Sad Septembers for Soap Operas: 'Guiding Light', 'As the World Turns' & 'All My Children'

By Michael Poirier
Contributing Writer, We Love Soaps Insider

The great Irna Phillips once said, “As the world turns, we know the bleakness of winter, the promise of spring, the fullness of summer and the harvest of autumn – the cycle of life is complete. What is true of the world, nature, is also true of man – he too has his cycle.”

One of the darkest periods in soap opera history came between 2009 and 2011. Three long-running daytime dramas—Guiding Light, As the World Turns, and All My Children—each aired their final episodes in September. They were soon followed by a fourth cancellation when One Life to Live aired its final episode on ABC on January 13, 2012.

It was an incredibly sad time for fans, actors, crew members, and journalists. With every concluding fade to black, it felt as though the entire genre was dying.

Over the years, I had the opportunity to ask actors Crystal Chappell, Robert Newman, Terri Conn Peck, and Cady McClain what those final days were like behind the scenes, when the cameras stopped rolling. Here they are in their own words.

Guiding Light

Last Airdate: September 18, 2009

Crystal Chappell (Olivia): So, I don’t know that there’s an easy way to wrap up a show like that, one that has such a long history and such a legacy. But we shot it over a period of days because it was really based on location, and I think a lot of shows do that. They do it by set because it just is less expensive to do it that way.

So, we shot it over a period of a week. We took time with that last episode in Peapack, New Jersey, because the last two weeks that we were in production were all out of the studio. We got out of CBS, and because they had to break down all the sets, that was just hard to watch.

But I think they did a good job, for what they had to do to wrap up such a legacy of a show. I think they did a really, really good job. You know, a happy ending. Honestly, I think they just wanted people to feel good about saying goodbye, so I was all for it. There was a lot of good stuff in there and a lot of ease heading out. Josh and Reva got together.

Robert Newman (Josh): The last day of shooting with Kim, there’s a couple of different answers to that. So, the scene that you see at the very end of Guiding Light at the lighthouse was not my last day of shooting with Kim. That was out of order. We shot it maybe a week earlier.

That was a beautiful day out there by the lighthouse with that old car. Both of us wanted to buy the old truck that we were working in, but the guy wouldn’t sell it.

And that was, you know, a really lovely day of shooting with her, but it didn’t have that sense of, “Oh my God, this is the last time we’ll ever be together as these characters.”

That came a few days later. There was a scene outside of Cross Creek, shot on location in Peapack, New Jersey, where, again, I was getting into a car and leaving. I think it was probably the scene where we agreed to meet a year later or whatever that was, and that was a tearjerker. You know, we finished the scene, and we hugged for a very long time.

Grant Aleksander was passing out tequila shots to everybody. They would shoot their last scene, and he would show up with a tray of tequila shots. The stage manager would announce how long each person had been on the show as they finished each scene. And that whole day was just really emotional. It was for me and Kim.

We do see each other all the time. We’re still really good friends. We’ve done, I don’t know, four or five different plays together, including Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Gypsy and a couple of others. I just adore her. We’re still good friends.

As the World Turns

Last Airdate: September 17, 2010

Terri Conn Peck (Katie): I get a little emotional every time I talk about it, so forgive me if I cry. Especially talking about those last final hours we all had together.

That day was very sad. There was not a dry eye in the house. It took a while for all of us to get through all of our scenes because it was very emotional, especially for those of us who had been there a long time. And there were people there a lot longer than I was.

So, I love the fact that Dr. Bob, Don Hastings, got to have the last line, just like Nancy had had the first line 52 years—or 54 years, I guess—prior to that. So we came around and watched that last scene with him and Kim saying goodbye. It was very emotional.

Obviously, this was a very big time in my life. I love everybody that was on that show. It was just a moment in time, a special moment in time. And as soon as the director called cut, we all hugged and cried and popped some champagne and stood around telling stories.

People talked about how close we were and how we had had babies together and weddings together and seen people grow up. I feel like I grew up on that show. So it was a really beautiful, beautiful day, and I cannot believe it was so long ago now.

All My Children

Last Airdate: September 23, 2011

Cady McClain (Dixie): It was very bittersweet, and it was confusing because there was Prospect Park, the company that was going to bring it to the internet. So, a lot of people were like, “Well, I shouldn’t feel sad. We’re going on. It’s not ending. It’s moving on.”

And then other people were like, “I’m not comfortable with this. This is not going to be the same thing. I feel very insecure about this.”

And they were very conflicted. But we were all really sure that it was the ending of an era.

And that part of it was very clear for us. So that was really sad. And I remember standing in the back—oh my gosh, Agnes Nixon. So they invited us all to set, you know, for a kind of little closing moment for All My Children, and Agnes Nixon sang a song. She sang some sweet little song from the ‘20s, like goodbye and good night. And we were just all bawling. It was crazy.

I was like, “They should make a law against sweet little older ladies singing sweet little songs. Totally should be against the law.”

So that was very, very touching and very emotional, I think, for so many people. I remember standing with Julia Barr, and both she and I were just a mess.

What did I think of the final episode? I was conflicted. I kind of felt like it didn’t really sum up… I mean, how do you sum up all those years? I wish they had focused less on story and more on memory, I guess. Like great moments, great storylines, you know, really looked back hardcore on all of those characters.

There are so many characters, so many wonderful moments, and I wish more of those moments from the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s, you know, got their due.

Author’s Note: If anyone reading this was on a soap set for its final days of shooting, drop us a line so we can record your story for posterity.

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Native New Englander Mike Poirier has written for numerous maritime journals and national newspapers. His research and memorabilia collection can be seen in many liner books and TV specials, including Erik Larson’s best seller, “Dead Wake”. He also co-authored, “Into the Danger Zone” with Tad Fitch.

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- OPINION: Thoughts on the ‘All My Children’ Television Finale (”This is not the ending I wanted”)
- The End of the World: Thoughts on the Final Episode of ‘As the World Turns’
- A Happy Ending on the ‘Guiding Light’ Finale