Today in Soap Opera History (November 3)

1967: Julia was certain Barnabas wanted her dead on Dark 
Shadows. 1980: EON's Cliff survived the Clown Puppet.
1983: Knots Landing's Gary and Val slept together.
1992: GL's Ross had a wacky election dream.

"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...

1967: On Dark Shadows, after a run-in with Carolyn, Julia (Grayson Hall) was more certain than ever that Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) was planning to kill her.



1970: On Another World, Walter (Val Dufour) was thrilled when Lenore (Judith Barcroft) told him she was pregnant.

1977: On Guiding Light, a hateful Georgene Granger (Delphi Harrington) was in town swearing vengeance against Rita Stapleton (Lenore Kasdorf) for the death of her husband, Malcolm Granger.

Thanks to Scott for sending in the item above.

1980: On The Edge of Night, Cliff (Ernie Pysher) survived the Clown Puppet attack.



1983: On Knots Landing, Lilimae (Julie Harris) was arrested after hitting Chip with her car. Val (Joan Van Ark) was upset about Lilimae so Gary (Ted Shackelford) comforted her and they ended up sleeping together. Val later learned she was pregnant from this post-divorce encounter (with twins Bobby and Betsy).

1988: On General Hospital, Olivia (Tonja Walker) survived through the night following her surgery. Victor Jerome was released from jail.



1992: On Guiding Light, Ross (Jerry verDorn) had a dream about the women in his life while awaiting election results.



1993: John Lupton, who played Tommy Horton in Days of our Lives and Everett Thornton in The Young and the Restless, died at age 65.

1993: On General Hospital, Lucky (Jonathan Jackson) arrived in Port Charles and met Ruby and later Jagger. Later, Lucky later ran off and was ambushed by Frank Smith's men. Meanwhile, after the flights from Chicago were canceled Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis) rented a car to Port Charles but it broke down.



Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.

1999: Australian soap Breakers aired for the final time after a 430 episode run. The series revolved around The Breakers building situated near Bondi Beach, and the lives of the people who work and live there.

2005: Laura Wright last aired as Cassie Layne Winslow on Guiding Light.

Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.

2006: Singer and entertainer Donny Osmond guest-starred on All My Children.



2009: On General Hospital, after being kidnapped and held hostage by Claudia in a cabin, Carly went into premature labor and gave birth to Josslyn.



Celebrating a birthday today are:
Peggy McCay (Caroline, Days of our Lives; ex-Iris, General Hospital; ex-Vanessa, Love of Life) - 84
Lois Smith (ex-Ruth, Ruth & Erica; ex-Adele, True Blood; ex-Allison, Desperate Housewives) - 87
Ron Leath (ex-Henderson, Days of our Lives) - 77
JD Souther (ex-Watty, Nashville) - 68
Roseanne Barr (ex-Jennifer, General Hospital) - 62
Kate Capshaw (ex-Jinx, The Edge of Night) - 61
Philippe Brenninkmeyer (ex-Carter, As the World Turns; ex-Martin, Guiding Light) - 50
Sean Ringgold (ex-Shaun, One Life to Live) - 37
Julie Marie Berman (ex-Lulu, General Hospital) - 31
Shayna Rose (ex-Stephanie, Days of our Lives) - 31

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