Jeff Baker and Penny Hughes (played by Mark Rydell and Rosemary Prinz) were perhaps daytime telivision's first young "super couple." Their turbulent romance kept soap viewers enthralled and helped to propel AS THE WORLD TURNS to the top of the ratings in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Penny and Jeff's first marriage was annulled, but they were married again after facing such problems as Jeff's trial for murder, Penny's miscarriage, Jeff's alcoholism and his desertion of his family.
In 1962, Rydell left the series and it was decided that the character should be killed off, leaving Penny a grieving young widow.
Following his stint on ATWT, Rydell acted in feature films and become a well known director. As a director, Rydell's credits include The Reivers (1969), The Cowboys (1972), Cinderella Liberty (1973), The Rose (1979), On Golden Pond (1981, for which he received an Oscar nomination as Best Director), The River (1984), For the Boys (1991) and Intersection (1994).
DAYTIME SOAP OPERAS
