Saturday, August 19, 2017

Today in Soap Opera History (August 19)

1996: Nathan Hastings died on The Young and the Restless.
1996: Frankie Frame was murdered on Another World.
1996: GH's Jason and Robin arrived in Montauk on Stone's birthday.
2013: The series finale of One Life to Live aired online.
"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...

1929: NBC Blue network broadcast Amos 'n' Andy, starring Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, for the first time. The show ran as a nightly radio serial from 1928 (starting at local WMAQ) until 1943, then as a weekly situation comedy from 1943 to 1955.

1953: On Search for Tomorrow, Arthur Tate (Terry O'Sullivan) told Nathan Walsh he planned on leaving Henderson and forgetting all about Joanne Baron (Mary Stuart).  Later, Stu Bergman (Larry Haines) asked Nathan what kind of troubles Arthur was having.



1957: CBS replaced Valiant Lady with Roy Winsor's Hotel Cosmopolitan starring Donald Woods as the narrator of the goings-on in a plush New York hotel. Supporting players included James Pritchett (Dr. Matt Powers, The Doctors), Henderson Forsythe (Dr. David Stewart, As the World Turns), Wesley Lau, Tom Shirley and Walter Brooke.

1969: On The Doctors, Dr. Nick Bellini (Gerald Gordon) made plans to have his amnesiac wife, Althea (Elizabeth Hubbard), move home with him.

1971: On The Doctors, Dr. Matt Powers (James Pritchett) informed Carolee Simpson (Carolee Campbell) and Dr. Steve Aldrich (David O'Brien) that someone turned off the valve that was keeping Dan Allison alive.

1976: On Days of our Lives, Valerie Grant (Tina Andrews) was unhappy with her parents decision to not help Adele Hamilton.

1981: Kin Shriner aired for the final time as Jeb Hampton in Texas.

1987: On Ryan's Hope, Ben (James Wlcek) showed up at the church just as Lizzie (Catherine Larson) was about to walk down the aisle to marry John Reid (Jason Adams).



1996: On The Young and the Restless, Nathan Hastings (Adam Lazarre-White) died in the hospital after being struck by a car. Before succumbing to his injuries, Nathan talked to his son, Nate Jr. (Bryant Jones), one last time, then asked his estranged wife, Olivia (Tonya B. Williams), for forgiveness. The character of Nathan, first called "Kong," was created by William J. Bell in 1984. Prior to Lazzare-White, the character had been played by actors Forest Whitaker, Nathan Purdee and Randy Brooks.

Thanks to FoxCrane for sending in the item above.

1996: On Days of our Lives, Marlena (Deidre Hall) told Kristen (Eileen Davidson) that once she told John her true feelings, John would want to be with her and not Kristen. Meanwhile, Daniel Scott returned to Salem and blackmailed Peter Blake (Jason Brooks), who was planning a honeymoon with Jennifer (Stephanie Cameron). Later, Kristen collapsed when John told her that Rachel and Stefano were presumed dead.

1996: On General Hospital, Robin (Kimberly McCullough) and Jason (Steve Burton) arrived in Montauk, and Robin remembered it was Stone's birthday. Later, Jason held Robin, who said, "I wanted to be with you this way for so long. And I didn't think we could without having sex."





1996: On Another World, Frankie Frame (Alice Barrett) was brutally murdered. Before she died, Frankie tried to leave a clue about the killer's identity.



Margaret DePriest was Another World's head writer at the time. Jill Farren Phelps had resigned as executive producer on August 4th, and would be replaced by former NBC vice president Charlotte Savitz. In an interview with TV Guide Magazine in August 2012, Phelps (now executive producer of The Young and the Restless) declared she was not responsible for Frankie's death.

"Look, I'm sorry I killed Maureen Bauer on Guiding Light all those years ago," Phelps said, "but I am not responsible for the death of Frankie Frame on Another World! That was not my doing and I am tired of taking the heat for having killed a character when I didn't!"

This seemed to conflict somewhat with what Phelps said at the time.

”I am not going to claim absolutely no responsibility. The truth of the matter is the fans have to understand that Frankie did not die to make way for Robert Kelker-Kelly to come in. That is not the truth. What is the truth is that up until now, AW did not enjoy the kind of financial freedom the other shows do. There are so many beans in the jar, and people do have to go to make room for other people. It is not true that I did not like Alice; it is true that I like everybody to get an A story, and I get stymied when I find myself up against something I don't quite understand."

2004: Actor Remo Pisani, who played Speed Taft in The Edge of Night, died at age 85.

2008: On One Life to Live, Bo (Robert S. Woods) spoke with his late father, Asa Buchanan (Phil Carey). Bo: "You can rest now, Pa." Asa: "You and your brother were the best things I ever did."



2013: Prospect Park's The OnLine Network aired (on Hulu) the 39th and 40th episodes of One Life to Live, which turned out to be the finale for the series.



Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Jill St. John (ex-Deanna, Emerald Point N.A.S.) - 77
Jonathan Frakes (ex-Tom, The Doctors; ex-Sandy, Paper Dolls; ex-Damon, Falcon Crest) - 65
Peter Gallagher (ex-Chuck, Guiding Light; ex-Sandy, The O.C.) - 62
Adam Arkin (ex-Mark, Knots Landing) - 61
Darby Hinton (ex-Ian, Days of our Lives) - 60
Paul Satterfield (ex-Spencer, One Life to Live; ex-Pierce, The Bold and the Beautiful; ex-Paul, General Hospital) - 57
Frank Rossi (ex-Michael, General Hospital; ex-Dino, All My Children; ex-Dino, Days of our Lives) - 57
John Stamos (ex-Connor, Necessary Roughness; ex-Carl, Glee; ex-Blackie, General Hospital) - 54
Kyra Sedgwick (ex-Julia, Another World) - 52
Kevin Dillon (ex-Lonnie, 24) - 52
Matthew Perry (ex-Mike, The Good Wife) - 48
Tracie Thoms (ex-Tracie, Bandwagon) - 42
Callum Blue (ex-Zod, Smallville) - 40
Court Bauer (Former Writer, WWE, ECW) - 39
Melissa Fumero (ex-Adriana, One Life to Live; ex-Adriana, All My Children; ex-Zoe, Gossip Girl) - 35
Erika Christensen (Julia, Parenthood) - 35
Tammin Sursok (Jenna, Pretty Little Liars; ex-Colleen, The Young and the Restless; ex-Dani, Home and Away) - 34
Trent Baines (ex-Macca, Home and Away) - 33
Micah Alberti (ex-Jamie, All My Children) - 33
J. Evan Bonifant (ex-Lucas, General Hospital; ex-Al, One Life to Live) - 32
David A. Gregory (Zach, The Good Fight; ex-Ford, One Life to Live; ex-Kyle, Deception) - 32

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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