Today in Soap Opera History (March 26)

1973: THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS premiered on CBS.

"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...

1967: On ANOTHER WORLD, Ada (Constance Ford) mentioned having been married to “Lou”, which was probably the original name for the character of Gerald Davis, Rachel's father.

1968: The first episode of DARK SHADOWS that was directed by Dan Curtis aired. Nathan told Naomi that Barnabas was the Strangler.

1973: THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell, premiered on CBS.

In the first episode, Brad Eliot rode back into Genoa City with a trucker, following his accident; in their apartment, Snapper Foster and Sally McGuire talked about their relationship and the fact that Snapper had been dating Chris Brooks; Chris told her sister Leslie that she may be in love with Snapper; at Pierre's restaurant, Snapper waited for Chris' father to meet him for lunch; Brad entered the restaurant and was seated by the waitress, Sally; Chris' father, Stuart, questioned Snapper about his past and his intentions concerning Chris; and Stuart paid Brad's check when Brad admitted to Sally that he had no money. Meanwhile, at a police station, Brad's wife, Barbara, was informed that her husband was dead.



Watch the entire first episode here.

1982: SEARCH FOR TOMORROW aired its final CBS episode. The show ran "Follow the Search" ads so fans could find it in its new NBC home on Monday, March 29.

1982: On DALLAS, Cliff (Ken Kercheval) was rebuffed by Sue Ellen (Linda Gray) and defeated by J.R. (Larry Hagman), who reclaimed the original Barnes-Ewing oil field that Cliff took from him.

CAPITOL stars Carolyn Jones & Constance Towers

1982: SFT's daytime replacement, CAPITOL, premiered in a primetime special at 10 p.m. ET following a new episode of DALLAS, which was the No. 1 program of the week with 22.4 million viewers. CAPITOL did not finish in the Top 20 of the weekly primeitme ratings that week.

CAPITOL was created by Stephen (now Steven) and Elinor Karpf and produced by John Conboy Productions. It was the first new CBS daytime soap opera since THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS.



1987: On SANTA BARBARA, Gina (Robin Mattson) suspected Brick was the rapist. 1990: John O'Hurley made his first appearance on Santa Barbara, taking over the role of Stephen Slade.

2005: The new DOCTOR WHO premiered on BBC One.

Today's Birthdays: Leonard Nimoy (ex-Bernie, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 83
Judith Baldwin (ex-Beth, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL) - 68
Leeza Gibbons (Herself, SUNSET BEACH) - 59
Billy Warlock (ex-Ross, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Anthony, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Ben, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS; ex-Frankie, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-A.J., GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 53
T.R. Knight (Jordan, THE GOOD WIFE; ex-George, GREY'S ANATOMY) - 41
Natalia Livingston (Emily/ex-Rebecca, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Taylor, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) - 38
Neal Bledsoe (ex-John, SMASH; ex-Tyler, UGLY BETTY; ex-Gary, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Quinn, GUIDING LIGHT) - 33
Joe Anderson (Lincoln, THE RIVER) - 32
Sterling Sulieman (ex-Dre, ALL MY CHILDREN, ex-Harper, THE VAMPIRE DIARIES) - 30
Jonathan Groff (Jesse, GLEE; ex-Henry, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) - 29
Anthony Anderson (Sean, ANACOSTIA)
Gabriela Rodriguez (ex-Gabi, DAYS OF OUR LIVES) - 21

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].