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| 1968: Joe stabbed himself on DARK SHADOWS. 1985: Port Charles residents learned Frisco was presumed dead. 1985: DAYS' Abe shot and killed Richard Cates. 1997: GL's Cassie reunited with Tammy. |
― J. Frank Dobie
"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 DARK SHADOWS, Joe (Joel Crothers) stabbed himself with a letter opener after Angelique (Lara Parker) told him that he bored her and wanted him to go.
1979: On ANOTHER WORLD, Mac Cory (Douglass Watson) married Janice Frame (Christine Jones) in San Francisco.
1979: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Tom (Tom Tammi) arrived at The Willows to see Lisa (Eileen Fulton).
1982: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, as Port Charles rushed to plan a benefit to save the Sports Center, Eddie Phillips (Sammy Davis Jr.) told his son, Bryan (Todd Davis), that he wanted to perform a song.
1982: On ANOTHER WORLD, Sandy (Christopher Rich) was left hanging on the edge of a cliff in Wyoming after a battle with Buzz (Eric Conger).
1985: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Bo (Peter Reckell) and Hope (Kristian Alfonso) reunited, and Richard Cates (Rod Arrants, in his final DAYS airdate) was shot and killed by Abe (James Reynolds, in one of his best performances).
1985: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, when Robert (Tristan Rogers) told Tony (Brad Maule) they had reason to believe Frisco (Jack Wagner) was dead, Tony accused Robert of being responsible for his death. When Felicia heard the news, she collapsed. But Frisco was very much alive.
1986: Gloria Loring aired for the final time as Liz Chandler in DAYS OF OUR LIVES.
1991: On THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, Traci (Beth Maitland) wondered by Jill (Jess Walton) wanted to stand up for her at her wedding. Molly desperately tried to communicate with Lauren (Tracey E. Bregman).
1997: On GUIDING LIGHT, Reva (Kim Zimmer) reunited Cassie (Laura Wright) and Tammy.
2001: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Bryant Montgomery (Todd Rotondi) crashed his car. He was brought to the hospital in the October 23rd episode, but died from the injuries he sustained.
2001: On ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Natalie (Melissa Archer) told Allison (Barbara Garrick) it felt so good to be a Buchanan because she never had to work a minimum wage job again.
2008: Actress Mary Cooper passed away at age 93. Her soap roles included Josette DuPres Collins on DARK SHADOWS and Mrs. Timmons in THE EDGE OF NIGHT.
2012: Longtime THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS actress Carolyn Conwell died at age 82. She began playing Paul's mother, Mary Williams, on Y&R in 1980.
Celebrating a birthday today are:
David Andrews (Former Director, EASTENDERS; HOLLYOAKS; GRANGE HILL) - 78
Tony Roberts (ex-Lee, THE EDGE OF NIGHT) - 74
Charles Keating (ex-Carl, ANOTHER WORLD; ex-Niles, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-James, PORT CHARLES; ex-Damon, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 73
Catherine Deneuve (ex-Diana, NIP/TUCK) - 70
Richard McGonagle (ex-Phillip, RITUALS; ex-Kincaid, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Bishop Andrews/Friar Peter, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) - 67
Christopher Curry (Earl, HART OF DIXIE; ex-Russ, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 65
Judith Blazer (ex-Ariel, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Marissa, GUIDING LIGHT) - 57
Robert Torti (ex-Salvatore, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; ex-Everett, BEVERLY HILLS, 90210; ex-Jim, MELROSE PLACE; ex-Charlie, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Kyle, GENERATIONS; ex-Jimmy, SPYDER GAMES) - 52
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (ex-Gabe, UGLY BETTY) - 38
BethAnn Bonner (ex-Kat, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Natasha, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Talia, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) - 31
Kyle Gallner (ex-Beaver, VERONICA MARS) - 27
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].
Roger, the link to the youtube video of the episode of GH that aired on this date back in 1985 is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0GJDNfCUQc
ReplyDeleteThanks, Chris. I thought I had embedded that already but will do it now.
DeleteOne year anniversary to Sonny's mock proposal to Will.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbNfys1_lMY
Great one. Thank you!
DeleteHas Y&R ever acknowledged Carolyn Conwell's death?! It's as if Paul has no parents. What happened to Mary? Is Carl still alive?
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm still bitter about Bryant being killed off ATWT for no good reason. They could've have brought Dani Andropolous back to town and written a star crossed lovers storyline. Brought back Steve (after springing him from that Greek prison) and Betsy for short stints and re-ignited that feud between Steve and Craig (in my world Scott Bryce would be playing Craig). Written well, that could've involved other characters (Margo, Tom, Barbara, Ellen, Lucinda, Lisa, etc).
The slow decline of the show truly began in earnest. Too bad.
I think Y&R showed a title card at the end of an episode mentioning Carolyn Conwell's death. Carl's last story was when he turned up in Virginia with a different name after Mary finally agreed to have declared legally dead. He had amnesia and never got his memory back and never returned to Genoa City.
DeleteATWT brought Dani back in the last few years as an adult sleeping with Craig. Even though they're not technically related, Craig was thought to be her father for a short time and later became a father figure to her as Betsy's friend. That was such a BAD idea. The last decade of ATWT was filled with characters coming onto the show with the same name as a character from the past but with a totally different personality and history.
Now that you mention it, I may have skimmed that episode but man, she deserved better than a title card-I think someone on You Tube has done better tributes.
DeleteI wasn't watching ATWT at the time Dani slept with Craig, although I heard about it. And I have been ignoring that it ever happened (LOL). If I had my way, if the show were ever revived (not going to happen, I know), I'd pretend that never happened. Or we'd find out it was some twisted, malaria inspired dream that Tonio Reyes had in the jungles of Montega--where Lilith, Duncan's ex wife had been holding him (LOL).