Today in Soap Opera History (November 9)

"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...

1962: Joseph Allen, who played roles in LOVE OF LIFE (Miles Pardee) and THE EDGE OF NIGHT, died at age 44.

1964: On ANOTHER WORLD, Carol waited for her date, Tom Baxter, who, unbeknownst to her, was dead from a gunshot wound; Frank arrived home where he found Pat (Susan Trustman) standing over Tom's body; Pat left the apartment when Frank's back was turned; Laura begged Ken not to divorce her, but her efforts were fruitless; Frank told the police what happened; and Ken arrived at the scene of the crime and saw the dead body of his son.

1965: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES second episode, Tom (Macdonald Carey) asked Julie (Charla Doherty) to control her temper.



1967: On DARK SHADOWS, Julia (Grayson Hall) tried to help Barnabas (Jonathan Frid).

1979: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Lisa (Eileen Fulton) found Derek Bickford's cuff link in the cellar.



1982: Jean Scott Bruce aired for what appeared to be the final time as Jessica Fallon in DAYS OF OUR LIVES. In 2012, after a 30 year absence, she made another appearance with Jessica and Josh's son, Nick (Blake Berris).

1983: On ANOTHER WORLD, David (Lewis Arlt) warned Sally (Mary Page Keller) that Donna would reveal that Kevin is his biological son if Sally tried to marry Peter.



1995: On LOVING, Neil (Larry Haines) proposed to Kate.





2004: Ed Kemmer, who starred on THE CLEAR HORIZON, THE EDGE OF NIGHT, THE DOCTORS, THE SECRET STORM, AS THE WORLD TURNS, RYAN'S HOPE, ANOTHER WORLD and SOMERSET, died at age 83.

2004: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Jason (Steve Burton) sat with an unconscious Sam (Kelly Monaco) and told her about the memorial for her baby. Meanwhile, Alexis wanted the baby's stem cells.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
Robert Duncan McNeill (ex-Charlie, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 49
Chris Jericho (WWE) - 43
Eric Dane (Mark, GREY'S ANATOMY) - 41
Nick Lachey (AS THE WORLD TURNS guest star as part of 98 Degrees) - 40
Ion Overman (ex-Gabby, PORT CHARLES) - 36
Nikki Blonsky (ex-Teri, UGLY BETTY) - 25

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].