Today in Soap Opera History (September 21)

1979: Dallas' Sue Ellen neglected baby John Ross Ewing III
1979: Dan Stewart was mourned on As the World Turns.
1981: General Hospital's Luke Spencer saved the world!
2011: All My Children's Martin family reflected on the past.

"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...

1939: Radio station WJSV in Washington, D.C. recorded their entire broadcast day. From 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. the following day a "time capsule" was created for posterity. Of important note is Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech to Congress encouraging repeal of the U.S. Neutrality Law. Below are recaps for the daytime soap operas that aired on WJSV that day. All totaled, 18 daytime dramas were heard during the course of this broadcast day. The high number of soaps presented on the schedule underscored what an important, dominate genre this was on radio at the time and what a sought-after audience women must have been.

8:45 a.m. Bachelor's Children - Sam explained to his wife, Janet, how bills were brought before the legislature.

Today in Soap Opera History (September 21)

1979: Dallas' Sue Ellen neglected baby John Ross Ewing III
1979: Dan Stewart was mourned on As the World Turns.
1981: General Hospital's Luke Spencer saved the world!
2011: All My Children's Martin family reflected on the past.

"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...

1939: Radio station WJSV in Washington, D.C. recorded their entire broadcast day. From 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. the following day a "time capsule" was created for posterity. Of important note is Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech to Congress encouraging repeal of the U.S. Neutrality Law. Below are recaps for the daytime soap operas that aired on WJSV that day. All totaled, 18 daytime dramas were heard during the course of this broadcast day. The high number of soaps presented on the schedule underscored what an important, dominate genre this was on radio at the time and what a sought-after audience women must have been.

8:45 a.m. Bachelor's Children - Sam explained to his wife, Janet, how bills were brought before the legislature.

9:00 a.m. Pretty Kitty Kelly - Michael and Martin worked to proved Kitty was innocent of Madmoiselle Dupin's murder.

'Our Gang' and Radio Soap Actor Jerry Tucker Dead at 91

Jerry Tucker in 1940 while starring in CBS soap opera Hilltop House.

Jerry Schatz, a former child actor who appeared in several Our Gang comedies, often as a spoiled rich kid, died Wednesday morning of natural causes at the Long Island State Veterans Home in Stony Brook at age 91, his daughter Renee Schatz Wolf confirmed.

“He was a child actor, a disabled World War II veteran, a Mason, a Shriner, an Odd Fellow, but most of all he was our dad,” Wolf said.

Schatz, who was born in Chicago and acted under the screen name Jerry Tucker, always downplayed his screen accomplishments.

“Growing up, I thought everybody worked in the movies,” Schatz told Newsday in 2013. “I had no idea there was an outside world.”

Schatz also appeared in some of the biggest movies of the 1930s including Babes in Toyland (1934) with Laurel and Hardy, San Francisco (1936), Captain January (1936) with Temple and Boys Town (1938).

His credits include a stint on CBS radio soap opera Hilltop House (1939-1940). He played Roy Barry.

Schatz and his wife, Myra, who died in 2012, settled in Copiague, New York in 1950, where he worked as an electrical engineer with RCA Global Communications. He was also actively with several military-related groups, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars. In June 2015, a portion of St. Ann’s Avenue in Copiague was renamed Jerry Schatz Place in honor of his military career and service to the community.

In addition to Wolf, Schatz is survived by his daughter, Karen Duffy; five grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

Today in Soap Opera History (September 21)

1979: Dallas' Sue Ellen neglected baby John Ross Ewing III
1979: Dan Stewart was mourned on As the World Turns.
1981: General Hospital's Luke Spencer saved the world!
2011: All My Children's Martin family reflected on the past.

"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...

1939: Radio station WJSV in Washington, D.C. recorded their entire broadcast day. From 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. the following day a "time capsule" was created for posterity. Of important note is Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech to Congress encouraging repeal of the U.S. Neutrality Law. Here are synopsis for the daytime soap operas that aired that day:

Bachelor's Children - Sam explained to his wife, Janet, how bills were brought before the legislature.

Today in Soap Opera History (September 21)

1979: Dallas' Sue Ellen neglected baby John Ross Ewing III
1979: Dan Stewart was mourned on As the World Turns.
1981: General Hospital's Luke Spencer saved the world!
2011: All My Children's Martin family reflected on the past.

"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...

1939: Radio station WJSV in Washington, D.C. recorded their entire broadcast day. From 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. the following day a "time capsule" was created for posterity. Of important note is Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech to Congress encouraging repeal of the U.S. Neutrality Law. Here are synopsis for the daytime soap operas that aired that day:

Bachelor's Children - Sam explained to his wife, Janet, how bills were brought before the legislature.

