Today in Soap Opera History (October 11)

1984: Ryan's Hope's Johnny & Maeve Ryan faced bad news.
1985: General Hospital's Anna set up a "game" with Robin.
1988: Days of our Lives' Eve was a cover girl.  2000: All My
Children's Leo & Greelee were stuck in an elevator.

"History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future."
― Robert Penn Warren

"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...

1972: On Another World, Peggy (Micki Grant) was too tired to get into an argument with Linda (Vera Moore) over Ray and Zack (Terry Alexander).

1979: On As the World Turns, Nancy (Helen Wagner) told Bob (Don Hastings) she was worried about Penny, while Sheila kissed Tom (Tom Tammi).



1984: On Ryan's Hope, word spread that Frank, Maggie and Max were dead after their plane exploded.



1984: On Santa Barbara, C.C. (Paul Burke) talked with Kelly (Robin Wright) about her future. Richard Eden debuted as Brick Wallace in this episode.



1985: On General Hospital, Robert (Tristan Rogers) and Anna (Finola Hughes) arranged a "game" with Robin (Kimberly McCullough) in which Frisco (Jack Wagner) would kidnap her.



1988: On Days of our Lives, Eve (Charlotte Ross) told a skeptical Shane (Charles Shaughnessy) and Kim (Patsy Pease) that she had been selected to be on the cover of Teen Girl magazine.



1997: On Guiding Light, Michelle (Rebecca Budig) showed Ed (Robert Gentry) the ring Jesse gave her.



1999: On The Bold and the Beautiful, Ridge (Ronn Moss) blasted Thorne (Winsor Harmon) and Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) for being the cause of Stephanie's stroke.

2000: On All My Children, Greenlee (Rebecca Budig) and Leo (Josh Duhamel) were trapped in an elevator.



2001: Justin Melvey debuted as Colin Murphy in Days of our Lives.

2001: On One Life to Live, Blair (Kassie DePaiva) gave birth to baby Jack Manning, and Natalie told Viki that she was her daughter, not Jessica.

2005: On All My Children, Julia shot and killed Garret Williams (Lamman Rucker).

2011: On EastEnders, while Christian Clarke (John Partridge) and Syed Masood (Marc Elliott) mulled over marriage and engagement parties, Zainab (Nina Wadia) anxiously sat through a tense visit from a visit from the local matriarch, Bushra Abassi (Pooja Ghai). When Bushra witnessed Syed and Christian kissing in the square, her censure prompted Zainab to finally slap the woman, thereby defending her gay son for the first time.



Thanks to FoxCrane for sending in the item above.

2012: Eileen Davidson returned to Days of our Lives as Kristen Dimera after a 14 year absence.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Earle Hyman (ex-Mr. Patterson, All My Children; ex-Baliff, The Edge of Night) - 88
Gail Brown (ex-Clarice, i>Another World) - 67
Brad Maule (ex-Reverend Palmer, The Young and the Restless; ex-Dr. Abel, Passions; ex-Tony, General Hospital) - 63
Sean Patrick Flanery (ex-Sam, The Young and the Restless) - 49
Luke Perry (ex-Dylan, Beverly Hills, 90210; ex-Ned, Loving; ex-Kenny, Another World) - 49
Jane Krakowski (ex-T.R., Search for Tomorrow; ex-Tonya, Another World) - 46
Stephen Moyer (ex-Bill, True Blood) - 45
Constance Zimmer (Taylor, The Newsroom; Alana, Grey's Anatomy) - 44
Matthew Bomer (ex-Ben, Guiding Light; ex-Ian, All My Children) - 37
Trevor Donovan (ex-Teddy, 90210; ex-Jeremy, Days of our Lives) - 36
Michelle Trachtenberg (ex-Georgina, Gossip Girl; ex-Lilly, All My Children) - 29

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you would like to submit a soap history entry for this date or a future date, email [email protected].