Today in Soap Opera History (March 9)

1981: Another World's Cecile announced she had married Jamie.
1987: One Life to Live's Tina went over a waterfall to her "death"
in Argentina. 1987: Another World's Donna & Michael married.
2007: Ashley Abbott showed up on The Bold and the Beautiful.

"Mankind are so much the same, in all times and places, that history informs us of nothing new or strange in this particular. Its chief use is only to discover the constant and universal principles of human nature."
― David Hume

"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...

1953: On Love of Life, nine-year-old Ben "Beanie" Harper (Dennis Parnell) and his roommate planned to escape from the boarding school. Note: Christopher Reeve played Ben as an adult.



Thanks to Jennifer for sending in the item above.

1970: On Dark Shadows, Carolyn Stoddard (Nancy Barrett) told Jeb Hawkes (Christopher Pennock) she could not go through with the wedding.

1976: On Another World, Mac (Douglass Watson) and Ada (Constance Ford) were devastated when Dave told them Rachel's baby boy didn't survive the operation.

1979: On Dallas, Lucy Ewing (Charlene Tilton) became engaged to Kit Mainwaring (Mark Wheeler), who later admitted to her that he was gay.



1981: On Another World, Cecile (Susan Keith) announced she and Jamie (Richard Bekins) were married during Blaine's housewarming party.



Thanks to Jennifer for sending in the clip above.

1981: On General Hospital, Jeff (Richard Dean Anderson) was unhappy with the prospect of Heather being treated as an outpatient.



1987: On Another World, Michael Hudson (Kale Browne) and Donna Love (Philece Sampler) were married.



1987: On One Life to Live, in Argentina, the boat with Tina (Andrea Evans) in it went over the Iguazu Falls. A distraught Cord (John Loprieno) took out his anger on Max.



1987: On As the World Turns, Margo (Hillary B. Smith) was surprised to find Barbara (Colleen Zenk) and Paul (Andrew Kavovit) at Hal's apartment.



1996: Aaron Spelling's short-lived primetime soap opera Malibu Shores premiered on NBC. It ran for only 10 episodes.



2001: Diane Sommerfield, who played Valerie Grant on Days of our Lives in the early 1980s, died at age 51.

2006: On Guiding Light, Jonathan (Tom Pelphrey) and Tammy (Stephanie Gatschet) made love.



2007: The Young and the Restless' Ashley Abbott crossed over to The Bold and the Beautiful when Eric Forrester put a plan in motion to launch a fragrance line for his new fashion house, Forrester Originals.



Thanks to Enrique for sending in the clip above.

2009: On Guiding Light, Phillip Spaulding (Grant Aleksander) killed Grady Foley (Kane Manera) a.k.a Mark Gillespie, the hitman Alan Spaulding hired to kill Jonathan Randall who ended up killing Tammy Layne Winslow Randall instead.



Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.

2011: Gothic web series Ragged Isle premiered. The show has since won 4 Indie Series Awards including Best Web Series (Drama) in 2012, and is nominated for 6 awards this year.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
Taina Elg (ex-Olympia, One Life to Live; ex-Ingrid, Guiding Light) - 84
Joyce Van Patten (ex-Janice, As the World Turns; ex-Clara, Young Doctor Malone) - 80
Joseph Gallison (ex-Neil, Days of our Lives; ex-Steven, Return to Peyton Place; ex-Tom, One Life to Live; ex-Bill, Another World) - 79
Charles Siebert (ex-Wally, As the World Turns; ex-Stuart, Another World; ex-Peter, Search for Tomorrow) - 76
Trish Van Devere (ex-Meredith, One Life to Live; ex-Patti, Search for Tomorrow) - 71
Jaime Lyn Bauer (ex-Lorie, The Young and the Restless; ex-Laura, Days of our Lives) - 65
Conrad Dunn* (ex-Nick, Days of our Lives)
Lauren Koslow (Kate, Days of our Lives; ex-Margo, The Bold and the Beautiful; ex-Lindsey, The Young and the Restless) - 61
Brad Lockerman (ex-Zed, Capitol; ex-Casey, General Hospital) - 58
Finn Carter (ex-Sierra, As the World Turns) - 54
Brian Lane Green (ex-Sam, Another World; ex-Brian, All My Children) - 52
Kerr Smith (ex-Ryder, As the World TurnsS; ex-Jack, Dawson's Creek) - 42
Nathan Owens (Devious Maids; ex-Cameron, Days of our Lives) - 30
Brittany Snow (ex-Susan, Guiding Light) - 28

* Dunn was known as George Jenesky when he appeared on Days.

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