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| 1980: DALLAS revealed who shot J.R. |
- 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...
1938: Radio soap opera CENTRAL CITY premiered on NBC Blue. The Blackett-Sample-Hummert serial told the story of a blue-collar manufacturing hub of 50,000 denizens. Elspeth Eric starred as Emily Olson with Van Heflin as Bob Shellenberger. Heflin was eventually replaced by Myron McCormick.
1957: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Billy accidentally overheard Mary's confession that he was not Roger's son.
1977: On GUIDING LIGHT, unwilling to burden Ben (Stephen Yates) with her impending blindness, Eve (Janet Grey) postponed their Thanksgiving wedding.
1979: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Tom (Tommi) revealed to Grant and Valerie that Jay had not been since since last night.
1979: On ANOTHER WORLD, Joey Perrini (Ray Liotta) and Eileen Simpson (Vicky Dawson) were married by Judge Waverly. Eileen died a few weeks later with a brain tumor.
1980: An estimated 83 million TV viewers in in the U.S. tuned in to the CBS primetime soap opera DALLAS to find out "Who Shot J.R." Ewing (Larry Hagman). Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) figured out that it was her sister, Kristin Shepard (Mary Crosby), who pulled the trigger. An estimated 350 million viewers watched around the world.
1980: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Rick (Chris Robinson) finagled an invitation to Thanksgiving out of Lesley (Denise Alexander).
1988: On ANOTHER WORLD, Dick Cavett guest starred as a hypnotist who tried to help Felicia (Linda Dano).
1989: On ANOTHER WORLD, John Hudson (David Forsyth) and Sharlene Frame Watts (Anna Holbrook) were married. Frankie Frame (Alice Barrett) caught the bouquet.
1990: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Tom (Macdonald Carey) felt blessed on Thanksgiving, leading to an "Always" musical montage of Tom and Alice (Frances Reid) highlights.
1994: On ANOTHER WORLD, Grant Harrison (Mark Pinter) married Amanda Cory (Christine Tucci) in her hospital room at Bay City General.
1995: On ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Todd (Roger Howarth) was shot in Ireland.
1997: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, the Milltown Baptist Church burned to the ground. Several people in the congregation were injured including Lew (Monti Sharp), who ended up paralyzed, and his wife, who died.
2001: Actress Avril Gentles, who played DuAnn Demerest on ONE LIFE TO LIVE in the early 1990s, died at age 82.
Celebrating a birthday today are:
Joseph Campanella (ex-Jonathan, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; ex-Barry, MELROSE PLACE; ex-Harper, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Hutch, THE COLBYS; ex-Joe, THE GUIDING LIGHT) - 86
Laurence Luckinbill (ex-Frank, THE SECRET STORM) - 79
Juliet Mills (ex-Tabitha, PASSIONS) - 72
Deborah Shelton (ex-Mandy, DALLAS; ex-Juliette, THE YELLOW ROSE) - 65
Cherry Jones (ex-Judith, AWAKE) - 57
Nicollette Sheridan (ex-Edie, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES; ex-Paige, KNOTS LANDING; ex-Taryn, PAPER DOLLS) - 50
Kellie Overbey (ex-Jenny, GUIDING LIGHT) - 49
Rib Hillis (Matthew, THE BAY; ex-Jake, PORT CHARLES; ex-Ethan, PASSIONS) - 43
Dahlia Salem (ex-Claire, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Sofia, ANOTHER WORLD) - 42
Victoria Gabrielle Platt (ex-Vicky, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Corinne, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 40
Brook Kerr (ex-Whitney, PASSIONS) - 40
Cherie Johnson (Carlina, THE BAY; ex-Latoya, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) - 38
Kit Paquin (ex-Marina, GUIDING LIGHT) - 32
Carly Rae Jepsen (Guest Star, 90210) - 28
Samantha Bailey (ex-Summer, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 12
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].
One Year Anniversary
ReplyDeleteWill finds out Sonny loves him.
Nov. 21, 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbHbPxJn7q8&feature=share&list=UUMsx8QgkfF8zR0Ruqj9Dw_A&index=1
Wow. I cannot believe that the Eve and Ben storyline on Guiding Light was 1977. I remember it like it was yesterday. Feeling old......
ReplyDeleteThere's something about that time on the show, especially Rita and Eve, that makes many of us remember it fondly. I was 7 in 1977 but somehow remember all this. GL always was on the TV as I arrived home from school every day too.
DeleteRe; Ben/Eve it is another one of those situations in a soap town where nobody ever tells their friends that not wanting to "burden" your boyfriend/girlfriend with your troubles is a red flag in a relationship. Reva didn't want to tell Josh about her cancer, Samantha Marler didn't want to burden Dylan with her paralysis, and many others in soaps have chosen the same route. Soap usually play these characters as sympathetic martyrs but I think they all knew that the men in their lives were incapable of being supportive in a crisis. However, I can't think of a single time where the martyrs friends suggest that perhaps not telling means that there is something wrong in the relationship.....
ReplyDelete