Today in Soap Opera History (January 19)

1967: Roger burned David's painting on DARK SHADOWS.
1981: GL's Alan showed up at Jennifer's trial.  GL's Olivia
kissed Natalia.  2010: ATWT's Reid had no time for Luke.

"Maybe if people started to listen, history would stop repeating itself."
- Lily Tomlin

"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...

1956: Actor Charles Dingle died at age 68. He played Conrad Overton in daytime soap opera THE ROAD OF LIFE.

1967: On DARK SHADOWS, the ghost of Josette materialized in David's room and magically completed David's painting so that it now depicted him and his mother surrounded by a wall of flames. Later, Roger (Louis Edmonds) threw the painting into the fire. As it began to burn, screaming erupted from the canvas.

1981: On GUIDING LIGHT, Mike (Don Stewart) called Jennifer (Geraldine Court) to the witness stand at her trial for the murder of Lucille Wexler. As she testimony began, Jennifer froze when she saw Alan Spaulding (Christopher Bernau) in the audience.



1981: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Molly Sherwood (Laurinda Barrett) fell to her death down a flight of stairs while attempting to kill April.

1984: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Alice (Frances Reid) relayed a message to Bo (Peter Reckell) about Roman (Wayne Northrop).



1989: Actor Martin Blaine died at 75. He played Lionel Steele in YOUNG DOCTOR MALONE and Judge Clinton Bridges in DAYS OF OUR LIVES.

1989: USA Network aired their final rerun of THE EDGE OF NIGHT.  The network had been showing episodes of the canceled daytime soap opera since 1985.

1995: On ALL MY CHILDREN, Dixie (Cady McClain) warned Janet (Robin Mattson) to stay away from her family.



2000: Actor Alan North died at age 79. He played Jack Bauer in GUIDING LIGHT and Capt. Sean Delaney in ANOTHER WORLD.

2007: Austin Peck debuted as Brad Snyder in AS THE WORLD TURNS.

2009: On GUIDING LIGHT, Emma gave a speech about her two mommies. Later, Olivia (Crystal Chappell) pulled Natalia (Jessica Leccia) into a kiss.



2010: Eric Sheffer Stevens debuted as Reid Oliver on AS THE WORLD TURNS.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
Fritz Weaver (ex-Hugo, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 88
Tippi Hedren (ex-Helen, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; ex-Doris, FASHION HOUSE) - 84
Richard Van Vleet (ex-Chuck, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Ed, GUIDING LIGHT) - 72
Karen Lewis (Former daytime writer, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ALL MY CHILDREN) - 61
Katey Sagal (ex-Helen, LOST) - 60
Christine Tucci (ex-Amanda, ANOTHER WORLD) - 47
Wendy Moniz (Elaine, BETRAYAL; ex-Kathleen, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Dinah, GUIDING LIGHT) - 45
Drea de Matteo (ex-Angie, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES) - 42
Marsha Thomason (ex-Gillian, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 38
Luke Macfarlane (ex-Scotty, BROTHERS & SISTERS; ex-Patrick, SMASH) - 34
Erin Sanders (ex-Eden, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 23
Logan Lerman (ex-Bobby, JACK & BOBBY) - 22

Anthony Herrera was born 70 years ago today. He was best known for portraying James Stenbeck on AS THE WORLD TURNS on and off from 1980 until 2010. He passed away on June 21, 2011 at age 67.

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].