Today in Soap Opera History (December 20)

1982: The Doctors' Kit and Mike were stranded during a snow storm.
1985: Lujack's spirit visited Beth on Guiding Light.
1996: All My Children's Adam and Liza were married.
2007: General Hospital's Dillon returned and found out about Georgie's death.

"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...

1957: On The Edge of Night, Bebe Spode (Renne Jarrett) came back home and told her father, Martin Spode (Eric Dressler), how much she loved him.

1965: On Peyton Place, Betty Anderson (Barbara Parkins) met Martin Peyton (George Macready).

Today in Soap Opera History (September 28)

1962: Daytime soap operas The Brighter Day (CBS) and
Our Five Daughters (NBC) aired for the final time.
1981: General Hospital was featured on the cover of Newsweek.
1987: Delia had a courtoom fantasy on Ryan's Hope.

"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...

1962: CBS aired the final episode of daytime soap opera The Brighter Day. The show was created for NBC Radio by Irna Phillips in 1948. The television version premiered on January 4, 1954, and the episodes ran on both TV and radio for 2 years. The Brighter Day was originally set in Three Rivers until a move to New Hope in 1953.

1962: NBC aired the final episode of Our Five Daughters, a daytime soap which starred silent film icon Esther Ralston as Helen Lee, the mother of five young women including Jacqueline Courtney's Ann (pictured, upper right).

Today in Soap Opera History (December 20)

1982: The Doctors' Kit and Mike were stranded during a snow storm.
1985: Lujack's spirit visited Beth on Guiding Light. 1996: All
My Children's Adam and Liza were married. 2007: General
Hospital Dillon returned and found out about Georgie's death.

"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...

1957: On The Edge of Night, Bebe Spode (Renne Jarrett) came back home and told her father, Martin Spode (Eric Dressler), how much she loved him.

1965: On Peyton Place, Betty Anderson (Barbara Parkins) met Martin Peyton (George Macready).

Today in Soap Opera History (September 28)

1962: Daytime soap operas The Brighter Day (CBS) and
Our Five Daughters (NBC) aired for the final time.
1981: General Hospital was featured on the cover of Newsweek.
1987: Delia had a courtoom fantasy on Ryan's Hope.

"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...

1962: CBS aired the final episode of daytime soap opera The Brighter Day. The show was created for NBC Radio by Irna Phillips in 1948. The television version premiered on January 4, 1954, and the episodes ran on both TV and radio for 2 years. The Brighter Day was originally set in Three Rivers until a move to New Hope in 1953.

1962: NBC aired the final episode of Our Five Daughters, a daytime soap which starred silent film icon Esther Ralston as Helen Lee, the mother of five young women including Jacqueline Courtney's Ann (pictured, upper right).

Today in Soap Opera History (December 20)

1982: The Doctors' Kit and Mike were stranded during a snow storm.
1985: Lujack's spirit visited Beth on Guiding Light. 1996: All
My Children's Adam and Liza were married. 2007: General
Hospital Dillon returned and found out about Georgie's death.

"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...

1957: On The Edge of Night, Bebe Spode (Renne Jarrett) came back home and told her father, Martin Spode (Eric Dressler), how much she loved him.

1965: On Peyton Place, Betty Anderson (Barbara Parkins) met Martin Peyton (George Macready).

Today in Soap Opera History (September 28)

1962: Daytime soap operas The Brighter Day (CBS) and
Our Five Daughters (NBC) aired for the final time.  1981: General
Hospital was featured on the cover of Newsweek.
1987: Delia had a courtoom fantasy on Ryan's Hope.

"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...

1962: CBS aired the final episode of daytime soap opera The Brighter Day. The show was created for NBC Radio by Irna Phillips in 1948. The television version premiered on January 4, 1954, and the episodes ran on both TV and radio for 2 years. The Brighter Day was originally set in Three Rivers until a move to New Hope in 1953.

