Today in Soap Opera History (December 6)

1977: For Richer, For Poorer premiered on NBC.
1979: A mystery person tried to enter The Willows on ATWT.
1989: Guiding Light's Phillip tried to get through to Beth.
1995: Y&R's Ryan pitched a new Jabot ad campaign for teens.

"History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer

"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...

1966: On Dark Shadows, Burke Devlin (Mitchell Ryan) realized that Victoria Winters was still at Collinwood.

1974: On General Hospital, Phil Brewer (Martin West) was murdered with a geode paper weight.

Today in Soap Opera History (December 6)

1977: For Richer, For Poorer premiered on NBC.
1979: A mystery person tried to enter The Willows on ATWT.
1989: Guiding Light's Phillip tried to get through to Beth.
1995: Y&R's Ryan pitched a new Jabot ad campaign for teens.

"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...

1966: On Dark Shadows, Burke Devlin (Mitchell Ryan) realized that Victoria Winters was still at Collinwood.

1974: On General Hospital, Phil Brewer (Martin West) was murdered with a geode paper weight.

Today in Soap Opera History (December 6)

1977: For Richer, For Poorer premiered on NBC.
1979: A mystery person tried to enter The Willows on ATWT.
1989: Guiding Light's Phillip tried to get through to Beth.
1995: Y&R's Ryan pitched a new Jabot ad campaign for teens.

"More and more, I tend to read history. I often find it more up to date than the daily newspapers."
― Joe Murray

"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...

1966: On Dark Shadows, Burke Devlin (Mitchell Ryan) realized that Victoria Winters was still at Collinwood.

1974: On General Hospital, Phil Brewer (Martin West) was murdered with a geode paper weight.

Today in Soap Opera History (December 6)

1977: For Richer, For Poorer premiered on NBC.
1979: A mystery person tried to enter The Willows on ATWT.
1989: Guiding Light's Phillip tried to get through to Beth.
1995: Y&R's Ryan pitched a new Jabot ad campaign for teens.

"The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect is already in the cause."
― Henri Louis Bergson

"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...

1966: On Dark Shadows, Burke Devlin (Mitchell Ryan) realized that Victoria Winters was still at Collinwood.

1974: On General Hospital, Phil Brewer (Martin West) was murdered with a geode paper weight.

Today in Soap Opera History (December 6)

1977: For Richer, For Poorer premiered. 1979: A
mystery person tried to enter The Willows on ATWT. 1989: GL's
Phillip tried to get through to Beth. 1995: Y&R's Ryan
pitched a new Jabot ad campaign for teens.

"Most of us spend too much time on the last twenty-four hours and too little on the last six thousand years."
― Will Durant

"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...

1966: On Dark Shadows, Burke (Mitchell Ryan) realized that Victoria was still at Collinwood.

1974: On General Hospital, Phil Brewer (Martin West) was murdered with a geode paper weight.

Today in Soap Opera History (December 6)

1977: FOR RICHER, FOR POORER premiered. 1979: A
mystery person wanted in to ATWT's Willows. 1989: GL's
Phillip tried to get through to Beth. 1995: Y&R's Ryan
pitched a new Jabot ad campaign for teens.

"That is the supreme value of history. The study of it is the best guarantee against repeating it."
- John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir

"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...

1966: On DARK SHADOWS, Burke (Mitchell Ryan) realized that Victoria was still at Collinwood.

1974: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Phil Brewer (Martin West) was murdered with a geode paper weight.

Today in Soap Opera History (December 6)

On this date in...

1966: On DARK SHADOWS, Burke (Mitchell Ryan) realized that Vicki was still at Collinwood.

1974: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Phil Brewer (Martin West) was murdered.

1974: On ANOTHER WORLD, after Rachel broke down Mac (Douglass Watson) skipped his dinner plans with Liz at Pat and John's place.  Mac took Rachel (Victoria Wyndham) out to dinner at Tallboys, listened to her life story, and advised her to give up on Steve and make new friends.

1977: FOR RICHER, FOR POORER, the revamped version of LOVERS AND FRIENDS, debuted. Created by created by Harding Lemay and Paul Rauch, LAF replace SOMERSET in the NBC lineup in 1976. When the retooling occurred, the show's setting was still Point Clair but many changes were made to the storylines. The show only lasted until September 29, 1978.


1998: Emmy-winning actor Michael Zaslow passed away.  He was best known for his work as Roger Thorpe in GUIDING LIGHT and David Renaldi in ONE LIFE TO LIVE.  Watch a clip of Zaslow as Pete Chernak in LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING below.