Today in Soap Opera History (July 8)

1992: Primetime soap Melrose Place premiered on FOX.

"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...

1935: Radio soap opera Girl Alone premiered. Betty Winkler starred as Patricia Rogers. The cast included future Days of our Lives patriarch Macdonald Carey.

1949: The radio version of The Brighter Day aired on NBC for the final time. The show moved to CBS Radio the following Monday. Typical of an Irna Phillips soap, the show opened with an epigraph: "Our years are as the falling leaves -- we live, we love, we dream, and then we go. But somehow we keep hoping, don't we, that our dreams come true on that brighter day."

1966: On Dark Shadows, Carolyn (Nancy Barrett) visited (Mitchell Ryan) Burke's hotel suite in an attempt to learn what happened between him and Roger (Louis Edmonds).



1980: On Another World, Rachel (Victoria Wyndham) told Ada (Constance Ford) it would break Mac's heart if he knew Mitch was the father of her baby.

1981: On General Hospital, Victor Cassadine (Thaao Penghlis) ordered his men to find Alexandria Quartermaine.



1985: On Ryan's Hope, Katie (Julia Campbell) fell down the stairs while arguing with Maggie (Cali Timmins).

1990: Actor Howard Duff died at age 76. He starred in primetime soap Flamingo Road and guest-starred in Knots Landing and Dallas.

1992: Aaron Spelling's primetime soap Melrose Place, a spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210, premiered on FOX.



1996: Guiding Light debuted an electric guitar version of its "Hold On to Love" theme.



Thanks to Enrique and Na'Vell for sending in the item above.

2002: On Days of our Lives, Belle (Kirsten Storms) and Shawn (Jason Cook) rescued two 'aliens' from their space pod.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
Anjelica Huston (ex-Eileen, Smash) - 63
Kevin Bacon (Ryan, The Following; ex-Tim, Guiding Light; ex-Todd, Search for Tomorrow) - 56
David Elliott (ex-Billy, The Doctors) - 55
Lori Hallier (ex-Shannon, Santa Barbara) - 55
Valarie Pettiford (ex-Mary, True Blood; ex-Shelia, One Life to Live; ex-Courtney, Another World) - 54
Lee Tergesen (ex-Officer Boone, Army Wives; ex-Peter, Desperate Housewives; ex-Tobias, Oz) - 49
Michael Weatherly (ex-Cooper, Loving; ex-Cooper, The City) - 46
Milo Ventimiglia (ex-Peter, Heroes; ex-Jess, Gilmore Girls) - 37
Eve Myles (ex-Gwen, Torchwood) - 36
Sophia Bush (ex-Brooke, One Tree Hill) -32
Allison Hirschlag (ex-Lizzie, Guiding Light) - 30
Jake McDorman (ex-Evan, Greek) - 28

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]