Today in Soap Opera History (March 5)

1968: Dark Shadows' Barnabas entombed Trasked.
1979: Ryan's Hope's Johnny said his peace.
1990: GH's Robert, Sean & Anna learned Paget was Duke.
1992: All My Children's Donna & Chuck left Pine Valley.

"Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results."
― Machiavelli

"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...

1968: On The Doctors, Dr. Matt Powers (James Pritchett) and Dr. Nick Bellini (Gerald Gordon) performed surgery on Nathan Bunker (House Jameson).

1968: On Dark Shadows, after forcing him to sign a confession stating Victoria Winters was not a witch, Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) trapped Reverend Trask (Jerry Lacy) in a prison of his own making.



1975: On The Doctors, Andy Anderson (Lloyd Bremseth) prepped for his opening night at Pete's.



1979: On Ryan's Hope, Johnny Ryan (Bernard Barrow) gave Martin Pyle (Tom Quinn) a piece of his mind.



Thanks to Jennifer for sending in the item above.

1979: NBC aired the first 90-minute episode of Another World.

John (Michael M. Ryan, who passed away on March 1) phoned Alice (Susan Harney) and got directions to the cottage. Dan set Pat's mind at ease about John's phone call. Larry defended Blaine to Clarice and Charley. A lonely Rose called for Joey to come home from Eileen's, where he was dancing a jig with her aunt and uncle, Rita and Paul Connelly (Camilla Carr and Stephen Joyce in their first appearance on AW). Mac told Rachel he believes Blaine's version of the truth, not hers, and accused her of destroying their marriage as well as Jamie's. John and Albini compared notes, and Albini let John handle it as he was busy on another case. John woke Michael and told him to go to Dan's to tell him to meet him at the cottage. Mac couldn't forgive Rachel for deliberately lying to him, but she refused to give Blaine another chance. Mac woke Jamie to tell him Rachel had tried to bribe Blaine into leaving him. Michael found Pat there when he went to Dan's. Olive (Jennifer Leak) cut the phone lines, blocked the front door with the back of a chair, and doused the cabin liberally with gasoline. Joey tried to convince Rose she needed a life of her own. Blaine threw her arms around Jamie when he vowed to make a go of their marriage. Olive lit a rag with her cigarette lighter and tossed it toward the house. She laughed wildly to herself as the flames shot up along the walls. She stopped to call out, "Goodbye, Alice!" before turning back to her car.

1980: On The Edge of Night, as Draper Scott (Tony Craig) prepared to leave for prison, Steve Guthrie (Denny Albee) and Deborah Saxon (Frances Fisher) searched for evidence that placed Nola at the site of the murder.



1980: Margaret Mason ended a five year run as Linda Anderson on Days of our Lives (she had joined the show in 1970, left in 1971, and returned in 1975). She would return on a recurring basis for a couple of months in 1982.

1984: On Guiding Light, Mindy Lewis (Krista Tesreau) told Rick Bauer (Michael O'Leary) she could not go through with the abortion, at least for now.



Thanks to Jennifer for sending in the item above.

1986: On Another World, Victoria Love (Ellen Wheeler) and Jake McKinnon (Tom Eplin) were trapped in the cave during an avalanche.



1990: On General Hospital, Jonathan Paget (Greg Beecroft) tried to convince Anna (Finola Hughes), Sean (John Reilly), and Robert (Tristan Rogers) that he was actually Duke Lavery.

1991: On The Young and the Restless, Danny Romalotti (Michael Damian) performed in concert.

1992: On All My Children, Donna Tyler (Candice Earley) left Pine Valley to move to Rhode Island with her husband, Chuck Tyler (Richard Van Vleet).



1992: On As the World Turns, Iva Snyder (Lisa Brown) worried that John Dixon (Larry Bryggman) would figure out the truth about Julie Wendell Snyder's baby.



Thanks to Na'Vell for sending in the clip above.

1992: On Guiding Light, Nick (Vincent Irizarry) and Mindy (Kimberly Simms) announced their engagement.

Thanks to Jennifer for sending in the item above.

1997: David Gibbs aired for the final time on Another World as Officer Brian Tibbs. Gibbs was the real-life brother of Timothy Gibbs, who starred as Gary Sinclair.

1999: On Another World, Zak rushed to the Cory's to tell Lila and Matt about Jordan's grand plan to kill Amanda. Matt and Lila agreed to talk to Zak but wanted to check on Jasmine first. Zak saw Jordan on the Cory terrace and with a flash of lightening, he disappeared. Matt and Lila wonder what happened to Zak when it appears he vanished without a trace. This was the final appearance of Steve Richard Harris in the role of Zak Wilder.

2001: A new version of British soap opera Crossroads premiered. The original version of the show ran from 1964-1988. Four characters from the original series returned: Doris Luke (Kathy Staff), Jill Harvey (Jane Rossington), Adam Chance (Tony Adams) and Sarah-Jane Harvey (Joanne Farrell/Holly Newman).

2002: On The Young and the Restless, Julia Newman Martin (Meg Bennett) and Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) reminisced about their past together as husband and wife.

2004: On All My Children, at her baby shower, Bianca Montgomery (Eden Riegel) announced she was naming her baby girl, Miranda Mona Montgomery, which led to her mother, Erica Kane (Susan Lucci), dropping her drink upon hearing the news.



Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.

2004: On The Bold and the Beautiful, Rick Forrester (Justin Torkildsen) urged his brother, Ridge (Ronn Moss), to move on with his life without Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang).

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Ray MacDonnell (ex-Joe, All My Children; ex-Phil, The Edge of Night) - 90
Arlen Dean Snyder (ex-Tony, The Secret Storm; ex-Peter, As the World Turns; ex-Jay, Love of Life; ex-George, Dallas) - 85
Nick Ullett (ex-Graham, As the World Turns) - 77
Murray Head (ex-Doug, Holby City; ex-Jack, Heartbeat) - 72
Marla Pennington (ex-Samantha, General Hospital, ex-Leslie, Soap) - 64
Marcia McCabe (ex-Sunny, Search for Tomorrow; ex-Carolyn, As the World Turns; ex-Bunny, Another World; ex-Alicia, One Life to Live) - 63
T.C. Warner (ex-Kelsey, All My Children) - 41
Kimberly McCullough (Robin, General Hospital; ex-Robin, General Hospital: Night Shift) - 40
Aislinn Paul (ex-Claire, Degrassi) - 24

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