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1988: General Hopsital's Jake was back in Port Charles.
1994: All My Children's Laurel tried to expose Janet.
2002: Young and the Restless' Victoria slapped Victor.
2005: Kay talked to the mystery woman on Passions. |
"History is a vast early warning system."― Norman Cousins
"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, the doctors realized that Mary Harper's (Anne Sargent) coma was a result of a drug overdose, rather than head injuries.
1972: Susan Brown debuted as Constance MacKenzie Carson in Return to
Peyton Place.
1974: On
Another World, Carol Lamonte (Jeanne Lange) met with Steve Frame (
George Reinholt) to sound him out about Rachel.
1981: On
Guiding Light, Vanessa Chamberlain (temporarily played by Anna Stuart) tried to convince his father (William Roerick) to relax over their embezzlement secret.
Thanks to Jennifer for sending in the clip above.1983: On
Dallas, Ray Krebbs (Steve Kanaly) was found guilty of killing Mickey Trotter and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
1985: On
Santa Barbara, Eden (Marcy Walker) gave Cruz (A Martinez) the engagement ring back.
1986: On
Another World, Reginald (John Considine) vowed to make Brittany (
Sharon Gabet) pay for shooting Peter.
1988: On
General Hospital, Scott Baldwin (Kin Shriner) and Jake Meyer (Sam Behrens) made opening statements at Anna Devane's trial.
1988: On
Santa Barbara, Gina DeMott (Robin Mattson) and Mason lookalike Sonny Sprocket (Lane Davies) set up Julia Wainwright (Nancy Lee Gran) to see them together.
1992: Stephen Nichols aired for the final time as Dr. Skyler Gates on
Santa Barbara.
1994: On
All My Children, when pressed by Jack and Trevor, a hospitalized Laurel Banning (Felicity LaFortune) managed to say "Janet" as Janet (Robin Mattson) looked on.
1997: On
Guiding Light, Reva Shayne (Kim Zimmer) reunited Cassie Winslow (Laura Wright) with her daughter, Tammy.
1998: Actress Norma Connolly died at age 71. She was best known for her long-running role as Ruby Anderson in
General Hospital. She also played Lena Karr Gilroy in
The Young Marrieds. During her career, Connolly appeared in scores of television specials, movies and miniseries. She was a board member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. She was also active in the battle against AIDS, serving on the board of Hollywood Helps. She was responsible for recruiting soap opera performers for such fund-raisers as the "Soap Star Spectacular" staged in 1992 at the Santa Monica Airport.
2002: On
The Young and the Restless, after Victoria (Heather Tom) discovered that her ever-controlling father, Victor (Eric Braeden), had been behind her boyfriend, Diego Guttierez (Greg Vaughan), leaving town, she angrily confronted and SLAPPED him!
Thanks to FoxCrane for sending in the item above.2003: On
As the World Turns, Lucy Montgomery learned that Alison Stewart and Aaron Snyder slept together.
Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.2005: On
Passions, the mystery woman with red nails (played Sharon Wyatt) told Kay Bennett (Heidi Mueller) she gave up on her true love once, and it almost killed everyone she ever loved.
2011: At the BBC's annual "Children in Need" telethon, the cast of
EastEnders wowed the crowd with its memorable Queen tribute video by performing a medley of four of the band's hit songs in full '80s rock attire. During the finale, nearly the entire cast and crew descended upon Albert Square to sing the chorus of "Radio Ga Ga," a song, which in some way might apply to traditional soap opera, eh? Enjoy!
Thanks to FoxCrane for sending in the item above.2016: Jen Lilley aired for the last time to end her three-year run as Theresa Donovan on
Days of our Lives. On Friday, it was revealed that
Lilley would be returning to the role in May 2018.
Thanks to Enrique for sending in the item above.Celebrating a birthday today are:Brenda Vaccaro (ex-Julia,
Paper Dolls) - 78
Linda Evans (ex-Krystle,
Dynasty) - 75
Susan Sullivan (ex-Lenore,
Another World; ex-Nancy,
A World Apart; ex-Maggie,
Falcon Crest) - 75
Peter Brouwer (ex-Alex,
One Life to Live; ex-Brad,
As the World Turns; ex-Joe,
Love of Life; ex-Judge Robinson, A
ll My Children) - 72
Glenn Walken (ex-Mike,
Guiding Light) - 72
Walter Bobbie (ex-William,
One Life to Live) - 72
Jameson Parker (ex-Dale,
Somerset; ex-Brad,
One Life to Live) - 70
Gilles Kohler (ex-Gilles,
All My Children) - 69
Andrea Marcovicci (ex-Betsy,
Love is a Many Splendored Thing; ex-Gloria,
Berrenger's; ex-Sophia,
General Hospital) - 69
Dennis Haskins (ex-Priest,
The Young and the Restless; ex-Mack,
The Bold and the Beautiful) - 67
Shari Shattuck (ex-Ashley,
The Young and the Restless; ex-Heather,
The Bold and the Beautiful) - 57
Paul Korver (ex-Chris,
As the World Turns) - 46
Chloë Sevigny (ex-Shelley,
American Horror Story) - 43
Rob Kazinsky (ex-Macklyn,
True Blood; ex-Sean,
EastEnders) - 34
Jake Abel (ex-Adam,
Supernatural) - 30
EDITOR'S NOTE: If you would like to submit a soap history entry for this date or a future date, email
editor@welovesoaps.com.
The Live + Same Day daytime Nielsen ratings are in for the shortened week October 30-November 3, 2017. General Hospital ranked first in the Women 18-49 demo, the first time the show has been alone in the top spot since June 2014.
Kelly Thiebaud will be making a return visit to ABC soap opera General Hospital in December.