Today in Soap Opera History (September 21)

1979: Baby John Ross Ewing III made his first appearance in
DALLAS. 1979: Dan Stewart's funeral was held on ATWT.
1981: GH's Luke Spencer saved the world! 2011: AMC's Martin
family got together and reflected on the past.

"In history, a great volume is unrolled for our instruction, drawing the materials of future wisdom from the past errors and infirmities of mankind."
― Edmund Burke

"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...

1939: Radio station WJSV in Washington, D.C. recorded their entire broadcast day. From 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. the following day a "time capsule" was created for posterity. Of important note is Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech to Congress encouraging repeal of the U.S. Neutrality Law. Here are synopsis for the daytime soap operas that aired that day:

BACHELOR'S CHILDREN - Sam explained to his wife, Janet, how bills were brought before the legislature.

Today in Soap Opera History (September 21)

On this date in...

1939: Radio station WJSV in Washington, D.C. recorded their entire broadcast day. From 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. the following day a "time capsule" was created for posterity. Of important note is Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech to Congress encouraging repeal of the U.S. Neutrality Law. There were a number of soaps as well (OUR GAL SUNDAY, THE ROMANCE OF HELEN TRENT) and you can listen to HILLTOP HOUSE here.

1976: On ANOTHER WORLD, Pat was disgusted when John brought up saving her from a murder charge in the past.

1979: John Ross Ewing III first appeared on DALLAS in the episode titled "Whatever Happened to Baby John?, Part 1."  Sue Ellen returned to Southfork and neglected returning to Dallas to visit John Ross, much to the chagrin of the rest of the family. Bobby took it upon himself to run interference for J.R. when Cliff continued poking around the hospital.

1981: On GENERAL HOSPITAL, Luke (Anthony Geary) finally figured out the correct password to the weather machine saving Port Charles...and the world!

Today in Soap Opera History (September 21)

On this date in...

1939: Radio station WJSV in Washington, D.C. recorded their entire broadcast day. From 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. the following day a "time capsule" was created for posterity. Of important note is Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech to Congress encouraging repeal of the U.S. Neutrality Law. There were a number of soaps as well and you can listen to HILLTOP HOUSE here.

2005: On DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Patrick comforted Chelsea after Sami called her a whore.

50 Greatest Soap Actors: #11 Don Hastings

NAME: Don Hastings
RANK: 11
SOAP ROLES: Bob Hughes, AS THE WORLD TURNS (1960-present); Bob Hughes, OUR PRIVATE WORLD (1965); Jack Lane, THE EDGE OF NIGHT (1956-1960); THE ROAD OF LIFE; HILLTOP HOUSE; PORTIA FACES LIFE

AWARDS:
2004 Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award
1998 Soap Opera Digest Award Editor's Award win
1992 Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor: Daytime

COMMENTS FROM THE PANEL:
Damon L. Jacobs:  It has become common in soap circles to heap tons of praise and awards on the bad-boy-turned-good.  But it is far too easy to ignore the integrity, strength, and skill required to play the good guy.  Don Hastings mastered this art portraying the upstanding, kind, and dignified Bob Hughes for most of the past 50 years.  The "melting ice cream" scene last summer, in which Bob appear disoriented, confused, and terrified, was only a sample of what this brilliant thespian is capable of.  His calming and reassuring presence will be sorely missed after September 2010.

Don Hastings: The We Love Soaps Interview, Part One

I had the extreme honor of speaking with the profoundly gifted and intelligent Don Hastings recently. Although most know him as the honorable pillar "Dr. Bob Hughes" on AS THE WORLD TURNS, many are not aware of how Mr. Hastings was a pioneer embarking in a brand new entertainment called television back when other actors had their fears and trepidations about an unfamiliar new medium (sound familiar?). Please enjoy this interview as we explore his past as a child star in theater and radio, his reflections on Bob Hughes, and insights into facing unemployment for the first time in 61 years. You don't want to miss this one!

We Love Soaps: Mr. Hastings, it is such an honor and a privilege to speak with you. Let’s start by going back. I know you were born here in Brooklyn and you started singing professionally as a child, is that correct?
Don Hastings: I did some singing on the radio. I started when I was about six years old on the Blue Network at NBC. They had two networks in those days, the blue and the red. The blue became ABC. There was a show called, “Coast to Coast On A Bus,” that my brother [Bob Hastings] proceeded me on. When I went into visit him one time they asked me if I did anything, to which I said, “Not really.” I guess somebody said, “He can sing a little,” so I started singing a little. And then there was a little acting involved.