinner date with Phillipe.



1984: Doris Hursley, who co-created daytime soap operas General Hospital and Bright Promise with her husband, Frank Hursley, died at age 85. Their daughter, Bridget Dobson, also wrote for daytime soaps and co-created Santa Barbara.

1986: On Another World, Catlin Ewing (Thomas Ian Griffith) married Sally Frame (Taylor Miller) despite Brittany's (Sharon Gabet) efforts to thwart the ceremony.

1986: On Days of our Lives, John (Drake Hogestyn) rescued Marlena (Deidre Hall).



1987: Alison Sweeney made her very first appearance in Days of our Lives, playing Young Adrienne in a flashback scene. Sweeney returned to the show in January 1993 as Sami Brady, a role she has played for over 21 years now.



1992: On Another World, John (David Forsyth) and Donna (Anna Stuart) shared a kiss.



2004: On The Young and the Restless, Michael (Christian LeBlanc) begged Kevin (Greg Rikaart) to "come back" after he flatlined in the hospital. The doctors revived Kevin and were optimistic he would recover.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
Lisa Blake Richards (ex-Sabrina, Dark Shadows, ex-Viki, Where the Heart Is, ex-Susan, One Life to Live) - 73
Frankie Michaels (ex-Tom, As the World Turns; ex-Tom, Our Private World) - 59
Gillian Wright (ex-Jean, EastEnders) - 54
Kurt Sutter (Showrunner, Sons of Anarchy) - 54
Darrin Dewitt Henson (ex-Ruben, Lincoln Heights; ex-Lem, Soul Food) - 42
Glen Wallace (David, Doctors; ex-Andy, Holby City; ex-Malachy, Hollyoaks) - 38
Vincent Kartheiser (Pete, Mad Men) - 35
Ian Virgo (ex-Phil, Doctors) - 33
Henry Cavill (ex-Charles, The Tudors) - 31
Clark Duke (ex-Dale, Greek) - 29
Adele (Guest Star, Ugly Betty) - 26
Taylor-Ann Hasselhoff (ex-Nurse, The Young and the Restless) - 24
Danielle Parker (ex-Emma, All My Children) - 12

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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