1962: NBC aired the final episode of Our Five Daughters, a daytime soap which starred silent film icon Esther Ralston as Helen Lee, the mother of five young women including Jacqueline Courtney's Ann (pictured, upper right).

Today in Soap Opera History (December 20)

1982: The Doctors' Kit and Mike were stranded during a snow storm.
1985: Lujack's spirit visited Beth on Guiding Light. 1996: All
My Children's Adam and Liza were married. 2007: General
Hospital Dillon returned and found out about Georgie's death.

"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...

1957: On The Edge of Night, Bebe Spode (Renne Jarrett) came back home and told her father, Martin Spode (Eric Dressler), how much she loved him.

1965: On Peyton Place, Betty Anderson (Barbara Parkins) met Martin Peyton (George Macready).

Today in Soap Opera History (September 28)

1962: Daytime soap operas The Brighter Day (CBS) and
Our Five Daughters (NBC) aired for the final time.  1981: General
Hospital was featured on the cover of Newsweek.
1987: Delia had a courtoom fantasy on Ryan's Hope.

"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...

1962: CBS aired the final episode of daytime soap opera The Brighter Day. The show was created for NBC Radio by Irna Phillips in 1948. The television version premiered on January 4, 1954, and the episodes ran on both TV and radio for 2 years. The Brighter Day was originally set in Three Rivers until a move to New Hope in 1953.

1962: NBC aired the final episode of Our Five Daughters, a daytime soap which starred silent film icon Esther Ralston as Helen Lee, the mother of five young women including Jacqueline Courtney's Ann (pictured, upper right).

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 23 of 23)

Mackenzie Cory (Douglass Watson) married Rachel
Davis Matthews Clark Frame (Victoria Wyndham) on
February 14, 1975. Ralph Camargo, Wyndam's real-life
father, played the minister.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 8 August 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 22)

Rachel hoped their marriage, carried off by elopement to New York, would put an end to Iris' machinations but instead it only increased her efforts. But these attacks, while temporarily hurting Mac and Rachel's happiness, ultimately came to nothing. For Mac knew that Iris couldn't believe that Rachel, as she herself had said just before their marriage, had married not a wealthy man but what she had always dreamed of, a man who really loved her as she was and to whom she could be a good wife.

Alice had known at the time of her reconciliation with Steven that Rachel was no longer a threat. After all, the last separation hadn't been out of fear of Rachel but because of Alice's decision to sacrifice her own happiness for Steven's. But Rachel's happy marriage to Mac and her realization that they could all share in Jamie's affections put the final ghosts to rest.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 22)

Another World expanded to 60-minutes each weekday
on January 6, 1975.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 8 August 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 21)

With Russ sworn to secrecy, Alice's desire that Steven never know she was sacrificing her happiness for his would have been achieved had not Rachel been suffering increasingly-frequent dizzy spells. She arranged to see a doctor at Bay City Hospital and while she was waiting, she discovered the file placed before her on his desk was that of Mrs. Steven (Alice) Frame, not Mrs. Steven (Rachel) Frame. Finding the results of Alice's latest tests inside, Rachel managed to copy them and return them unnoticed.

Rachel then barged into the Matthews' home and confronted Alice with the documents. She demanded Alice divorce Steven immediately so he could return to her, a woman who had already given him a child and who could give him another. Either that or she would tell Steven and all of Bay City about Alice's inadequacies as a woman. Alice capitulated, desperately wanting only to keep the truth from Steven.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 21)

Victoria Wyndham as Rachel Davis Matthews
Clark Frame on Another World.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 8 August 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 20)

In maximum security, Steven had no business privileges so he gave Alice power of attorney. He didn't realize her condition had deteriorated so badly that Tim, seeing a chance to further his own aims, concealed it from Steven. And as Alice continued to draw away from reality in an attempt to shut out the horrors of where Steven was, Tim managed to slip a transfer of the power of attorney into the routine papers she signed for him, putting him in complete control of Steven's personal stock holdings.

