Thursday, November 7, 2013

Today in Soap Opera History (November 7)

1980: J.R. Ewing was rushed to the hospital after being shot.
1986: Robert S. Woods debuted on DAYS. 1986: "Hello, Barbara"
on ATWT. 1995: AMC's Julia found a surprise in her closet.
"History is a vast early warning system."
― J. Norman Cousins

"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, Roger (Allen Nourse) worried about Mary.

1977: CBS aired the first hourlong episode of GUIDING LIGHT. The Spaulding family, Alan (Christopher Bernau), Elizabeth (Lezlie Dalton) and Phillip (Jarrod Ross), were introduced.

In the episode, Dr. Ed Bauer (Mart Hulswit) told Eve Stapleton (Janet Grey) that she had Blake-Kearney Syndrome and an 80% chance of going blind. Eve's sister, Rita (Lenore Kasdorf), was also present. Eve said that she would be in the 20% and eventually ran from the room. An emotional Rita watched as her sister fled Cedars and set off after her. Location shooting followed Eve crying through the streets of "Springfield", stopping at the sight of a blind woman knocked down by skateboarders. Rita searched the streets until she found her sister, embracing her and bringing her home.

Thanks to Scott for sending in the item above.

1980: Season 4 of DALLAS premiered on CBS. J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) was rushed to the hospital after being shot.



1983: Game show GO began ANOTHER WORLD versus DAYS OF OUR LIVES week. DAYS stars Leann Hunley, James Reynolds, Wayne Northrop, Suzanne Rogers and Anne-Marie Martin battled AW's Mary Page Keller, David Oliver, Stephen Yates, Laura Malone and Anna Stuart.

1985: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Bo (Peter Reckell) and Hope (Kristian Alfonso) searched Victor's boat, the Dolphin, for the treasure.



1986: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, James Stenbeck (Anthony Herrera) returned from the dead and greeted his ex-wife (Colleen Zenk) with the now famous "Hello, Barbara" line.



1986: On SANTA BARBARA, Jane (Jane Sibbett) told her mother, Caroline (Lenore Kasdorf), she would not let her guard down to be hurt by her again.



1986: Robert S. Woods debuted as Paul Stewart in DAYS OF OUR LIVES.



1990: On THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, John (John Castellanos) crossed examined the head of security, Calvin Daniels, who testified in Danny's trial for cocaine possession.



1995: On ALL MY CHILDREN, Julia (Sydney Penny) was frightened to discover Louie hiding in her closet.



2004: Actor Howard Keel died at age 85: He played Clayton Farlow in DALLAS for 10 years.

2004: CBS reunited the cast of DALLAS for DALLAS REUNION: THE RETURN TO SOUTHFORK.

2005: On PASSIONS, Gwen realized the "cleaning lady" at the hospital was Theresa (Lindsay Hartley).



2008: On ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Blair (Kassie DePaiva) tried to assure Starr (Kristen Alderson) her baby would be alright.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
James Houghton (ex-Greg, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; ex-Kenny, KNOTS LANDING; ex-Cash, THE COLBYS; Writer, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; KNOTS LANDING) - 65
Lawrence O'Donnell (ex-Dr. Bartlet, THE WEST WING) - 62
Christopher Knight (ex-Leigh, ANOTHER WORLD) - 56
Lisa Canning (ex-Meg, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Adrienne, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; ex-Chanel, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) - 47
Julie Pinson (ex-Kimberly, RIVER RIDGE; ex-Janet, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Billie, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Eve, PORT CHARLES; ex-Shiloh, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 46
Michelle Clunie (ex-Marcella, IN BETWEEN MEN; ex-Melanie, QUEER AS FOLK) - 44
Bronson Picket (ex-Diego, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 42
Christopher Daniel Barnes (ex-Paul, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Lenny, BEVERLY HILLS, 90210) - 41
Jeremy London (ex-Chandler 7TH HEAVEN; ex-Griffin, PARTY OF FIVE; ex-Nathan, I'LL FLY AWAY) - 41
Yunjin Kim (Karen, MISTRESSES; ex-Sun, LOST) - 40

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. Where's the first ever hour long GL episode from 1977, Roger?

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  2. Bernau/Dalton turned me into a diehard GL fan for years. Those were the days!

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  3. Christopher Bernau also made me a GL fan. There scenes with him that I can still remember so vivdly. have great respect for Ron Raines but Bernau's talent. He will always be Alan Spaulding for me.

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