Today in Soap Opera History (November 28)

1979: Brian and Paige were married on The Edge of Night.
1983: Kim Zimmer debuted as Reva Shayne on Guiding Light.
1995: General Hospital's Sonny said goodbye to Stone.
1996: GH's Edward had a Thanksgiving nightmare.

"Most of us spend too much time on the last twenty-four hours and too little on the last six thousand years."
― Will Durant

"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...

1966: On Dark Shadows, Matthew (Thayer David) had just begun to strangle Victoria (Alexandra Moltke) when Liz (Joan Bennett) burst into the cottage.

1975: The final CBS episode of The Edge of Night aired. The network also aired the last half-hour episode of As the World Turns, which expanded to an hour the following Monday. The Edge of Night moved to ABC on Monday with a 90-minute premiere. The second half hour of ATWT would not maintain the ratings of the first half hour and eventually the show dropped from the top of the Nielsen ratings.

1979: On The Edge of Night, Brian Madison (Stephen McNaughton) and Paige Madison (Margaret Colin) were married.



1979: On As the World Turns, when Bennett (Doug Higgins) and Lisa (Eileen Fulton) returned to The Willows, they found Hester (Ann Stanchfield) passed out on the floor.



1983: Kim Zimmer debuted as Reva Shayne on Guiding Light.



1984: On Another World, Cass (Stephen Schnetzer), Kathleen (Julie Osburn) and Cecile (Nancy Frangione) were poisoned by killer nurse Emily Benson while searching for Sally Frame.



1988: On Another World, Iris (Carmen Duncan) was unhappy when Rachel (Victoria Wyndham) told Mac (Douglass Watson) she wanted to return to work at Cory Publishing.

1994: German soap opera Unter Uns premiered. It is still in production today.

1995: On All My Children, Noah (Keith Hamilton Cobb) beat up Julia's rapist, Louie.



1995: On General Hospital, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) said goodbye to Stone (Michael Sutton).



1996: On General Hospital, Edward, Katherine, Lucy and Jax have hilarious dreams during Thanksgiving. Watch Edward Quartermaine's (John Ingle) nightmare below:



Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.

2003: Actor Terry Lester died at age 53. His soap roles included Jack Abbott on The Young and the Restless, Mason Capwell in Santa Barbara, and Royce Keller on As the World Turns.

"Terry had an edge, where he could play Jack as a heavy and get away with it," his Y&R onscreen father, Jerry Douglas (John Abbott), said at the time of his death. "You just loved to hate him. He had the best role on the show. [Lester's replacement] Peter [Bergman] has done a phenomenal job with the role, but his Jack is a different Jack."

Said Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor) in 2003: "I had become such good friends with Terry while he was on the show, and I spoke with his sister after I heard the news. He was a very talented actor, but his true genius was in music. He played wonderful piano and he sang. I think that was what he always wanted to do."

2005: On All My Children, Greenlee's bombshell that Kendall used her own fertilized egg to get impregnated with Ryan's child shocked everyone at Thanksgiving dinner.



Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.

2006: Adrienne Frantz crossed the character of Amber Moore over from The Bold and the Beautiful to The Young and the Restless.

2007: Actress Jeanne Bates died at age 89. She played two different roles on Days of our Lives: Jean Perkins (1967-1968) and Anne Peters (1972-1975).

Celebrating a birthday today are:
James Karen (ex-Linc, All My Children; ex-Dr. Burke, As the World Turns; ex-Avril, Dynasty) - 91
Jeffrey Byron (ex-Jeff, All My Children; ex-Richard, One Life to Live; ex-Mark, Port Charles; ex-Chuck, The Bold and the Beautiful; ex-Vincent, The Young and the Restless) - 60
Jane Sibbett (ex-Jane, Santa Barbara) - 52
Gina Tognoni (Phyllis, The Young and the Restless; ex-Sami, Venice; Kelly, One Life to Live; ex-Dinah, Guiding Light) - 41
Ryan Kwanten (ex-Jason, True Blood; ex-Vinnie, Home and Away) - 38
Don Money (ex-Rob, As the World Turns) - 35
Mary Elizabeth Winstead (ex-Jessica, Passions) - 30
Alan Ritchson (ex-Arthur, Smallville) - 30
Karen Gillan (ex-Amy, Doctor Who) - 27

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