Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Today in Soap Opera History (August 20)

1973: Suzanne Rogers debuted as Maggie on DAYS. 1996: GH's
Robin & Jason were happy in Montauk.  1987: John Reid was
left at the altar on RYAN'S HOPE. 2001: Jack rescued Carly
from quicksand on ATWT.
"Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times."
-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...

1973: Suzanne Rogers debuted as Maggie Simmons in DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Amnesiac Mickey Horton (John Clarke) stumbled onto Maggie's farm.

1974: On ANOTHER WORLD, Alice (Jacqueline Courtney) told Steve (George Reinholt) she was freeing him from their marriage.

1979: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Paige (Margaret Colin) encountered a masked man with a gun.



1985: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Abe (James Reynolds), Bo (Peter Reckell) and Theo filled Richard (Rod Arrants) in on their investigation of the Salem drug ring.



1986: On SANTA BARBARA, Gina (Robin Mattson) nodded off while Mason (Lane Davies) was talking about Lily.



1987: On RYAN'S HOPE, on John (Jason Adams) and Lizzie's (Catherine Larson) wedding day, Ben (James Wlcek) ran off with Lizzie leaving the wedding guests confused.



1989: SAVED BY THE BELL, which launched the careers of Mario Lopez, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkeley, Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Lark Voorhies, debuted on NBC's Saturday morning lineup.

1993: THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS star Jeanne Cooper received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. When she passed away in May 2013 fans placed flowers on the star.

1996: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, there was a crisis with Kristen's (Eileen Davidson) baby.



1996: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Robin (Kimberly McCullough) and Jason (Steve Burton) shared a romantic day in Montauk.



2001: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Jack (Michael Park) told Julia (Annie Parisse) he loved her in order to take her gun away and save Carly (Maura West), who was drowning in quicksand.



2006: THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL's Jacob Young performed the final time as Lumiere in Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" on Broadway after a three month run.  Young was starring in ALL MY CHILDREN at the time.

2009: On ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Kyle (Brett Claywell) and Nick (Nicholas Rodriguez) went on their first date. Meanwhile, Staci (Crystal Hunt) tried to seduce Fish (Scott Evans).



2012: Actress Phyllis Diller died at age 95. She famously guest-starred Marcy's (Marisa Tomei) Fairy Godmother on AS THE WORLD TURNS and in THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL as Gladys Pope.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Miriam Colon (ex-Lydia, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Abuelita, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Maria, GUIDING LIGHT) - 77
Ray Wise (ex-Jamie, LOVE OF LIFE; ex-Blair, DALLAS; ex-Hal, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Spiros, THE COLBYS; Leland, TWIN PEAKS) - 67
Peter Horton (ex-Warren, BROTHERS & SISTERS; ex-Gary, THIRTYSOMETHING; ex-Wayne, DALLAS) - 60
Breon Gorman (ex-Lenore, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Tessa, LOVERS AND FRIENDS/FOR RICHER, FOR POORER) - 59
Al Roker (Guest Star, ANOTHER WORLD) - 59
Don Stark (ex-Ripley, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Frank, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 59
Phyllis Lyons (ex-Arlene, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 53
James Marsters (ex-Spike, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER; ex-Brainiac, SMALLVILLE; ex-Barnabas, CAPRICA) - 51
Courtney Gibbs (ex-Galen, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 47
Donn Swaby (ex-Chad, PASSIONS) - 40
Misha Collins (Castiel, SUPERNATURAL) - 39
Michael Rady (ex-Jonah, MELROSE PLACE; ex-Max, GREEK; ex-Doug, SWINGTOWN) - 32
Kai Soremekun (Lisa, CHICK)
Andrew Garfield (ex-Frank, DOCTOR WHO) - 30
Brant Daugherty (Brian, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; Patrick, ARMY WIVES; ex-Noel, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS; ex-Bryan, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) - 28
Demi Lovato (Dani, GLEE; ex-Hayley, GREY'S ANATOMY) - 21

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].

2 comments:

  1. When was Demi Lovato on Glee as someone named Dani? Totally news to me. Nothing listed on her imdb.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh looks like its breaking news. She is joining the cast this year for a story arc.

    ReplyDelete