Today in Soap Opera History (May 2)

"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...

1949: A Woman to Remember debuted in the 7:30-7:45 p.m. timeslot on the DuMont Television Network. The show was an early attempt to bring soap opera to early evening television. The leading character, Christine Baker (Patricia Wheel), was depicted as a radio soap opera queen, engaged to handsome Steve Hammond, but beset by scheming rivals, notably shrewish Carol Winstead.

1967: On Dark Shadows, Maggie (Kathryn Leigh Scott) behaved oddly as if she were in a trance. She told Joe (Joel Crothers) that she felt as if someone were looking right through her, and Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) appeared with his eyes glowing in the light of a candle.



1982: Longtime Another World star Hugh Marlowe (Jim Matthews) died of a heart attack at age 71. Six weeks later, AW had the character of Jim die suddenly with a heart attack in Helsinki, Finland while on an extended vacation in Europe. Marlowe took on the role of Jim in 1969.

2001: Tamara Braun debuted on General Hospital as the second Carly Corinthos.



2002: Australian Broadcasting Corporation aired the final episode of soap opera Something in the Air. The show ran for two years with 320 episodes.

2006: CBS aired a special, Dynasty: Catfights & Caviar, which reunited the cast including stars John Forsythe, Joan Collins and Linda Evans.



2008: Daytime legend Beverlee McKinsey (Iris, Another World/Texas; Alexandra, Guiding Light; et al) died at age 72.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Quinn K. Redeker (ex-Rex/Nick, The Young and the Restless; ex-Alex, Days of our Lives) - 78
William Mooney (ex-Paul, All My Children; ex-Judge Jessup, As the World Turns) - 78
Maggie Burke (ex-Audrey, As the World Turns) - 78
Jo Ann Pflug (ex-Taylor, Rituals; ex-Veronica, The Colbys) - 70
Bianca Jagger (ex-Maya, The Colbys) - 69
David Ankrum (ex-Dr. Randall, Days of our Lives; ex-Normal, Bare Essence) - 67
Christine Baranski (ex-Jewel, All My Children; ex-Beverly, Another World) - 62
Elizabeth Berridge (ex-Charlotte, The Powers That Be; ex-Allison, Texas; ex-Morgan, Guiding Light) - 52
Mitzi Kapture (ex-Anita, The Young and the Restless) - 52
Dwayne Johnson (ex-The Rock, WWF/WWE) - 42
Bret Silverman (Composer, Pretty)
Robert Buckley (ex-Kirby, Lipstick Jungle; ex-Michael, Fashion House) - 33
Gaius Charles (Shane, Grey's Anatomy; ex-Smash, Friday Night Lights) - 31
Christopher Graves (ex-C.J., The Bold and the Beautiful) - 25
Kevin Graves (ex-C.J., The Bold and the Beautiful) - 25

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].