Today in Soap Opera History (July 24)

On this date in...

1930: Actress Jacqueline Brookes was born.  Her soap roles included Beatrice, ANOTHER WORLD; Flora, A FLAME IN THE WIND; Miss Thompson, AS THE WORLD TURNS; Sister Mary Joel, RYAN'S HOPE; and Ursula, THE SECRET STORM.  She died at age 82 on April 26, 2013.

1933: THE ROMANCE OF HELEN TRENT premiered regionally in Chicago.  The show began airing on CBS Radio that October and remained on the air until June 24, 1960. During its 27-year run, three actresses played Helen--Virginia Clark and Betty Ruth Smith in Chicago, and later Julie Stevens in New York. THE ROMANCE OF HELEN TRENT had a following so intense that at the height of its popularity the show received 1,000 letters a week offering advice on her many problems.

1939: Radio soap opera THUNDER OVER PARADISE premiered on the Blue Network. Laurette Fillbrandt starred as a woman attempting to run a cattle ranch in Central America.

1980: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Larry lured "Kirk" (Tony Craig) out to Playland.



1984: Patsy Pease debuted as Kimberly Brady in DAYS OF OUR LIVES.

1986: On SANTA BARBARA, Eden (Marcy Walker) had words with Santana.



1987: Josh Taylor aired for the final time on DAYS OF OUR LIVES as Chris Kositchek.  He returned in 1997 as a recast of Roman Brady.

1989: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Julie (Susan Marie Snyder) told Duke (Michael Louden) she was pregnant.



1992: Reba McEntire guest-starred on ONE LIFE TO LIVE (she also appeared on July 27).

1996: Former soap opera actress Catherine Ann Christiansen (ALL MY CHILDREN; ONE LIFE TO LIVE) was arrested and charged with plotting to have her husband killed. She would later be sentenced to a year in prison.

1997: On ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Maggie (Crystal Chappell) told Max (James DePaiva) to quit while he was ahead.



1997: On ALL MY CHILDREN, Joe (Ray MacDonnell) was surprised to learn he was scheduled for surgery.



2009: On THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, Phillip (Thom Bierdz) tried to get to know Chance (John Driscoll).



Celebrating a birthday today are:
John Aniston (Victor, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Martin, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW; ex-Eddie, LOVE OF LIFE) - 80
Mark Goddard (ex-Derek, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Paul, THE DOCTORS; ex-Ted, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) - 77
Maeve McGuire (ex-Judith, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Beverly, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Selena, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Kate, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW; ex-Elena, ANOTHER WORLD; ex-Nicole, THE EDGE OF NIGHT) - 76
Chris Sarandon (ex-Tom, GUIDING LIGHT) -71
Sam Behrens (ex-Maxwell, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; ex-Gregory, SUNSET BEACH; ex-Jake, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Adam, RYAN'S HOPE) - 63
James Goodwin (ex-Kevin, ANOTHER WORLD; ex-Johnny, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Jerry, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 52
Laura Leighton (Ashley, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS; ex-Sydney, MELROSE PLACE) - 45
Kristin Chenoweth (ex-Carlene, GCB; ex-Peggy, THE GOOD WIFE; ex-April, GLEE) - 45
Jennifer Lopez (Executive Producer, THE FOSTERS) - 44
Summer Glau (ex-Skylar Adams, ALPHAS; ex-Emily, GREY'S ANATOMY) - 32
Elisabeth Moss (Peggy, MAD MEN; ex-Zoey, THE WEST WING) - 31
Anna Paquin (Sookie, TRUE BLOOD) - 31
Tala Ashe (R.J., SMASH; ex-Ameera, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 29
Megan Park (ex-Grace, THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER) - 27
Mara Wilson (ex-Nikki, MELROSE PLACE) - 26

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].