Today in Soap Opera History (May 18)

1960: Eileen Fulton debuted on As the World Turns.  1979: Pat
struggled to get past his religious differences with Nancy on
Ryan's Hope. 1990: The final episode of Falcon Crest.
1994: General Hospital's Maxie received B.J.'s heart.

"The whole past is the procession of the present."
- Thomas Carlyle

"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...

1960: Eileen Fulton debuted in the role of Lisa Miller on As The World Turns. She would play the iconic role for most of the next 50 years until the show's cancellation in 2010. The character was also was used as the focal point of the primetime spin-off Our Private World in 1965. Read our 2011 interview with Fulton here.

1967: On Days of our Lives, Tom (Macdonald Carey) called Susan (Denise Alexander) to get her back to the hospital because there were complications with Dickie.

1979: On Ryan's Hope, Pat (John Blazo) arrived for dinner with Nancy's (Nana Tucker Visitor) family and Beryl explained the reasons that they could not be married. Beryl said since neither Pat nor Nancy was willing to compromise their religious beliefs, there wasn't much of a future for them.



1985: Former All My Children and One Life to Live director Del Hughes died at age 75.

1990: The series finale of Falcon Crest aired on CBS. The show ran for 9 seasons and a total of 227 episodes.



1991: On The Young and the Restless, Jack (Peter Bergman) and Brad (Don Diamont) wanted Neil (Kristoff St. John) to decide who he worked for at Jabot.

1994: On General Hospital, news of B.J.'s death and the impending heart transplant for Maxie spread throughout Port Charles. Despite objections from Monica (Leslie Charleson), Tony (Brad Maule) joined in on the surgery. B.J.'s heart was successfully transplanted into Maxie. After the operation, Tony visits B.J.



Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.

2000: On The Bold and the Beautiful, Taylor (Hunter Tylo) demanded Stephanie (Susan Flannery) tell her about Morgan's abortion.



2001: At the 28th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, winners included As the World Turns (Drama Series, Writing), David Canary, Martha Byrne, Michael E. Knight, Lesli Kay, Justin Torkildsen and Adrienne Frantz.

The clips below feature the wins by Byrne and Canary in the lead acting categories.





Celebrating a birthday today are:
Priscilla Pointer (ex-Rebecca, Dallas) - 90
Robert Morse (Bertram, Mad Men; ex-Harry, All My Children) - 83
Diane McBain (ex-Claire, General Hospital; ex-Dee Dee, Dallas) - 73
Paul Falzone (ex-Hank, As the World Turns; ex-Jim, All My Children) - 67
Gail Strickland (ex-Dorcas, Dark Shadows; ex-Veronica, Dallas; ex-Katherine, Melrose Place) - 67
Cynthia Preston (ex-Faith, General Hospital) - 46
Freddy Hernandez (ex-Officer Parker, General Hospital) - 46
Matt Long (ex-James, Private Practice; ex-Jack, Jack & Bobby; ex-Joey, Mad Men;) - 34
Allen Leech (Tom, Downton Abbey) - 33
Sean Douglas (ex-Vargas, Days of our Lives)
Ryan Cooley (ex-J.T., Degrassi: The Next Generation) - 26
Luke Kleintank (ex-Noah, The Young and the Restless; ex-Elliot, Gossip Girl) - 24