Monday, November 18, 2013

Today in Soap Opera History (November 18)

1988: Jake was back in Port Charles. 1994: AMC's Laurel tried
to expose Janet. 2002: Y&R's Victoria slapped Victor.
2005: Kay wondered if she should know the mystery woman
on PASSIONS.
"History is a relentless master. It has no present, only the past rushing into the future. To try to hold fast is to be swept aside."
- John F. Kennedy

"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 EDGE OF NIGHT, the doctors realized that Mary's (Anne Sargent) coma was a result of a drug overdose, rather than head injuries.

1972: Susan Brown debuted as Constance MacKenzie Carson in RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE.

1974: On ANOTHER WORLD, Carol (Jeanne Lange) met with Steve (George Reinholt) to sound him out about Rachel.

1983: On DALLAS, Ray (Steve Kanaly) was found guilty of killing Mickey Trotter and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.

1986: On ANOTHER WORLD, Reginald (John Considine) vowed to make Brittany (Sharon Gabet) pay for shooting Peter.

1986: On SANTA BARBARA, Gina (Robin Mattson) was determined to get the tape back from Santana (Gina Gallego).



1988: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Scott (Kin Shriner) and Jake (Sam Behrens) made opening statements at Anna's trial.



1994: On ALL MY CHILDREN, when pressed by Jack and Trevor, a hospitalized Laurel managed to say "Janet" as Janet (Robin Mattson) looked on.



1998: Actress Norma Connolly died at age 71. She was best known for her long-running role as Ruby Anderson in GENERAL HOSPITAL. She also played Lena Karr Gilroy in THE YOUNG MARRIEDS. During her career, Connolly appeared in scores of television specials, movies and miniseries. She was a board member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. She was also active in the battle against AIDS, serving on the board of Hollywood Helps. She was responsible for recruiting soap opera performers for such fund-raisers as the "Soap Star Spectacular" staged in 1992 at the Santa Monica Airport.

2002: On THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, after Victoria (Heather Tom) discovered that her ever-controlling father, Victor (Eric Braeden), had been behind her boyfriend, Diego Guttierez (Greg Vaughan), leaving town, she angrily confronted and SLAPPED him!



Thanks to FoxCrane for sending in the item above.

2005: On PASSIONS, the mystery woman with red nails (Sharon Wyatt) told Kay she gave up on her true love once, and it almost killed everyone she ever loved.



2011: At the BBC's annual CHILDREN IN NEED telethon, the cast of EASTENDERS wowed the crowd with its memorable Queen tribute video by performing a medley of four of the band's hit songs in full '80s rock attire. During the finale, nearly the entire cast and crew descended upon Albert Square to sing the chorus of "Radio Ga Ga," a song, which in some way might apply to traditional soap opera, eh? Enjoy!



Thanks to FoxCrane for sending in the item above.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Brenda Vaccaro (ex-Julia, PAPER DOLLS) - 74
Linda Evans (ex-Krystle, DYNASTY) - 71
Susan Sullivan (ex-Lenore, ANOTHER WORLD; ex-Nancy, A WORLD APART; ex-Maggie, FALCON CREST) - 71
Peter Brouwer (ex-Alex, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Brad, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Joe, LOVE OF LIFE; ex-Judge Robinson, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 68
Glenn Walken (ex-Mike, GUIDING LIGHT) - 68
Walter Bobbie (ex-William, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) - 68
Jameson Parker (ex-Dale, SOMERSET; ex-Brad, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) - 66
Gilles Kohler (ex-Gilles, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 65
Andrea Marcovicci (ex-Betsy, LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING; ex-Gloria, BERRENGER'S; ex-Sophia, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 65
Dennis Haskins (ex-Priest, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; ex-Mack, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) - 63
Shari Shattuck (ex-Ashley, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; ex-Heather, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) - 53
Paul Korver (ex-Chris, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 42
Chloƫ Sevigny (ex-Shelley, AMERICAN HORROR STORY) - 39
Rob Kazinsky (Macklyn, TRUE BLOOD; ex-Sean, EASTENDERS) - 30
Jake Abel (ex-Adam, SUPERNATURAL) - 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].

6 comments:

  1. Can you guys do a Susan Brown interview?

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    Replies
    1. It would have been great to have had Susan Brown and Peter Hansen return for the 50th Anniversary especially with Kin Shriner back on the show. Lee Baldwin especially was a huge part of early GH and should be acknowledged

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    2. I would love to speak with Susan Brown!

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  2. That scene of Victoria slapping Victor reminds me of how much I miss Heather Tom as the "real" Victoria Newman. A huge mistake by Y&R in letting her go.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now, that's the Victoria I remember g-damnit! Anything less is unacceptable!
      Right on, Anonymous, whoever you are. ITA!

      Delete
  3. I still miss Norma Connolly. Her Ruby Anderson brought so much heart and honesty to the Spencer clan of GH.

    ReplyDelete