Today in Soap Opera History (March 20)

1953: LOL's Van waited for news about Beanie and dealt with her
unpleasant sister.  1987: ATWT's John pulled Lucinda into a
hot tub with him, then married her.  1987: The final episode of
CAPITOL. 1990: GH's Lucy resigned from the hospital.

"There is no present or future, only the past happening over and over again - now."
- Eugene O'Neill

"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...

1942: NBC's Blue Network aired the final episode of radio soap opera JOHN'S OTHER WIFE, after a five and a half year run.

1953: On LOVE OF LIFE, with Beaning (Dennis Parnell) missing, a tense Meg Harper (Jean McBride) complained that her sister, Vanessa Dale (Peggy McCay), was snapping at her "like a snotty little puppy."



1967: On DARK SHADOWS, as Laura Collins (Diana Millay) burned in the flames and disappeared she cried, "From these ashes, the Phoenix is reborn!"

1985: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Bo Brady (Peter Reckell) and Hope Williams (Kristian Alfonso) planned to elope but were met with a surprise engagement party instead.



1987: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, John Dixon (Larry Bryggman) and Lucinda Walsh (Elizabeth Hubbard) ended up in a hot tub together and, later, married. Hubbard  appeared on WE LOVE SOAPS TV in 2010 and explained that she was the one who came up with the infamous hot tub scene.



1987: CBS aired the final episode daytime soap CAPITOL. CBS canceled the soap to make room for THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL. The show ended with a cliffhanger as Sloane (Debrah Farentino) was left in front of a firing squad.



1987: On SANTA BARBARA, Victoria (Kristen Meadows) managed to escape when attacked by the rapist.

1990: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring) resigned from the hospital, and plotted to get Alan Quartermaine (Stuart Damon) to marry her.



2000: On PASSIONS, two nurses heard Timmy (Josh Ryan Evans) talking with Tabitha (Juliet Mills) as he tried to get her out of a straight jacket at the hospital. The doctor believed it was just Tabitha throwing her voice. As they took Timmy away, Tabitha yelled at him to make sure Charity carried out the orders to kill Miguel.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
Hal Linden (ex-Larry, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW; ex-Jerry, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) - 83
Chip Zien (ex-Donald, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Aidan, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Daniel, RYAN'S HOPE) - 67
John de Lancie (ex- Eugene, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Allen, TORCHWOOD) - 66
Tanya Boyd (ex-Celeste, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) - 63
Bryan Genesse (ex-Rocco, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) - 50
Michael Lowry (Jordan, TAINTED DREAMS; ex-Ross, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Dr. Hillman, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; ex-Jake, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Les, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 46
Murray Bartlett (Dom, LOOKING; ex-Cyrus, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Julian, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Luke, NEIGHBOURS; ex-Randy, HOME AND AWAY) - 43
Paula Garces (ex-Flora, DEVIOUS MAIDS; ex-Lea, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Pilar, GUIDING LIGHT) - 40
Christy Romano (ex-Erica, GUIDING LIGHT) - 30
Chase Coleman (Dane, IN BETWEEN MEN) - 29
Harry Zittel (ex-Adam, AS THE WORLD TURNS) - 27

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].