Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Today in Soap Opera History (July 1)

Irna Phillips was born 113 years ago today.
"History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies."
- Alexis de Tocqueville

"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...

1901: Legendary soap opera creator Irna Phillips was born in Chicago. She died in 1973 at age 72.

1955: The final episode of Rosemary aired in CBS Radio.

1966: NBC aired the last episodes of daytime soap operas Morning Star and Paradise Bay. Both shows were created by Ted Corday and premiered on September 27, 1965, 6 weeks before Corday's other soap, Days of our Lives, debuted on the network.

1968: On Another World, Walter (Val Dufour) and Lenore's (Judith Barcroft) were married (TRIVIA: Agnes Nixon's daughters were part of the wedding party). The morning of the wedding, the Matthews family had breakfast together (see clip below).



1976: On The Doctors, Steve hatched a plot involving the press and gets personal with Stacy, Nick (Gerald Gordon) and Althea (Elizabeth Hubbard) reunited, and there were strange goings-on with Scott and Eleanor.

1977: The final episode of syndicated soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman aired. Merle surprised the City Council by making a speech in which he bared his soul -- and his body; George and Martha were joined at the hospital by the rest of the gang to await the outcome of Cathy's kidney transplant; Blumberg used the operation as a media event to generate publicity for Barth; Cathy went into cardiac arrest after the operation and the assembly prayed for her salvation by lifting their voices in song; and Mary came to understand that her life would always be coated with "a waxy yellow build-up."



1982: Diane Sommerfield aired for the final time as Valerie Grant on Days of our Lives.

1991: Anne Heche aired for the final time as Vicky Hudson on Another World.



1994: On General Hospital, Maxie found out that about BJ's death.



2000: Actor Burt Douglas died at age 69. His soap roles included Ron Christopher on The Edge of Night and Jim Fisk on Days of our Lives.

2002: On One Life to Live, Rae (Linda Dano) revealed the truth about her past to Keri and Antonio.

2005: The final episode of Canadian soap opera Train 48 aired after three seasons.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Jamie Farr (ex-Ernie, Port Charles) - 80
Frank Parker (ex-Grandpa Shawn, Days of our Lives; ex-Paddy, General Hospital) - 75
Terrence Mann (ex-Jester, As the World Turns; ex-Griffen, Another World; ex-Ted, Guiding Light; ex-Earl, All My Children) - 63
Nelson Aspen (ex-Albert, Search for Tomorrow) - 51
Denice Duff (ex-Amanda, The Young and the Restless) - 49
Ritchie Coster (ex-Nate/Alfred,  Guiding Light; ex-Gabe, As the World Turns) - 47
Henry Simmons (ex-Tyrone, Another World) - 44
Thomas Sadoski (ex-Jesse, As the World Turns) - 38
Hilarie Burton (ex-Peyton, One Tree Hill) - 32
Hannah Murray (Gilly, Game of Thrones; ex-Cassie, Skins) - 25
Bryant Jones (ex-Nate, The Young and the Restless) - 22

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you have a tip on a bit of soap history on this date or future dates, let us know. Send an email to [email protected]

No comments:

Post a Comment