Today in Soap Opera History (August 28)

1968: Dark Shadows' Barnabas managed to lose track of both
Tom and Julia. 1984: Alice helped Days' Bo & Hope out of a
jam in New Orleans. 1998: James was happy David was
alive on ATWT. 2009: OLTL's Fish woke up in Stacy's bed.

"To believe what has not occurred in history will not occur at all, is to argue disbelief in the dignity of man."
- Mahatma Gandhi

"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...

1967: On Another World, Liz (Audra Lindley) was happy to hear that Bill (Joseph Gallison) suspected Madge of Danny's murder.

1967: Australian Broadcasting Corporation soap Bellbird premiered. It remained on the air until December 1977.

1968: On Dark Shadows, Julia (Grayson Hall) protected Tom Jennings (Don Briscoe) from a gun-toting Barnabas (Jonathan Frid). After Tom vanished, Barnabas went to the window to look for him. When he turned around Julia had escaped.

1972: Robert Clary debuted as Robert LeClair in Days of our Lives.

1979: On The Edge of Night, Paige (Margaret Colin) continued to blindly trust Tobias.



1984: On Days of our Lives, Alice (Frances Reid) helped Bo (Peter Reckell) and Hope (Kristian Alfonso) out of a jam in New Orleans.



1987: On Ryan's Hope, Rick (Grant Show) was upset with Ryan (Yasmine Bleeth) about the amount of time she had spent working on her story. The clip below begins with an ABC Daytime "Something's Happening" promo.



1998: On All My Children, Brooke (Julia Barr) considered a plea bargain offer. Junior (Jesse McCartney) was locked in a cage.



1998: On As the World Turns, James (Anthony Herrera) was thrilled David (Daniel Markel) was alive. Later, David showed up at his memorial service as Molly (Lesli Kay) was speaking.



2008: On The Bold and the Beautiful, Ann (Betty White) called Stephanie (Susan Flannery) and warned her Pam had been off her medication for three months.

2009: Lindsay Hartley debuted as Arianna Hernandez in Days of our Lives.

2009: Actor Wayne Tippit died at age 68. His soap roles included Palmer Woodward in Melrose Place, father of Heather Locklear's character, Amanda Woodward; Jerry Ames in The Secret Storm; and Ted Adamson in Search for Tomorrow.

2009: On ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Fish (Scott Evans) woke up in Stacy's (Crystal Hunt) after the two of them spent the night together.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
Ruby Holbrook (ex-Wilma, All My Children) - 84
Martin West (ex-Phil, General Hospital; ex-Don, As the World Turns; ex-Phil, Dallas) - 77
Ken Jenkins (ex-Pastor Neal, Beverly Hills, 90210) - 74
David Soul (ex-Roy, The Yellow Rose) - 71
Debra Mooney (Verna, Scandal) - 67
Russell Curry (ex-Tyus, Sunset Beach; ex-Carter, Another World; ex-David, Guiding Light; ex-Vic, Santa Barbara) - 58
John Allen Nelson (ex-Warren, Santa Barbara; ex-Jack, The Edge of Night; ex-Duke, Loving; ex-Walt, 24) - 55
Jim Fitzpatrick (ex-Pierce, General Hospital; ex-Dr. Robinson, Days of our Lives; ex-Raz, Santa Barbara; ex-Pierce, All My Children; ex-Danny, Capitol) - 55
Emma Samms (ex-Holly, General Hospital; ex-Fallon, Dynasty; ex-Fallon, The Colbys; ex-Elizabeth, Holby City; ex-Amanda, Doctors) - 54
Jennifer Coolidge (ex-Betty, The Secret Life of the American Teenager) - 53
J. Cynthia Brooks (ex-Taylor, Days of our Lives) - 52
Amanda Tapping (Helen, Sactuary) - 49
Jason Priestley (ex-Brandon, Beverly Hills, 90210) - 45
Daniel Goddard (Cane, The Young and the Restless; ex-Eric, Home and Away) - 43
Matthew John Armstrong (ex-Ted, Heroes; ex-Lee, The Young and the Restless) - 41
Rachel Kimsey (ex-Meredith, Days of our Lives; ex-Mac, The Young and the Restless) - 36
Kelly Overton (ex-Rain, All My Children) - 36
LeAnn Rimes (ex-Madison, Days of our Lives) - 32
Sarah Roemer (ex-Leila, The Event) - 30
Armie Hammer (ex-Gabriel, Gossip Girl) - 28
Kelly Thiebaud (Britt, General Hospital; ex-Alicia, Days of our Lives)
Samuel Larsen (ex-Joe, Glee) - 23

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you have a tip on a bit of soap history on this date or future dates, let us know. Send an email to [email protected]