Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Today in Soap Opera History (August 1)

1980: Another World's Tracey and Russ married.
1984: Santa Barbara's Joe spotted his true love, Kelly.
1990: General Hospital baby racketeer Clayton had baby Lucas.
2001: Spyder Games' Gretel performed.
"History is a vast early warning system."
― Norman Cousins

"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...

1966: On Dark Shadows, Victoria (Alexandra Moltke) asked David (David Henesy) why he attempted to murder Roger and showed him the bleeder valve. He attacked her and she locked it in a dresser drawer. Later, Victoria went to show the bleeder valve to Elizabeth (Joan Bennett) it was missing.



Beverlee McKinsey
1980: On Another World, Russ Matthews (David Bailey) married Tracy Dewitt (Janice Lynde). At the reception later at the Matthews house, an alcoholic Pat (Beverly Penberthy) made a point of not drinking and Rachel (Victoria Wyndham) and Mitch (William Grey Espy) had a guarded conversation about their secret relationship.

Beverlee McKinsey made her final appearance as Iris on Another World that day, a Friday and the show's last 90-minute episode. During her run as Iris on Another World from 1972 to 1980, McKinsey turned in one of the finest performances in daytime drama history. She played Iris on spin-off series Texas until November 30, 1981.



Thanks to Scott for sending in the item above.

1981: MTV went on the air at 12:01 a.m. General Hospital star Rick Springfield had the No. 1 song in the U.S. that week with "Jessie's Girl," but the new network did not play a Springfield video that first day.

1984: On Santa Barbara, Kelly Capwell (Robin Wright) was taking a boat ride with Peter Flint (Stephen Meadows) when her former love Joe Perkins (Dane Witherspoon) arrived at the docks and saw her for the first time since being released from prison.



Kim Zimmer and Darnell Williams
1985: The 12th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards were held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The show was broadcast on CBS at 2 p.m. ET that day. Two new acting categories were added that year: Outstanding Ingenue in a Daytime Drama Series (The Young and the Restless' Tracey E. Bregman won) and Outstanding Young Man in a Daytime Drama Series (won by As the World Turns actor Brian Bloom).

The Young and the Restless was named Outstanding Daytime Drama Series. The other acting winners were Darnell Williams, Kim Zimmer (whose hair that night was unforgettable), Larry Gates and Beth Maitland (who became Y&R's first acting winner ever, just ahead of Bregman since Supporting Actress was the first category presented). Check out some highlights from the ceremony below.



1990: On General Hospital, Bobbie (Jackie Zeman) was looking for Lucas when Clayton (Alan Hunt) walked in with him.



1991: On Santa Barbara, C.C. Capwell (Jed Allan) blamed his son, Mason (Gordon Thomson), for Sophia's condition



1997: Rebecca Herbst debuted as Elizabeth Webber on General Hospital.



Thanks to Elle and Enrique for sending in the item above.

1997: Laura Wright debuted as Cassie Layne on Guiding Light.

Check out some highlights from Wright's time on Guiding Light in the montage below.



Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.

2000: On Passions, Rebecca (The Brady Bunch's Maureen McCormick) was shocked when Gwen (Liza Huber) revealed she asked Theresa to be her maid of honor.



2001: On Spyder Games, the rave party organized to launch the company's new video game, Witch Wars, got under way as did a swell of drama and intrigue for most of the characters -- including Ivan Carlisle (Byron Field) who thought his secret, fantasy crush on Francisco Torres (Enrique Murciano) might actually come true. Jane Wiedlin of the Go Go's, who played Gretel Barnes on the MTV soap, was one of the musical performers during the rave.



Thanks to FoxCrane for sending in the item above.

2003: On Guiding Light, as news of Ben's death spread throughout Springfield. Olivia (Crystal Chappell), with help from Tammy (Stephanie Gatschet), figured out that Lizzie (Crystal Hunt) was the one who sent Ben after Shayne and Marina at the Bauer cabin.



Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.

2005: The BBC World Service launched its first online soap opera, The Flatmates.

2013: Former soap opera actress and producer Gail Kobe passed away at age 82. As an actress Kobe (born Gabriella Kieliszewski) starred in Peyton Place (as Doris Schuster) and Bright Promise (as Ann Boyd Jones). After moving behind the camera, Kobe worked as a producer on Return to Peyton Place (the show that replaced Bright Promise), Another World, Days of our Lives and The Edge of Night. In 1981 she took over as executive producer at NBC daytime soap opera Texas. After NBC canceled Texas, P&G moved her over to CBS' Guiding Light. She later was one of the original producers of The Bold and the Beautiful.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
France Nuyen (ex-Dr. Carroll, Knots Landing; ex-Dr. Chen, Generations; ex-Dr. Chen, Santa Barbara) - 78
Laila Morse (Mo, EastEnders) - 72
Brian Patrick Clarke (ex-Storm, The Bold and the Beautiful; ex-Grant, General Hospital; ex-Don, The Young and the Restless; ex-Bob, Sunset Beach) - 65
Laura Johnson (ex-Terry, Falcon Crest) - 60
Steve Schirripa (ex-Leo, The Secret Life of the American Teenager; ex-Bobby, The Sopranos) - 59
Dana Sparks (ex-Grace/Faith, Passions; ex-Carol, Melrose Place; ex-Victoria, Falcon Crest) - 57
Jennifer Gareis (Donna, The Bold and the Beautiful; ex-Grace, The Young and the Restless) - 47
Charles Malik Whitfield (ex-Ben, One Life to Live) - 46
Barry Dodd (Writer/Director/Editor, Ragged Isle)
Jason Momoa (ex-Khal, Game of Thrones) - 38
Sally Pressman (ex-Roxy, Army Wives) - 36
Valery M. Ortiz (ex-Lupe, Diary of a Single Mom) - 33
Nic Robuck (Shane, Youthful Daze; ex-James, One Life to Live) - 30
Max Carver (Aidan, Teen Wolf; Adam, The Leftovers; ex-Preston, Desperate Housewives) - 29
Sasha Jackson (ex-Kylie, One Tree Hill) - 29
Jack O'Connell (ex-Cook, Skins; ex-Ross, The Bill) - 28

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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