Today in Soap Opera History (December 11)

1968: Susan Seaforth debuted on Days of our Lives as Julie.
1979: ATWT's Lisa faced off with Hester at The Willows.
1995: Another World's Donna sang to a suspicious Matt.
1998: Brooke's Bedroom made it's debut on B&B.

"Most of us spend too much time on the last twenty-four hours and too little on the last six thousand years."
― Will Durant

"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...

1957: On The Edge of Night, Peter Dalton (Stephen Elliott) won the election by a landslide.

1968: Susan Seaforth (Hayes) debuted as Julie Olson in Days of our Lives. She has been nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards for her work on the soap. Check out our 2010 in-depth interview with Mrs. Hayes and her husband and Days co-star, Bill Hayes.

1974: On Another World, Iris (Beverlee McKinsey) informed Louise (Anne Meacham) that Liz was moving in with them.

1979: On As the World Turns, Lisa (Eileen Fulton) had one final showdown with Hester (Ann Stanchfield) as her story at The Willows concluded.



1979: On Another World, Eileen Simpson Perrini (Vicky Dawson) died.

1984: Actor Richard McMurray died at age 68.  He played Dr. Mel Bailey in Days of our Lives in the late 1960s and 1970s.

1986: Actor Paul Keenan (Todd Chandler, Days of our Lives; Tony Driscoll, Dynasty) died at age 31 due to complications from the AIDS virus. Check out our recent World AIDS Day tributes here, which also includes actor Tom Fuccello, who was born 78 years ago today.

1991: On The Young and the Restless, Paul (Doug Davidson) was upset when he woke up in bed with Lauren (Tracey E. Bregman).

1995: On Another World, Donna (Anna Stuart) sang "Someone Like You" to Matt (Matt Crane).



1995: On All My Children, Julia (Sydney Penny) was chloroformed by Louie Greco (John Millard), who then carried her out of Noah's apartment.



1995: On One Life to Live, Blair (Kassie DePaiva) told Viki (Erika Slezak) that she was pregnant, and Todd wasn't the father. Meanwhile, Patrick (Thorsten Kaye) tried to convince Marty (Susan Haskell) they could still work things out in spite of the baby.



1998: On The Bold and the Beautiful, Forrester Creations held a press conference to launch the company's new Brooke's Bedroom division. But Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) had her own ideas on how to launch the line bearing her name, so she crashed her own party!



Thanks to FoxCrane for sending in the item above.

2000: Actor David Lewis died at age 84.  He was nominated for five Daytime Emmy Awards during his run on General Hospital as Edward Quartermaine, winning in 1982.

2003: Heather Tom debuted as Kelly Cramer in One Life to Live.

2009: All My Children taped for the final time in New York City.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Rita Moreno (ex-Sister Peter Marie, Oz) - 83
Steven Karpf (Co-Creator, Capitol; Writer, Dynasty) - 75
Patrick Tovatt (ex-Cal, As the World Turns; ex-Zane, Another World; ex-Matt, Search for Tomorrow; ex-Chuck, Guiding Light; ex-Richard, Ryan's Hope) - 74
Donna Mills (Madeline, General Hospital; ex-Abby, Knots Landing; ex-Sherry, Melrose Place; ex-Laura, Love is a Many Splendored Thing; ex-Rocket, The Secret Storm) - 74
Jermaine Jackson (Guest Star, As the World Turns) - 60
Randy Reinholz (ex-Adam, Days of our Lives) - 53
Max Martini (ex-Koz, Crisis; ex-Frank, Revenge) - 45
Jesse Davis (ex-Eric, Days of our Lives) - 30
Jessica Davis (ex-Sami, Days of our Lives) - 30

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you would like to submit a soap history entry for this date or a future date, email [email protected].