Ignoring Steven's explicit orders that she forget about the house, Rachel walked in on a deeply distraught Alice and informed her Steve had agreed she and Jamie should move back into the house. Rachel further wounded Alice by reminding her she and Steve were happy in this house where Steve had his only child with him. Alice, in growing horror, hysterically threw Rachel out.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 20)

Steven and Alice married again on May 4, 1974, in a special one-hour
episode that aired on Another World's 10th anniversary.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 8 August 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 19)

Steven immediately removed all his legal business and files from John's office and hired Tim McGowan as his attorney. Tim, not satisfied that John had lost over three-quarters of his practice, now twisted the knife in John's back by calling his remaining clients, implying Steven's dropping John should make them question John's competence as an attorney. Almost overnight John found himself virtually out of business.

With Steven's sentencing on perjury charges only a few weeks away, Alice insisted they go ahead with their remarriage so that even if he went to prison, they would have the solace of being husband and wife again. At Alice's insistence they were married again on the terrace of their home.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 19)

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 8 August 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 18)

Actually, Rachel was aware she had little chance of winning an alienation of affections suit without concrete proof but she hoped the prospect of a scandal replete with lurid publicity would drive Alice away again. But inasmuch as Steven had confiscated her copy of the tape recording of his reunion with Alice and Eliot had destroyed the original, the judge declared there was no case and refused to hear it.

Steven, however, realized his case against Rachel was equally shaky and decided to do something about it. He flew to San Francisco and paid Gerald to return to Bay City and testify against Rachel.

Expecting her father to appear in her behalf at the divorce hearing, Rachel was destroyed when he took the stand and proceeded to crucify her. According to Gerald, Rachel had decided to embark on a break-up-Steve-and-Alice campaign and had enlisted him to follow her instructions, including the set-up at Steven's apartment.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 18)

George Reinholt and Victoria Wyndham as
Steven and Rachel Frame.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 8 August 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 17)

Alice now began to see the truth. She understood her part in what had happened. She had walked out on him once before, allowing Rachel to seduce him the night Jamie was conceived and then, when she left him again for no apparent reason this time, Rachel had been there again to take advantage of his hurt to trap him into marriage. Alice now understood she was equally responsible for Steven's now being married to Rachel.

Steven then told Alice he loved her, that he had never stopped loving her. Believing him, Alice replied that she, too, still loved him but it was hopeless. At hearing words of love from her, words he'd come to believe he'd never hear again, Steven felt all-powerful. There was nothing beyond his reach. He promised her that somehow he would find a way to free himself from Rachel and that they would be together again. Reflecting his love, Alice then promised to wait no matter how long it took.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 17)

Eliot Carrington's (James Douglas) scheming wife Iris (Beverlee
McKinsey) saw in Russ Matthews (David Bailey) an excuse to
 relocate to Bay City...to keep her husband's wandering eye in check.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 7 July 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 16)

Iris was upset to learn that Alice would soon be free and neatly managed to put her in an uncomfortable position. Discovering that Russ had recently achieved remarkable success with drug therapy on inoperable heart patients, Iris pressured Eliot into enrolling Dennis in Russ's therapy program, necessitating a move to Bay City. Alice would either have to leave Eliot's employ or face seeing Steven and Rachel together. Alice initially chose to remain in New York but Dennis' pleas that she see him through treatment overcame her determination to stay away.

Miraculously, Dennis began to respond almost immediately to the therapy and upon Russ's guarantee of a full cure for the boy, Eliot told Alice he was laying the groundwork for a divorce.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 16)

Beverlee McKinsey debuted on Another World as Iris
Carrington on December 22, 1972.  Seven months earlier,
she appeared on the soap as Emma Frame Ordway,
Steven Frame's sister.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 7 July 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 15)

Meanwhile, in New York, Iris Carrington, on one of her periodic visits to her son, was upset to find a beautiful and refined young woman in residence at Eliot's home. Iris was legally separated from Eliot at his request but she still hoped somehow to force a reconciliation. On her side was the fact that her doting father, industrialist Mackenzie Cory, held a contract binding Eliot's services to him for several more years and, on Iris' request, he refused to release Eliot. Implied was the threat that, should Eliot try to make the separation a divorce, his career would be finished.

