Today in Soap Opera History (December 18)

1975: Delia took action to save her marriage on Ryan's Hope.
1979: Deer hunters shot at Deborah on The Edge of Night.
1985: Santa Barbara's Lionel (Don Stewart) apologized to Brick.
2006: One Life to Live's Blair worried about her baby.

"More and more, I tend to read history. I often find it more up to date than the daily newspapers."
― Joe Murray

"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...

1946: DuMont Television Network aired the final episode of the first network TV soap opera, Faraway Hill. The show, created by David P. Lewis, premiered two and a half months earlier on October 2nd.

1967: On The Doctors, when Dr. Matt Powers (James Pritchett) told Dr. Althea Davis (Elizabeth Hubbard) that she had violated the "morals clause" in her contract by becoming pregnant, Althea railed against a system that didn't hold the father of the baby equally accountable.



1975: On Ryan's Hope, Delia (Ilene Kristen) interrupted Frank's (Michael Hawkins) meeting with the district leaders and announced she was to blame for their issues. As the group debated what to do, Charley spoke out in support of Frank. Frank confronted Delia about her actions and just as he was about to inform her that their marriage was over, Charley walked in to tell them Delia saved the day for Frank, which made Frank realize he was trapped in his marriage with Delia.



1979: On Guiding Light, Mike Bauer (Don Stewart) told Barbara Thorpe (Barbara Berjer) that it was possible Roger Thorpe was back in Springfield.



Thanks to Jennifer for sending in the clip above.

1979: On The Edge of Night, two hunters shot at Deborah (Frances Fisher) in the woods thinking she was a deer.



1980: On Another World, Rachel (Victoria Wyndham) gave birth to a 7 and 1/2 pound baby boy. She told Tracy and Russ she was going to name him Matthew after them and the Matthews family, and his last name would be Cory. Rachel was in prison at the time for murdering Mitch Blake and initially wanted Tracy and Russ to raise the baby, fathered by Mitch. She changed her mind after Mac told her he wanted to raise Matthew to keep the family together.



Thanks to Scott for sending in the item above.

1981: On Guiding Light, Nola Reardon (Lisa Brown) charmed Quinton McCord (Michael Tylo) during her first ever airplane flight, on a trip they took to San Francisco.



Thanks to Jennifer for sending in the clip above.

1985: On Santa Barbara, Lionel (temporarily played by longtime Guiding Light star Don Stewart) apologized to Brick for his role in making Augusta think Brick was her enemy. Later, Lionel asked Dylan Hartley (Page Moseley) to give Brick a job, while Brick and Amy looked for Brick's birth records.



1987: On Days of our Lives, Eve (Charlotte Ross) told Kim (Patsy Pease) she planned on being close to her little brother, Andrew, and the new baby girl. Kim suggested they go to family counseling to work out their issues. Meanwhile, when Gabrielle (Karen Moncrieff) and Shane (Charles Shaughnessy) talked about Eve. Gabrielle accidentally mentioneds Shropshire, making Shane wonder how she knew about it.

1987: On All My Children, Jesse Hubbard (Darnell Williams) shared his fears about AIDS with his wife, Dr. Angie Hubbard, (Debbi Morgan). Meanwhile, Cindy Parker (Ellen Wheeler) prayed for strength when it became clear she may have been exposed to the AIDS virus.



1987: On Another World, Dr. Jamie Frame (Laurence Lau) told Chad Rollo (Barbara Bush) and Scott LaSalle (Hank Cheyne) that Chad's sister, Dawn Rollo (Barbara Bush), had AIDS. Dawn had a car accident five years earlier, and needed a blood transfusion. Dawn and Chad's mother donated blood because she had the same rare blood type as Dawn. The mother, who was formerly a prostitute, died a few months before Dawn's diagnosis. Note: Dawn Rollo was the first character on soaps to be diagnosed with AIDS. A few weeks later, All My Children's Cindy Park (Ellen Wheeler) was also confirmed to have AIDS.



1989: On Another World, a mystery man carried an unconscious Rachel (Victoria Wyndham) into the E.R.

1995: On Days of our Lives, John Blake (Drake Hogestyn) saw the Woman in White in his cell. Note: Stephanie Cameron debuted as Jennifer Horton Deveraux in this episode.

2006: On One Life to Live, Blair (Kassie DePaiva) begged "Todd" (Trevor St. John) to save her baby as she was being rushed into surgery.



2006: On The Young and the Restless, trapped in an elevator during an ice storm, Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) begged Jack (Peter Bergman) to save her baby (Summer) as her contractions started coming faster.

Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.

2007: On General Hospital, Maxie (Kirsten Storms) was devastated over Georgie's death, and Mac (John J. York) told Robin (Kimberly McCullough) about the murder.



Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Gillian Spencer (ex-Jennifer, As the World Turns; ex-Daisy, All My Children; ex-Lyn, The Edge of Night; ex-Leora, The Secret Storm; ex-Robin, Guiding Light, ex-Victoria, One Life to Live; Former Writer, Guiding Light; Days of our Lives; General Hospital; Another World; All My Children; As the World Turns) - 76
Ray Liotta (ex-Joey, Another World) - 61
Brad Pitt (ex-Chris, Another World; ex-Randy, Dallas) - 52
Steve Austin (ex-WWE) - 51
Shawn Christian (ex-Daniel, Days of our Lives; Brandon, Venice; ex-Mike, As the World Turns; ex-Ross, One Life to Live) - 49
Rachel Griffiths (ex-Sarah, Brothers & Sisters; ex-Brenda, Six Feet Under) - 47
Casper Van Dien (ex-Ty, One Life to Live) - 47
Lucy Deakins (ex-Lily, As the World Turns) - 44
Katie Holmes (ex-Joey, Dawson's Creek) - 37
Josh Dallas (Prince Charming, Once Upon A Time) - 34
Matt Palazzolo (Brooke, Bloomers) - 31
Ashley Benson (Hannah, Pretty Little Liars; ex-Mia, Eastwick; ex-Abby, Days of our Lives) - 26
Bridgit Mendler (ex-General Hospital) - 23

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