Today in Soap Opera History (March 17)

On this date in...

1971: Erika Slezak debuted as Victoria Lord on ONE LIFE TO LIVE. Watch the WE LOVE SOAPS TV episode from last year where OLTL celebrated her 40th anniversary.

1975: Tom O'Rourke (who would later become GUIDING LIGHT's Justin Marler) auditioned for (and landed) a one day gig as a construction boss on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW. Read about it here.

1980: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, after breaking the news to April of Draper's death, Mike and Nancy learned Nola Madisson had confessed to Margo Dorn's murder.



1987: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Justin (Wally Kurth) arranged for reporters to "welcome" Melissa home from her fake tour.



1996: ONE LIFE TO LIVE aired a montage of classic scenes in honor or Erika Slezak's 25th anniversary as Viki.



2001: Check out SOAP CENTER's 30th anniversary tribute to Erika Slezak below.



2003: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Rose (Martha Byrne) and Paul celebrated their engagement.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Sloane Shelton (ex-Loretta, ANOTHER WORLD; ex-Elaine, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW; ex-Harriet, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Mildred, LOVERS AND FRIENDS) - 79
Patrick Duffy (Bobby, DALLAS; ex-Bobby, KNOTS LANDING; ex-Stephen, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) - 64
Lesley-Anne Down (ex-Jackie, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; ex-Lady Sheraton, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Olivia, SUNSET BEACH; ex-Stephanie, DALLAS) - 59
Gary Sinise (ex-Lee, KNOTS LANDING) - 58
Laura Gardner (ex-Valerie, GENERAL HOSPITAL: NIGHT SHIFT) - 58
Rob Lowe (ex-Robert, BROTHERS & SISTERS; ex-Sam, THE WEST WING) - 49
Mathew St. Patrick (ex-Marcus, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Adriana, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Keith, SIX FEET UNDER) - 45
Oliver Macready (ex-Romeo, GUIDING LIGHT) - 41
Kevin Collins (ex-Brandon, GUIDING LIGHT) - 41
Amelia Heinle (Victoria, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; ex-Mia, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Steffi, THE CITY/LOVING) - 40
Natalie Zea (ex-Karen, DIRTY SEXY MONEY; ex-Gwen, PASSIONS) - 39
Brittany Daniel (Kelly, THE GAME; ex-Mila, SWANS CROSSING) - 37
Jason M. Burns (Creator, ADULTS ONLY) - 35
Joseph Cousins (ex-Bobby, KNOTS LANDING) - 30

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you would like to submit a piece of soap opera history for this daily column, please email it to [email protected].