Today in Soap Opera History (December 10)

1979: EON's Deborah continued to be poisoned. 1981: Milton
Berle guest-starred on GH. 1991: Days' Carly and Bo
were married in Mexico. 2001: OLTL's Blair was reunited
with her baby.

"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...

1957: On The Edge of Night, Willy (Edward Holmes) informed Mike (John Larkin) that Ed was the staff member who talked to Dalton.

1975: On Another World, Michael (Lionel Johnston) tried to convince Marianne (Ariane Muenker, now known as Ariana Chase) that Chris Pierson (Stephen Yates) was never coming back.

1979: On The Edge of Night, Deborah (Frances Fisher) ate "Mrs Corey's" spiked soup.



1981: On General Hospital, Tiffany's agent, Mickey Miller (guest star Milton Berle), told Laura that he was looking to cast a beautiful woman to represent Star Cosmetics and become Miss Star Eyes.



1990: On The Young and the Restless, Nick wanted Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) to invite Victor (Eric Braeden) to his Christmas program. Meanwhile, Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) acted like the victim when Scott (Peter Barton) arrived during her latest argument with Lauren (Tracey Bregman).



Thanks to Enrique for sending in the clip above.

1991: On The Young and the Restless, Lauren (Tracey E. Bregman) seduced Paul (Doug Davidson).

1991: On Days of our Lives, Bo (Peter Reckell) and Carly (Crystal Chappell) exchanged vows in a beautiful Mayan ceremony atop El Castillo in Mexico.



1996: On Another World, Gregory (Christopher Marquette) threw a fit when John and Sharlene told him that he would be living at Felicia's apartment.



2001: On One Life to Live, after their wedding, Todd (Roger Howarth) reunited Blair (Kassie DePaiva) with the baby. Meanwhile, Alex (Tonja Walker) came face to face with Asa (Philip Carey) on St. Blaze's Island despite Nigel's best attempts to keep them apart.



2003: Former Days of our Lives head writer Elizabeth Harrower, who also acted in shows such as The Young and the Restless and Dennis the Menace, died at age 85. She was the mother of Days star Susan Seaforth Hayes.

2007: Variety confirmed that DirecTV had decided not to renew Passions for another year, but ordered 52 additional episodes to be taped through March 2008.

Paul Rauch

2012: Network executive turned daytime soap opera producer Paul Rauch died at age 78. Rauch served as vice president of CBS daytime programming in the early 1970s before leaving to take over as executive producer of Another World (1971-1983). His partnership with head writer Harding Lemay (1972-1979) produced what is considered by many to be some of the best daytime soap opera in history. In our 2009 inteview with Lemay, he described Rauch as "one of the best producers, probably the best producer I have ever worked with."

He went on to produce One Life to Live (1983 to 1991), Santa Barbara (1991-1993) and Guiding Light (1996-2002). His most recent work was as executive producer for THE The Young and the Restless from 2008 to 2011.

Rauch also created Another World spin-off Texas (1980) and Lovers and Friends (1977), which was later retooled into new soap For Richer, For Poorer.

Celebrating a birthday today are:

Agnes Nixon

Agnes Nixon (Creator, All My Children; One Life to Live; Loving; Writer, As the World Turns; Guiding Light; Another World) - 92
Gloria Loring (ex-Liz, Days of our Lives; Herself, Another World) - 68
Susan Dey (ex-Celia, Emerald Point N.A.S.) - 62
John J. York (Mac, General Hospital; ex-Mac, General HospitalL Night Shift; ex-Mac, Port Charles; ex-Mac, All My Children) - 56
Nia Peeples (Pam, Pretty Little Liars; ex-Karen, The Young and the Restless; ex-Carla, General Hospital; ex-Mallory, Days of our Lives) - 53
Mark Gantt (ex-Jeffrey, The Inn) - 46
Gavin Houston (Jeffrey, The Haves and the Have Nots; ex-Tony, The Bay; ex-Remy, Guiding Light; ex-Sly, General Hospital) - 37

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