Frank Salisbury: Remembering a Quiet Giant of Daytime Television

The daytime drama world lost a giant on March 20, 2026. If you were a soap opera fan, you knew my friend, Emmy Award–winning scriptwriter Frank Salisbury, from the writing credits that rolled at the end of your favorite shows. His résumé included The Edge of Night, Somerset, Search for Tomorrow, General Hospital, As the World Turns, Guiding Light, Capitol, Dynasty, Santa Barbara, Rituals, and Days of our Lives.

Frank Salisbury

The son of a theater manager and an acting coach, Frank was born in Texas and raised in California. He began his career at a literary agency before moving into television, writing for anthology series such as Schlitz Playhouse. At one point, he stepped away from writing entirely, rising to vice president at a contracting company. But fate—as it often does in soap operas—pulled him back to storytelling.

Several years ago, Frank agreed to a series of interviews with me about his remarkable career. True to form, he approached it with wit and humility, joking, “I confess the answers to many of them are lost in the mists of time.”

What follows are some of his recollections about working on the shows fans still talk about today. (I’ve skipped Santa Barbara, as many of his thoughts on that series are already widely available, and a new book by Melissa Braverman Spears is on the way.)

How did you first break into soaps?
Henry Slesar and I shared an agent, and in 1972 he was looking for an associate writer. My agent suggested I submit a sample script. I did—and that was the beginning.

I started writing one script a week for Henry, then two, then three—this was on The Edge of Night. At the same time, he was head writing Somerset and asked me to join him there as well. For a while, I was doing three scripts for Edge and two for Somerset each week.

After a writers’ strike cost Henry his position on Somerset, we continued on Edge until 1975, when I left to join General Hospital.

What do you remember about your early work on The Edge of Night?
Bill and Martha Marceau were prominent at the time, and I suspect their story was among the first I worked on—though I can’t be entirely sure. I also remember Donald May and Maeve McGuire very clearly.

What did you think of the Whitney family?
I loved the Whitneys—and Lois Kibbee. Or perhaps that was Somerset. Whichever it was, I loved them. (I wrote for Lois on both shows.)

What was your take on Somerset?
I thought it was a splendid show. I loved the actors—uniformly. I didn’t stay long initially but returned for brief stints.

For a deeper look at Frank Salisbury’s remarkable career and reflections on the industry, read the full interview at We Love Soaps Insider.  You can also sign up for We Love Soaps Insider email alerts to receive new articles in your inbox.