Friday, June 6, 2014

Today in Soap Opera History (June 6)

"History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies."
- Alexis de Tocqueville

"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...

1938: Local New York City radio soap opera Stella Dallas began airing nationwide on NBC Radio. Young Widder Brown premiered on NBC Radio as well. Both were part of the network's afternoon lineup.

1944: On the first day of the Invasion of Normandy (D-Day), the CBS Radio lineup of soap operas kept listeners updated on what happened.

10:00 a.m. Valiant Lady. General Mills. Joan and Tubby are suspected of smuggling.
10:30 a.m. The Open Door. Royal Puddings and Gelatins. John and Rennie Merrick quarreled over whether their parents should re-marry. Listen below.

10:45 a.m. Bachelor's Children. Wonder Bread. Ruth Ann cried over "Joan Gray," a fictitious ex-girlfriend of Dr. Bob's.
11:00 a.m. Amanda of Honeymoon Hill. Phillips Milk of Magnesia. Jeanette regretted mailing a letter to her husband.
11:15 a.m. Second HusbandDr. Lyons Tooth Powder. A rebellious Fran has moved in with show producer Elsa King.
11:45 a.m. Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories. Spry All-Vegetable Shortening. Jim Abbott stood to inherit a fortune, but only if he agreed to a very unusual condition.
12:15 p.m. Big Sister. Rinso. Beautiful Hollis Travers declared her passionate love for John.
12:30 p.m. The Romance of Helen Trent. Benefax Multivitamins. Helen delivered an ultimatum to Gil-- marry me now or never.

1966: Art Wallace's final draft of the script for the first episode of Dark Shadows was completed.

1974: Wesley Eure debuted as Mike Horton on Days of our Lives. Three months later he debuted on another series, Land of the Lost.

1979: On Ryan's Hope, Poppy continued to cause trouble between Faith and Tom.



Thanks to Jennifer for sending in the item above.

1988: On Days of our Lives, Alice (Frances Reid) was surprised to find out Tom (Macdonald Carey) was a poet.



1992: Knots Landing actor Larry Riley died at age 39.

1994: On Another World, Cass (Stephen Schnetzer) imagined Frankie (Alice Barrett) and Morgan (Grayson McCouch) kissing.



1996: On All My Children, Jonathan (Michael Sabatino) was desperate to gain access to Janet's safe deposit box.



2000: On The Young and the Restless, Diane (Alex Donnelley) told Victor (Eric Braeden) she was pregnant.

2002: Aiden Turner debuted on All My Children in the role of Aidan Devane.

2004: On Guiding Light, at the hospital Rick (Michael O'Leary) pleaded with Michelle to wake up.



2005: Former Guiding Light and Dark Shadows actor Dana Elcar died at age 77.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Michael Hadge (ex-Buzz, Dark Shadows) - 82
Sandra Bernhard (ex-Charlotte, The L Word) - 59
Danny Webb (ex-Gavin, Brookside) - 56
Josie Lawrence (ex-Manda, EastEnders) - 55
Jason Isaacs (ex-Michael, Awake) - 51
Max Casella (ex-Leo, Boardwalk Empire; ex-Benny, The Sopranos) - 47
Tamara Davies (ex-Amy, Port Charles; ex-Tricia, The Bold and the Beautiful) - 42
Sonya Walger (ex-Penelope, Lost) - 40
Danny Strong (ex-Jonathan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer; ex-Doyle, Gilmore Girls) - 40
Johnny Pacar (ex-Damon, Make It or Break It) - 33
Philip McGinley (ex-Tom, Coronation Street) - 33
Gemma Bissix (ex-Clare, Hollyoaks; ex-Clare, EastEnders) - 31
Daniel Logan (ex-Ben, Shortland Street) - 27

1 comment:

  1. everyday these spark some childhood memory - today's memory - it totally confused me as kid that Wesley Eurie was on Days and Land of the Lost at the same time but somehow I understood that Marlena and ElectraWoman were different.

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