Thursday, October 29, 2015

Today in Soap Opera History (October 29)

1981: James Reynolds debuted as Abe on Days of our Lives.
1993: Luke & Laura returned to General Hospital, with Lucky!
1996: Guiding Light's Annie vowed to get clean.
2007: Jack Branning arrived in EastEnders' Albert Square.
"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."
― Maya Angelou

"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...

1965: The Days of our Lives pilot was re-shot with Frances Reid replacing Mary Jackson as Alice Horton.

1965: On Another World, Tony Douglas (Alex Canaan) was unhappy with Alice Matthews' (Jacqueline Courtney) timid attitude about intimacy.

1969: NBC aired the 1,000th episode of Days of our Lives.

1979: On As the World Turns, the mystery at The Willows deepened the closer Lisa Colman (Eileen Fulton) got to marrying Bennett Hadley (Doug Higgins).



1980: On The Edge of Night, Logan Swift (Joe Lambie) was able to get Jamey back from Raven (Sharon Gabet), thanks to Geraldine Whitney.



1981: James Reynolds debuted as Abe Carver in Days of our Lives. Mickey Horton went to see Assistant Homicide Detective Carver about the David Banning case.

CUT TO: HOMICIDE BUREAU.
(ABE CARVER, AN ASSISTANT HOMICIDE DETECTIVE, SITS WITH HIS FEET UP ON THE DESK, HIS FACE BURIED IN THE MORNING PAPER. ESTABLISH, THEN THE DOOR OPENS AND MICKEY ENTERS)
MICKEY: All right, Carver...I want some answers.
(ABE SLOWLY LOWERS THE PAPER, GIVES MICKEY A COOL STARE)
ABE: Something I can help you with, Counselor?
MICKEY: You can get me the damn fool who's in charge of the David Banning case!
ABE: You're looking at him.

Note: Diane Sommerfield debuted in the same episode as Valerie Grant.

1981: On Another World, Rachel Davis (Victoria Wyndham) saw Edward Black (David Canary), and recognized him as the much-alive Steven Frame. After talking with her mother, Ada (Constance Ford), Rachel decided not to go to San Francisco.



1991: On The Young and the Restless, Paul Williams (Doug Davidson) and his wife, Lauren (Tracey E. Bregman), had Scott and Sheila Grainger (Kimberlin Brown) over for dinner.

1993: Anthony Geary and Genie Francies returned to General Hospital as Luke and Laura Spencer. Jonathan Jackson debuted as Luke & Laura's son, Lucky Spencer.



Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.

1993: Marcy Walker debuted as Tangie Hill on Guiding Light.

1995: Richard Guthrie, best known for his six-year run as David Banning in Days of our Lives, died at age 45.

1996: On Guiding Light, Josh (Robert Newman) was worried about Annie's (Cynthia Watros) whereabouts and her state of mind, after she was last seen leaving a bar. While Josh was at the police station, he received a call from Philip, who explained that he was trying to help Annie get clean and sober. Later, Josh and Reva Shayne (Kim Zimmer) shared a moment filled with tension, considering the mutual feelings for one another that remain hidden; and Annie vowed to get clean for Josh's sake and to save their marriage.

1997: On The Bold and the Beautiful, the Forresters presented the fashion designs that could make or break their business. Tensions were high as they prepared to display their spring collection at the fashion show in Italy (shot on location. The family faced an extra challenge since other fashion houses had launched their shows and most large buyers had already made their purchases for the season. Eric (John McCook) invested all his energy in this last effort to rebuild the Forresters' fashion empire, but he was nonetheless prepared for possible failure. When the show started off on a bad note, both Stephanie (Susan Flannery) and Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) reaffirmed their love for their husbands in the face of adversity while keeping the situation in perspective. And two audience members who eagerly anticipated the Forresters' downfall were disappointed when the fashion show took a turn for the better.

2001: On One Life to Live, Jessica Buchanan (Erin Torpey) did not want to accept Natalie (Melissa Archer) as her sister.



2002: On The Young and the Restless, Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper) learned the truth about Jill Abbott (Jess Walton) and Larry Wharton (David "Shark" Fralick).

2005: Actor Lloyd Bochner died at age 81.  He starred as Cecil Colby in Dynasty and Nicholas Lacey in One Man's Family. He almost played C.C. Capwell in Santa Barbara, but a heart attack caused his departure from the series.



2007: On EastEnders, the character of Jack Branning (Scott Maslen) arrived in Albert Square. With Maslen set to leave the show now, it's fun to look back and see the first, big "splash" Jack made with future love interest, Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack), back when he started. And even if one isn't familiar with the soap or these characters, this short clip provides a jolly good laugh, Walford style.



Thanks to FoxCrane for sending in the item above.

2009: On General Hospital, a confrontation between Olivia Falconeri (Lisa LoCicero) and Claudia Zacchara (Sarah Brown) turned physical. Later, at Claudia's birthday bash, Sonny Corinthos made a long toast, preparing to call out Claudia on her machinations.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
Finola Hughes
Kate Jackson (ex-Daphne, Dark Shadows) - 67
Scott Jaeck (ex-Cain, Santa Barbara) - 61
Dan Castellaneta (ex-Milton, Greek) - 58
Finola Hughes (Anna, General Hospital; ex-Anna, General Hospital: Night Shift; ex-Alex/Anna, All My Children; ex-Helena, Sunset Beach; ex-Kate, Pacific Palisades) - 56
Laura Bonarrigo (ex-Rebecca, All My Children; ex-Cassie, One Life to Live; ex-Lindsay, Another World) - 51
Joely Fisher (ex-Nina, Desperate Housewives) - 48
Grayson McCouch (Thomas, Gotham; ex-Don, Hollywood Heights; ex-Kyle, General Hospital; ex-Dusty, As the World Turns; ex-Morgan, Another World) - 47
Tracee Ellis Ross (ex-Ellen, Private Practice) - 43
Gabrielle Union (Mary Jane, Being Mary Jane; ex-Gina, Army Wives; ex-Renee, Ugly Betty) - 43
Ben Foster (ex-Russell, Six Feet Under) - 35
Italia Ricci (ex-April, Chasing Life) - 29
Cherilyn Wilson (ex-Morgan, 90210) - 27
India Eisley (ex-Ashley, The Secret Life of the American Teenager) - 22
Ashley Greiner (ex-Faith, As the World Turns)

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

1 comment:

  1. In NYC EastEnders airs two episodes on Wednesday nights, we are currently up to February 2006...so I imagine we'll be seeing this in two years!! But, Bradley Branning, just arrived a few weeks ago, (Jan. 2006), Charlie Clements is super adorable BTW, so my question is Jack Bradley's brother? I try not to read or watch anything since we're so far behind in NYC.

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