Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Today in Soap Opera History (November 27)

1970: DAYS' Hortons celebrated Thanksgiving. 1980: The
families of GH came together for the holiday.  1989: Y&R
debuted a new Jack Abbott. 1995: OLTL's Viki struggled
to remember her father's death.
"That is the supreme value of history. The study of it is the best guarantee against repeating it."
- John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir

"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: On ANOTHER WORLD, Bill (Joseph Gallison) and Missy (Carol Roux) shared a kiss on the bridge.

1970: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, the Hortons celebrated Thanksgiving. "Bless this food, and give us the courage and strength to live to the fullest of all the days of our lives that lie ahead of us," said patriarch Tom Horton (Macdonald Carey).



1979: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Nola (Kim Hunter) insisted to Brian (Stephen McNaughton) that he only wanted Paige (Margaret Colin) because she was unattainable.



1979: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Kim (Kathryn Hays) had a heart to heart talk with Betsy (Suzanne Davidson) about their relationship, and Bennett (Doug Higgins) had a strange wedding dream.



1980: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Port Charles celebrated Thanksgiving.



1983: Actor Peter Brandon died at age 57.  His soap roles included Don Hughes on AS THE WORLD TURNS and its spin-off OUR PRIVATE WORLD, Terry Courtland on HOW TO SURVIVE A MARRIAGE, Bruce Jamison and Dr. Lloyd on DAYS OF OUR LIVES, and Frank Andrews on ANOTHER WORLD.  He also guest-starred on DALLAS and KNOTS LANDING.

1989: Peter Bergman debuted as Jack Abbott on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, replacing Terry Lester in the role.  Here's a promo for Jack's return:



1989: Stella Stevens debuted on SANTA BARBARA as Phyllis Blake, Gina's mother.

1995: On ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Viki (Erika Slezak) struggled in therapy to remember her father's murder.



1997: Actress Abby Lewis died at age 87.  She played Lena Andrews in SOMERSET, Grand Duchess in ANOTHER WORLD, Mrs. Jackson in AS THE WORLD TURNS, and also appeared in VALIANT LADY.

2006: Thore Schölermann debuted as Christian Mann on the popular German soap VERBOTENE LIEBE (Forbidden Love).

2006: Matthew Morrison aired for the final time as Adam on AS THE WORLD TURNS after a short run which ended due to a "scheduling conflict."

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Valerie Starrett (ex-Diana, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 79
William Fichtner (ex-Rod/Josh, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 57
Robert Doran (ex-Jamie, ANOTHER WORLD; ex-Eddie, LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING) - 54
Cathy Greene (ex-Sally, ANOTHER WORLD; ex-Lori, HOW TO SURVIVE A MARRIAGE) - 50
Fisher Stevens (ex-Henry, RYAN'S HOPE) - 50
Diana Barton (Mari Jo, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 47
Sean Kenniff (SURVIVOR; ex-Doctor, GUIDING LIGHT) - 44
Brooke Langton (ex-Jackie, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS; ex-Samantha, MELROSE PLACE) - 43
Kirk Acevedo (ex-Miguel, OZ; Charlie, FRINGE) - 42
Jennifer O'Dell (ex-Lana, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 39
Lauren C. Mayhew (ex-Marah, GUIDING LIGHT) - 28
Alison Pill (Maggie, THE NEWSROOM) - 28
Sasha Martin (ex-Marina, GUIDING LIGHT)

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].

3 comments:

  1. I loved Terry Lester but I have to say Peter Bergman (Cliff Warner as I knew him) turned out to be a really good recast. Amazing that it has been 24 years.

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  2. The clip of DOOL ,is after Addie died,which was in 1974.

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  3. Actually I think that Days clip is mislabeled on youtube. I think it really is from 1970. Tom is talking about the death of Ben Olsen. Ben was Julie's father and Addie's first husband. Addie made her return to the show in early 1971. Also Doug is seen in this clip. I believe he joined the show in 1970.

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