Today in Soap Opera History (October 9)

1979: ATWT's Bob continued to receive mysterious calls from
Penny. 1981: Kristin was dead in the pool on DALLAS.
1985: Melissa Reeves made her DAYS debut. 2007: Timbaland
performed on OLTL.

"We should always be aware that what now lies in the past once lay in the future."
― F.W. Maitland

"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...

1957: On THE RIGHT TO HAPPINESS, Nurse Helen Mason (Ruth Newton) reported overhearing a racketeer's confession of drugging her patient which broke the defense of the fraudulent insurance claim case.

1968: On DARK SHADOWS, Willie (John Karlen) let Maggie (Kathryn Leigh Scott) out of the secret room.



1979: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Bob (Don Hastings) continued trying to connect with Penny, while Sheila attempted to spend as much time with Tom (Tom Tammi) as possible.



1981: CBS aired the fourth season premiere of DALLAS. The identity of the dead brunette Cliff found floating in the swimming pool at Southfork was revealed to be Kristin Shepard.



1985: Melissa Brennan (now Melissa Reeves) debuted as Jennifer Horton in DAYS OF OUR LIVES.



1985: On the DYNASTY episode "The Californians," the extended Colby family debuted with the introduction of Jason (Charlton Heston) and Constance (Barbara Stanwyck).

1986: Actor Michael Baseleon died at age 61. He soap roles including Dr. Tony Perelli in GENERAL HOSPITAL and Slade on FLAMINGO ROAD.

1986: On KNOTS LANDING, Karen (Michele Lee) escaped from Phil (Steve Giannelli) and reunited with Mac (Kevin Dobson).

1995: On ANOTHER WORLD, new police captain Gabe McNamara (John Bolger) laid down the law to his staff at the Bay City PD.



1995: On ALL MY CHILDREN, Erica (Susan Lucci) was unhappy after Wade let Liza (Marcy Walker) keep her job at WRCW.



2006: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Jason (Steve Burton) slammed Ric (Rick Hearst) against a wall and told him to leave Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) alone after he overheard her say she was pregnant.



2007: Timbaland appeared on ONE LIFE TO LIVE. "This is a new experience for me, I am looking forward to having a great time and sharing my music!" he said in a statement at the time.



2008: Indian soap opera KAHAANI GHAR GHAR KII aired its final episode after EIGHT years and 1,700 episodes.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Jason Wingreen (ex-Judge Matson, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 93
Gary Frank (ex-Mark, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 63
Scott Bakula (ex-Trip, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES) - 59
Ellen Wheeler (Former Executive Producer of GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Marley/Vicky, ANOTHER WORLD; ex-Cindy/Karen, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Sarah, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; ex-Phyllis, DARK SHADOWS) - 52
James Hyde (ex-Sam, PASSIONS, ex-Neil, ANOTHER WORLD) - 51
Sarah Felder (ex-Siobhan, RYAN'S HOPE)
Jennifer Aspen (ex-Sharon, GCB) - 40
Dana Wheeler-Nicholson (ex-Angela, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS) - 35
Randy Spelling (ex-Sean, SUNSET BEACH; ex-Ryan, BEVERLY HILLS 90210) - 35
Brandon Routh (ex-Seth, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Wade, UNDRESSED) - 34
Spencer Grammer (ex-Casey, GREEK; ex-Lucy, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 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].