Iris had for years been paying Mrs. Goddard to keep tabs on Eliot so Iris would know if he was interested in another woman and arrive in time to head off the competition. Learning Miss Talbot's references were from Bay City, Iris sent her there to learn who and what Alice really was. Calling herself Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Goddard quickly managed to learn the new nurse was Alice Frame, wife of millionaire Steven Frame, and she had disappeared suddenly without explanation several months ago.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 15)

Jacqueline Courtney as Alice Matthews Frame and
James Douglas as Eliot Carrington.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 7 July 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 14)

Alice had gone to New York and spent several days alone in a small hotel for women, taking meals in her room and sinking deeper and deeper into a kaleidoscope of memories of Steven, dwelling on those last awful moments in his apartment when her world fell apart. He had betrayed her so horribly that their whole life together had become a lie. Finally, however, she realized what was happening to her and knew she had to find something to fill her thoughts and her time before she had withdrawn completely from living.

She applied for a position as a nurse/governess in the household of international journalist Eliot Carrington. Eliot's son Dennis was a semi-invalid suffering from a congenital heart condition. Since Eliot was separated from his socialite wife Iris, Dennis was in the care of Eliot's housekeeper, Mrs. Louise Goddard, and led a lonely life with visits from his tutor, his only relief from boredom.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 14)

Victoria Wyndham and Stephen Bolster played
Rachel and Ted Clark.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 7 July 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 13)

One day Rachel called Steven at home, explaining a situation had arisen which required a parental judgment. Steven left Alice doing spring cleaning, saying only a business matter required his attention. While he was with Rachel, deciding whether Jamie should attend public or private school in September, Alice fell from a step stool while arranging a close and, in the hospital a few hours later, she lost the baby.

After the miscarriage her doctor warned her not to attempt another pregnancy for at least a year. This frightened Alice into suspecting she might never be able to have another child and she became depressed. Unaware of this underlying cause, Alice's doctor felt she was morbidly dwelling on her loss and she had too much time on her hands. He prescribed a return to work as a cure so she went back to nursing at the hospital.

As wary as Steven had previously been to tell Alice about his meetings with Rachel, he realized now they would be even more upsetting to her. So he continued to consult with Rachel in secret.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 13)

Margaret "Margie" Impert played Rachel Clark
on Another World when Robin Strasser left the role.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 7 July 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 12)

Alice and Steven Frame's honeymoon on the island of St. Croix in the Caribbean had ended, but their happiness was undiminished when they returned to Bay City to begin their life together in the beautiful country home Steven had built for her. She had resigned her job as a nurse at Bay City Hospital and was fully enjoying her new role as a housewife and the anticipation of motherhood ahead for her.

But one tragic event marred their happiness. Shortly before Alice's brother was to marry Cindy Clark, Cindy became ill. Russ was heartbroken when her doctors broke the news that her illness was terminal. Russ and his family chose to hide the truth from Cindy and, under the impression she would soon recover, she married Russ in the hospital chapel only hours before she died.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 12)

Steven and Alice finally married on September 24, 1971, more
than three years after they met at Walter and Lenore Curtin's
wedding reception.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 6 June 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 11)

It was the Curtins who finally helped Alice put the ghost of Rachel's interference to rest. They invited her for the evening and gently explained that Steven had financed Ted out of love for HER and for their future together. Only by making sure that Rachel had no reason to come to him for money could he put her out of their lives, and there was nothing he wouldn't do to make sure that happened. Suddenly, for the first time in a year, it was clear to Alice. The problem wasn't Rachel or even Jamie, it was herself and her attitude toward their problems.

Alice quickly called Steven and he hurried to her. Eagerly she asked his forgiveness for misjudging his motives and his actions. She explained she now understood that while Jamie was an important part of his life, Rachel could only be as important as they let her be. If she and Steve had love and trust between them, Rachel was no longer a threat.