Today in Soap Opera History (October 12)

1953: Valiant Lady premiered on CBS.
1979: As the World Turns' Lisa was spooked
1981: David Canary debuted on Another World as Steve Frame.
1993: Days of our Lives' Jack Deveraux left Salem.

"The best prophet of the future is the past."
― Lord Byron

"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...

1950: NBC aired the final primetime episode of Hawkins Falls, one of network television's first successful soap operas. The show premiered in June 1950 as an hour-long weekly nighttime drama in a summer replacement slot but was cut back to a half-hour in August until the end of its run. Hawkins Falls returned to the air in April 1951 as a fifteen-minute weekday soap for NBC.

1953: Daytime soap opera Valiant Lady premiered on CBS-TV. The series--created by Allan Chase, produced by Leonard Blair, and directed by Ted Corday, Herb Kenwith and Ira Cirker--was sponsored by Toni and General Mills. Nancy Coleman (later Flora Campbell) starred as Helen Emerson, widow of an inventor and mother of three children, who found a source of income in the lock washer her husband had devised. The prestigious cast included James Kirkwood Jr., Sue Randall, Earl Hammond, Dolores Sutton, Helen Wagner, Jerome Cowan, Martin Balsam, Margaret Hamilton, Abby Lewis, and Lawrence Weber.

Today in Soap Opera History (October 12)

1953: Valiant Lady premiered on CBS.
1979: As the World Turns' Lisa was spooked
1981: David Canary debuted on Another World as Steve Frame.
1993: Days of our Lives' Jack Deveraux left Salem.

"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...

1950: NBC aired the final primetime episode of Hawkins Falls, one of network television's first successful soap operas. The show premiered in June 1950 as an hour-long weekly nighttime drama in a summer replacement slot but was cut back to a half-hour in August until the end of its run. Hawkins Falls returned to the air in April 1951 as a fifteen-minute weekday soap for NBC.

1953: Daytime soap opera Valiant Lady premiered on CBS-TV. The series--created by Allan Chase, produced by Leonard Blair, and directed by Ted Corday, Herb Kenwith and Ira Cirker--was sponsored by Toni and General Mills. Nancy Coleman (later Flora Campbell) starred as Helen Emerson, widow of an inventor and mother of three children, who found a source of income in the lock washer her husband had devised. The prestigious cast included James Kirkwood Jr., Sue Randall, Earl Hammond, Dolores Sutton, Helen Wagner, Jerome Cowan, Martin Balsam, Margaret Hamilton, Abby Lewis, and Lawrence Weber.

Today in Soap Opera History (October 12)

1953: Valiant Lady premiered on CBS.
1979: As the World Turns' Lisa was spooked
1981: David Canary debuted on Another World as Steve Frame.
1993: Days of our Lives' Jack Deveraux left Salem.

"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."
― Maya Angelou

"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...

1950: NBC aired the final primetime episode of Hawkins Falls, one of network television's first successful soap operas. The show premiered in June 1950 as an hour-long weekly nighttime drama in a summer replacement slot but was cut back to a half-hour in August until the end of its run. Hawkins Falls returned to the air in April 1951 as a fifteen-minute weekday soap for NBC.

1953: Daytime soap opera Valiant Lady premiered on CBS-TV. The series--created by Allan Chase, produced by Leonard Blair, and directed by Ted Corday, Herb Kenwith and Ira Cirker--was sponsored by Toni and General Mills. Nancy Coleman (later Flora Campbell) starred as Helen Emerson, widow of an inventor and mother of three children, who found a source of income in the lock washer her husband had devised. The prestigious cast included James Kirkwood Jr., Sue Randall, Earl Hammond, Dolores Sutton, Helen Wagner, Jerome Cowan, Martin Balsam, Margaret Hamilton, Abby Lewis, and Lawrence Weber.

Today in Soap Opera History (October 12)

1953: VALIANT LADY premiered. 1979: Lisa Colman was spooked
on ATWT. 1981: David Canary debuted on AW. 1993: DAYS'
Jack Deveraux left Salem.

"History cannot give us a program for the future, but it can give us a fuller understanding of ourselves, and of our common humanity, so that we can better face the future."
― Robert Penn Warren

"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...

1950: NBC aired the final primetime episode of Hawkins Falls, one of network television's first successful soap operas. The show premiered in June 1950 as an hour-long weekly nighttime drama in a summer replacement slot but was cut back to a half-hour in August until the end of its run. Hawkins Falls returned to the air in April 1951 as a fifteen-minute weekday soap for NBC.

1953: Daytime soap opera Valiant Lady premiered on CBS-TV. The series was created by Allan Chase and produced by Leonard Blair. Helen Emerson was the central character during the show's four year run and was played by two actresses along the way, Nancy Coleman and Flora Campbell. As the World Turns legend Helen Wagner played Jane Lyman for a year.

