Sunday, November 29, 2015

Today in Soap Opera History (November 29)

1985: General Hospital's Robert and Anna explained to Robin why
they hadn't told her the truth about being her parents.
1995: Stone Cates died. 2006: Sonny and Robin remember Stone
on the anniversary of his death. 2011: Robin talked to Stone
on the bridge.
"The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect is already in the cause."
― Henri Louis Bergson

"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...

1946: The Guiding Light aired for the final time on NBC Radio, sponsored by General Mills. Irna Phillips had been in a prolonged lawsuit with Emmons Carlson over rights to the show, leading NBC to cancel the series for the second time. Carlson, a former GL writer, claimed he had helped Phillips spawn the popular serial, while Phillips claimed he had only written a few early scripts. Carlson was ultimately awarded $250,000 by the courts. CBS Radio picked up The Guiding Light and began airing new episodes on June 2, 1947, sponsored by Procter & Gamble. The show remained on CBS Radio until 1956, and was broadcast on CBS-TV from 1952 to 2009.

1968: On Dark Shadows, just as Adam (Robert Rodan) was about to throw the switch that would have electrocuted Victoria Winters (Betsy Durkin), Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) shot him.

1969: Robert Milli debuted as Wayne Addison in Another World. In the episode, Wayne told Bernice (Janis Young) it would take time to swindle Steve. Ada (Constance Ford) and Ernie (Harry Bellaver) were married (offscreen) that day.

1979: On As the World Turns, pressure mounted on Jay Stallings (Dennis Cooney).



1979: On Guiding Light, Ed Bauer (Mart Hulswit) tracked down his wife, Rita (Lenore Kasdorf), at her mother's house, but they two of them couldn't make any progress on working through their issues.



1982: Debbie Lytton aired for the final time as Melissa Anderson in Days of our Lives.

1984: On The Edge of Night, Calvin Stoner (Irving Allen Lee) pressured his wife, Didi Bannister Stoner (Mariann Aalda), to get pregnant so they could start a family.

1985: On Another World, Marley Love (Ellen Wheeler) and Jake McKinnon (Tom Eplin) made plans to marry while they were in Arizona.



1985: On General Hospital, Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers) and Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) talked to Robin (Kimberly McCullough) about being her parents, and explained why they hadn't told her the truth before.



1985: On Santa Barbara, Cruz Castillo (A Martinez) proposed to Eden Capwell (Marcy Walker).



1989: Gregory Burke debuted as Ben Reade in Guiding Light.

1989: On Another World, Donna (Anna Stuart) and Michael (Kale Brown) Hudson were given custody of Mikey.

1991: On Days of our Lives, Shane Donovan (Charles Shaughnessy) forgave Kayla Brady Johnson (Mary Beth Evans) for keeping the truth about Jeannie's (now known as Theresa) paternity from him.

1994: Cynthia Watros debuted on Guiding Light as Annie Dutton.

1995: On General Hospital, Stone Cates (Michael Sutton) died after asking Robin Scorpio to stand in the light by the window so he could see her.



Stone had been diagnosed as HIV-positive, and a later test revealed his CD4 count was below 200, meaning he had AIDS. Robin was also diagnosed as HIV-positive but began treatment and is still alive and healthy today. The story of Stone and Robin was groundbreaking, beautifully written and performed, and educational.

Read our interview with Michael Sutton here. Check out our interviews with former GH executive producer Wendy Riche here and head writer Claire Labine here.

1995: On All My Children, Charlie Brent (Christopher Lawford) asked Cecily Davidson (Rosa Nevin) to marry him.



2006: On General Hospital, Robin Scorpio and Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) reminisced on the anniversary of Stone's death.



2011: On General Hospital, Robin Scorpio Drake visited the bridge to talk with Stone, and told him there was so much she wasn't going to get to see.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
Jerry Lawler (WWE/WWF) - 66
John Ashton (ex-Mickey, Doctors; ex-Cahill, EastEnders) - 65
Tom Wright (ex-Eugene, All My Children; ex-Colt, Search for Tomorrow) - 63
Jeff Fahey (ex-Frank, Lost; ex-Gary, Santa Barbara; ex-Gary, One Life to Live) - 63
Charles Grant (ex-Grant, The Bold and the Beautiful; ex-Evan, Another World; ex-Preacher, The Edge of Night; ex-Connor, Santa Barbara) - 58
Sharon Smyth (ex-Sarah, Dark Shadows; ex-Susan, Search for Tomorrow) - 58
Elizabeth Storm (ex-Katherine, Passions; ex-Hollis, Santa Barbara; ex-Janice, Days of our Lives; ex-Leslie, The Young and the Restless) - 57
Kim Delaney (ex-Claudia Joy, Army Wives; ex-Jenny, All My Children) - 54
Jane Cameron (ex-Nancy, Another World)
David Lambert (Brandon, The Fosters) - 23

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

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