"History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future." ― Robert Penn Warren
"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...
1964: Primetime soap opera PEYTON PLACE premiered on ABC. It ran until June 2, 1969 producing 514 total episodes.
1981: On ANOTHER WORLD, Jamie (Richard Bekins) consulted with Brian on a quick divorce from Cecile (Nancy Frangione).
1993: On ALL MY CHILDREN, Phoebe (Ruth Warrick) defended Eduardo and declared his problem was an addiction to sex.
1994: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Lily (Martha Byrne) was trapped in a file room in Rome while snooping around. Holden showed up just in time to keep Lily from being seen by the guards who were looking for the prowler. Against Holden's advice, Lily went back into the file room because she thought she could find information about her husband, Damian. Meanwhile, Jessica got into car trouble with Devere and the two were stuck on the side of the road in the rain. They finally made it back to Jessica's house, where Devere seemed to strike an emotional chord with Jessica, but she wouldn't admit it. The storm had also taken its toll on Christopher, who was on the lake canoeing. He nearly drowned and got washed ashore, where Mac had to revive him and build a shelter until someone came to rescue them. Devere called Jessica and discussed having dinner together, but Jessica dodged the question. Later, Lily went back into the file room again.
1999: Jacob Young aired for the final time as Rick Forrester on THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL.
2008: BBC One aired the final episode of GRANGE HILL.
2009: On GUIDING LIGHT, Phillip (Grant Aleksander) proposed to Beth (Beth Chamberlin) and then found Alan (Ron Raines) dead.
2010: AS THE WORLD TURNS aired the final wedding of Carly (Maura West) and Jack (Michael Park).
2010: Corinne Michaels Camacho, who played Joanne Barnes in DAYS OF OUR LIVES and Joan Dade in CAPITOL, died at age 68. She also guest-starred in FLAMINGO ROAD.
Celebrating a birthday today are:
Forrest Compton (ex-Mike, THE EDGE OF NIGHT; ex-Dr. Daly, LOVING; ex-Bill, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Alfred, ANOTHER WORLD; ex-Vince, BRIGHT PROMISE; ex-Grayling, THE BRIGHTER DAY) - 88
Henry Darrow (ex-Carlos, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; ex-Rafael, SANTA BARBARA; ex-Danto, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Ambassador Tabris, GENERAL HOSPITAL, ex-Ramon, DYNASTY) - 80
Tommy Lee Jones (ex-Mark, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) - 67
Fran Myers (Writer, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ANOTHER WORLD; ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Peggy, GUIDING LIGHT) - 63
Scott Thompson Baker (ex-Connor, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; ex-Brian, SAVANNAH; ex-Craig, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Colton, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 53
Ross Kettle (ex-Jeffrey, SANTA BARBARA; ex-Stewart, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 52
Josh Charles (Will, THE GOOD WIFE) - 42
Marisa Ramirez (ex-Carmen, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; ex-Gia, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 36
Dave Annable (ex-Justin, BROTHERS & SISTERS) - 34
Christian Cooke (ex-Brae, ECHO BEACH) - 27
Kate Mansi (Abigail, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) - 25
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].
From Richard Bekins to Stephen Yates to Laurence Lau, the character of Jamie changed dramatically over the years according to who played and who wrote the character. Yates seemed like a viable option as Rachel's son: creative, sexy, but insecure about commitment where are Lau was of a son who grew in opposition to Rachel: stable, reliable, and never got the girl. It is a shame that AW couldn't make more out of the Dennis/Jamie relationship over the years because it was the natural next step of the Rachel/Iris generation.
ReplyDeleteOliver, for some reason I started thinking about the Jamie character after posting this. After he meant so much to the show as a baby all the way through adulthood, it's too bad there was no Jamie the last several years of AW.
DeleteAlso, Yates' Jamie was so cognizant of being Mac's stepson that it would have been interesting to see the effect that it had on his relationship to Amanda and Matt Cory, instead by the time Jamie came back when Amanda and Matt were teens it seems to have forgotten about his drama with Mac, there was no mention of how he broke Cass's sister's heart, nor how his book humiliated Pat (whose snooty friends like Lenore had been so mean to Rachel). Lau's Jamie always seemed more akin to an earlier Dennis than Jamie.
ReplyDelete