Today in Soap Opera History (October 12)

1953: VALIANT LADY premiered. 1979: Lisa Colman was spooked
on ATWT. 1981: David Canary debuted on AW. 1993: DAYS'
Jack Deveraux left Salem.

"We should always be aware that what now lies in the past once lay in the future."
― F.W. Maitland

"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...

1950: HAWKINS FALLS, one of network television's first successful soap operas, aired for the final time in primetime. The show premiered on NBC in June 1950 as an hour-long weekly primetime drama in a summer replacement slot but was cut back to a half-hour in August until the end of its run. HAWKINS FALLS returned to the air in April 1951 as a fifteen-minute weekday soap for NBC.

1953: Daytime soap opera VALIANT LADY premiered on CBS-TV. The series was created by Adrian Spies and written by Charles Elwyn. Helen Emerson was the central character during the show's four year run and was played by two actresses along the way, Nancy Coleman and Flora Campbell. AS THE WORLD TURNS legend Helen Wagner played Jane Lyman for a year.

Thom Racina Visits @NELSON'S

This week's episode of @NELSON'S finds Nelson Aspen interviewing author and soap opera writer Thom Racina.  Racina famously invented the Ice Princess story on GENERAL HOSPITAL and also wrote for DAYS OF OUR LIVES, ANOTHER WORLD, GENERATIONS, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW and THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. He mostly recently served as head writer for the new ONE LIFE TO LIVE (the interview was shot just prior to him leaving OLTL).

Watch the fascinating interview below which includes stories about Elizabeth Taylor, Brad Pitt and much more.

Today in Soap Opera History (October 12)

On this date in...

1950: HAWKINS FALLS aired for the last time in prime time.  The show was one of network television's first successful soap operas, though it first aired---in June of 1950---as an hour-long weekly prime time drama in a summer replacement slot. In August of 1950, the show was cut back to a half-hour finishing its run in October.

HAWKINS FALLS returned to the air in April of 1951 as a fifteen-minute weekday soap for NBC. Heading up the cast was Bernadine Flynn, who from 1932 to 1946 had played "Sade" on the VIC AND SADE radio soap.

The HF plot dealt with the mildly problematical lives of the residents of a small Midwestern town. The physical model for Hawkins Falls was the town of Woodstock, Illinois, forty miles northwest of Chicago in McHenry County. The show's main title and closing credits consisted of a crawl rolled over film shot in Woodstock.

The commercials---for the soap product "Surf"---were delivered live by Hugh Downs. Each episode closed with a memorable announcer tag: "This program has come to you from Hawkins Falls---by way of Chicago."

1953: VALIANT LADY premiered on CBS television. The series was created by Adrian Spies and written by Charles Elwyn. Helen Emerson was the central character during the show's four year run and was played by two actresses along the way, Nancy Coleman and Flora Campbell. AS THE WORLD TURNS legend Helen Wagner played Jane Lyman for a year.

Lindsay Lohan Set To Star In Lifetime's Elizabeth Taylor Movie

Lindsay Lohan is set to star as the legendary Elizabeth Taylor in the Lifetime Original Movie Liz & Dick, based on the true story of the screen icon’s historic romance with actor Richard Burton.  Principal photography on the movie will begin in early June in Los Angeles, it was announced today by Rob Sharenow, Executive Vice President, Programming, of Lifetime Networks.

The Sexiest Women of All-Time: Jennifer Aniston, Raquel Welch, Heather Locklear, Teri Hatcher, Elizabeth Taylor, Farrah Fawcett

Men's Health has ranked The Sexiest Women of All-Time and Jennifer Aniston landed at No. 1.

Here are some of the names that appeared on daytime or primetime soap operas:
94. Kathleen Turner
90. Barbara Eden
74. Demi Moore
69. Elizabeth Taylor
42. Brooke Shields
38. Teri Hatcher
35. Halle Berry
31. Farrah Fawcett
22. Salma Hayek
19. Heather Locklear
  2. Raquel Welch
  1. Jennifer Aniston

Check out "100 Hottest" here, although we have to question any list that ranks Kim Kardashian and Pamela Anderson ahead of Farrah Fawcett!

Who would you have ranked as No. 1?

Today in Soap Opera History (October 12)

On this date in...

1953: VALIANT LADY premiered on CBS radio and television. The series was created by Adrian Spies and written by Charles Elwyn. Helen Emerson was the central character during the show's four year run and was played by two actresses along the way, Nancy Coleman and Flora Campbell. AS THE WORLD TURNS legend Helen Wagner played Jane Lyman for a year.

1974: DAYS OF OUR LIVES costars Susan Seaforth (Julie) and Bill Hayes (Doug) were married in real life. Less than two years later their characters were married on the show. Happy Anniversary!