Today in Soap Opera History (December 18)

 

1975: Delia took drastic 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: On One Life to Live, Blair feared for her unborn baby.

ON THIS DAY IN...

1946: The DuMont Television Network aired the final episode of Faraway Hill, the first network television soap opera. Created by David P. Lewis, the series debuted just two and a half months earlier on October 2—brief but historic.

1967: On The Doctors, Dr. Matt Powers (James Pritchett) informed Dr. Althea Davis (Elizabeth Hubbard) that she had violated the “morals clause” in her contract by becoming pregnant. Althea responded with a blistering takedown of a double standard that punished women while excusing the men involved—a moment well ahead of its time.

1975: On Ryan’s Hope, Delia (Ilene Kristen) burst into Frank’s (Michael Hawkins) meeting with district leaders and publicly took the blame for their troubles. As opinions flew, Charley unexpectedly defended Frank. When Frank later confronted Delia and prepared to declare their marriage over, Charley returned with news that Delia had saved Frank politically—leaving him to realize he was stuck in the marriage after all.



1979: On Guiding Light, Mike Bauer (Don Stewart) warned Barbara Thorpe (Barbara Berjer) that Roger Thorpe might be back in Springfield—words that never bode well.



1979: On The Edge of Night, two hunters mistook Deborah (Frances Fisher) for a deer and shot at her in the woods, delivering one of the show’s most shocking moments.



1980: On Another World, Rachel (Victoria Wyndham) gave birth to a 7½‑pound baby boy while in prison for murdering Mitch Blake. She named him Matthew, honoring Tracy, Russ, and the Matthews family, giving him the last name Cory. Though she initially wanted Tracy and Russ to raise him, Rachel changed her mind after Mac vowed to keep the family together.

1981: On Guiding Light, Nola Reardon (Lisa Brown) charmed Quinton McCord (Michael Tylo) during her very first airplane flight as the pair traveled to San Francisco.



1985: On Santa Barbara, Lionel—temporarily portrayed by longtime Guiding Light star Don Stewart—apologized to Brick for convincing Augusta that Brick was her enemy. Lionel later asked Dylan Hartley (Page Moseley) to help Brick find work, while Brick and Amy searched for his birth records.



1987: On Days of our Lives, Eve (Charlotte Ross) told Kim (Patsy Pease) she intended to be close to her younger brother Andrew and the new baby girl. Kim suggested family counseling. Elsewhere, Gabrielle (Karen Moncrieff) accidentally mentioned Shropshire while talking to Shane (Charles Shaughnessy), leaving him suspicious about how she knew.

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



1987: On Another World, Dr. Jamie Frame (Laurence Lau) informed Chad Rollo (played by Barbara Bush) and Scott LaSalle (Hank Cheyne) that Chad’s sister, Dawn Rollo (also played by Barbara Bush), had AIDS. Dawn contracted the virus through a blood transfusion following a car accident. Her mother—who shared her rare blood type—had donated the blood and later died. Note: Dawn Rollo became the first soap character diagnosed with AIDS. Weeks later, All My Children’s Cindy Parker was also confirmed to have the disease.



1989: On Another World, a mysterious man carried an unconscious Rachel (Victoria Wyndham) into the emergency room.

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

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



2006: On The Young and the Restless, trapped in an elevator during an ice storm, Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) pleaded with Jack (Peter Bergman) to save her baby as her contractions intensified.

2007: On General Hospital, Maxie (Kirsten Storms) was shattered by Georgie’s death, while Mac (John J. York) delivered the devastating news to Robin (Kimberly McCullough).

TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS

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) - 86

Jeff Kober (Cyrus, General Hospital) - 72
Brad Pitt (ex-Chris, Another World; ex-Randy, Dallas) - 61
Steve Austin (ex-WWE) - 60
Shawn Christian (ex-Daniel, Days of our Lives; Brandon, Venice; ex-Mike, As the World Turns; ex-Ross, One Life to Live) - 58
Rachel Griffiths (ex-Sarah, Brothers & Sisters; ex-Brenda, Six Feet Under) - 56
Casper Van Dien (ex-Ty, One Life to Live) - 56
Lucy Deakins (ex-Lily, As the World Turns) - 53
Katie Holmes (ex-Joey, Dawson's Creek) - 46
Josh Dallas (ex-Prince Charming, Once Upon A Time) - 43
Ashley Benson (ex-Hannah, Pretty Little Liars; ex-Mia, Eastwick; ex-Abby, Days of our Lives) - 35
Bridgit Mendler (ex-General Hospital) - 32