Today in Soap Opera History (December 8)

1953: VL's Helen dished with Jane about her new pilot friend.
1981: DAYS' Roman Brady first appeared. 1998: OLTL's Viki
was not happy with Clint's plan.  1988: GH's Alan was in jail.

"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...

1953: On VALIANT LADY, Helen (Nancy Coleman) told Jane (Helen Wagner) about her experience with her new pilot friend, Capt. Chris Kendall. Said Jane: "That's a pilot for you...here today, gone today. But at least he was attentive while it lasted."



1975: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, "Josie" (Louise Shaffer) learned she might spend the rest of her life in prison for the murder of Mark Faraday.

1981: Wayne Northrop debuted as Roman Brady in DAYS OF OUR LIVES.



1985: German soap opera LINDERSTRAßE ('Linden Street') premiered. The show still airs Sunday nights on Das Erste in Germany.

1988: Actress Anne Seymour, who played Cornelia Exiter in ANOTHER WORLD and Beatrice Hewitt in GENERAL HOSPITAL, died at age 79.

1994: On ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Joey (Nathan Fillion) wanted Dorian (Robin Strasser) to apologize to Viki.



1996: Howard E. Rollins Jr. (Ed Harding, ANOTHER WORLD, FBI Agent, ALL MY CHILDREN) died at age 46 due to complications from the AIDS virus. Check out our recent World AIDS Day tributes here.

1998: On ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Viki (Erika Slezak) and Clint (Clint Ritchie) were at odds over Jessica's pregnancy.  Clint wanted to have Christian arrested for kidnapping Jessica.



1998: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Alan (Stuart Damon) was arrested for the murder of his drug dealer.



2009: CBS announced that it was canceling AS THE WORLD TURNS, the 54-year-old soap that was the last daytime serial owned by Procter & Gamble. CBS informed Procter & Gamble of the cancellation "a couple of days" earlier, according to Jeannie Tharrington, a spokeswoman for Procter & Gamble.

"It's a part of our business that we will miss, and it’ll be hard for us to say goodbye to the show," Tharrington said.

"Is it the end of an era?" Leslie Moonves, the chairman of CBS, asked. "Sort of. Only the special soaps are going to survive. It’s certainly the end of the client-owned soap. All good things come to an end, whether it's after 72 years or 54 years or 10 years. It's a different time and a different business."



2009: HOLLYOAKS capitalized on actor Ricky Whittle's stellar performance on STRICTLY COME DANCING by releasing its own dance-themed promo, "Strictly Not for the Fainthearted." The promo centered around the shocking murder of Whittle's popular HOLLYOAKS character, Calvin Valentine, which would air in a special "flash-forward episode" two nights after the dance competition ended. Set five months into the future, viewers were then left to watch and wonder, "Who Will Shoot Calvin?" with the mystery not being resolved until the event itself in May 2010.



Thanks to FoxCrane for sending in the item above.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Michael Levin (ex-Jack, RYAN'S HOPE; ex-John, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Tim, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 81
Billy Hufsey (ex-Emilio, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Bartender, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 55
Teri Hatcher (ex-Susan, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES; ex-Angelica, CAPITOL) - 49
Vince Parenti (ex-Officer Franklin, SUNSET BEACH) - 44
Dominic Monaghan (ex-Simon, FLASHFORWARD; ex-Charlie, LOST) - 37
Ian Somerhalder (Damon, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES; ex-Boone, LOST) - 35
AnnaSophia Robb (Carrie, THE CARRIE DIARIES) - 20

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].