Today in Soap Opera History (November 6)

1981: Thaao Penghlis debuted as Tony on Days of our Lives.
1981: The Edge of Night's Raven enjoyed being rich.
1989: Guiding Light's Reva realized Dylan was her son.
2008: One Life to Live's Starr gave birth to a baby girl.

"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: On The Guiding Light radio soap opera, Meta (Jone Allison) shot and killed her husband, Ted, after their son, Chuckie, died.  Bill and Papa Bauer were shocked to hear the news and Bill vowed to get his sister, Meta, out of jail.

1957: On "the continuing story of" The Edge of Night, Mike (John Larkin) became suspicious when Roger commented that he needed the car to meet with the new owners of the Retreat Nursing Home, the place where Billy was born.

1967: On Peyton Place, Eddie (Dan Duryea) and Lee (Steve Oliver) chatted at the bar about the benefits of working for a wealthy guy like "Old Man Peyton."

Today in Soap Opera History (November 6)

1981: Thaao Penghlis debuted as Tony on Days of our Lives.
1981: The Edge of Night's Raven enjoyed being rich.
1989: Guiding Light's Reva realized Dylan was her son.
2008: One Life to Live's Starr gave birth to a baby girl.

"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: On The Guiding Light radio soap opera, Meta (Jone Allison) shot and killed her husband, Ted, after their son, Chuckie, died.  Bill and Papa Bauer were shocked to hear the news and Bill vowed to get his sister, Meta, out of jail.

1957: On "the continuing story of" The Edge of Night, Mike (John Larkin) became suspicious when Roger commented that he needed the car to meet with the new owners of the Retreat Nursing Home, the place where Billy was born.

1967: On Peyton Place, Eddie (Dan Duryea) and Lee (Steve Oliver) chatted at the bar about the benefits of working for a wealthy guy like "Old Man Peyton."

Today in Soap Opera History (November 6)

1981: Thaao Penghlis debuted as Tony on Days of our Lives.
1981: The Edge of Night's Raven enjoyed being rich.
1989: Guiding Light's Reva realized Dylan was her son.
2008: One Life to Live's Starr gave birth to a baby girl.

"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...

1950: On The Guiding Light radio soap opera, Meta (Jone Allison) shot and killed her husband, Ted, after their son, Chuckie, died.  Bill and Papa Bauer were shocked to hear the news and Bill vowed to get his sister, Meta, out of jail.

1957: On "the continuing story of" The Edge of Night, Mike (John Larkin) became suspicious when Roger commented that he needed the car to meet with the new owners of the Retreat Nursing Home, the place where Billy was born.

1967: On Peyton Place, Eddie (Dan Duryea) and Lee (Steve Oliver) chatted at the bar about the benefits of working for a wealthy guy like "Old Man Peyton."

Today in Soap Opera History (November 6)

1981: Thaao Penghlis debuted as Tony on Days of our Lives.
1981: The Edge of Night's Raven enjoyed being rich.
1989: Guiding Light's Reva realized Dylan was her son.
2008: One Life to Live's Starr gave birth to a baby girl.

"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: On The Guiding Light radio soap opera, Meta (Jone Allison) shot and killed her husband, Ted, after their son, Chuckie, died.  Bill and Papa Bauer were shocked to hear the news and Bill vowed to get his sister, Meta, out of jail.

1957: On "the continuing story of" The Edge of Night, Mike (John Larkin) became suspicious when Roger commented that he needed the car to meet with the new owners of the Retreat Nursing Home, the place where Billy was born.

1967: On Peyton Place, Eddie (Dan Duryea) and Lee (Steve Oliver) chatted at the bar about the benefits of working for a wealthy guy like "Old Man Peyton."

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm' (Part 8)

Lori March as Valerie Ames, Eleanor Phelps as Grace Tyrell, Judy Lewis
as Susan Ames Carver and Lynne Adams as Amy Ames.

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm'

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 1 January 1979
by John Genovese

(continued from Part 7)

Amy had an intriguing new set of activities into which she invested her energies following her cure. She found a Christmas card from a Canadian family and questioned Grace about them. It was then that Grace told her family the story of Sean Childers Jr., a son Ellen Ames conceived through a ne'er-do-well named Sean Childers Sr. Grace had bribed Childers out of Woodbridge and arranged for the boy to be adopted by this aging Canadian couple. Amy decided to look up her half-brother and finally learned he was in an Army hospital. What Amy and her family didn't know was that Sean took his best buddy, Cory Boucher, into his confidence and died. Thus, the young man who joined the Ames family and moved into the apartment over their garage was not Sean Childers--it was Cory Boucher!

Cory's original intent was to cash in on Grace's riches and skip town along with his pal and partner in crime, Mickey Potter, but Cory began to feel new loyalties after assuming the identity of Sean Childers Jr. He began to genuinely love the Ames family, thinking of Grace as he really would a grandmother. But his love for Amy was nothing brotherly. Grace's illness subsided and she gave Sean/Cory a considerable sum of money, bolstering the suspicions Susan already had about this new arrival. Then Cory's father, criminal Harold McGonigle, arrived in Woodbridge with added schemes--including getting in on the Clayborn riches by starting out as Didi's gardener! By this time, Ken and Laurie knew that Clay was Ken's son and were fighting spiteful Didi for his custody. Aggie was still living with Paul and Belle, who had moved to publisher Collins' old house (which Belle detested), but Aggie was helping Didi run the house alone and sensed something slippery about McGonigle.

Today in Soap Opera History (November 6)

1979: Edge of Night's Nola was surprised Deborah was on to her.
1981: Tony DiMera arrived in Salem on Days of our Lives.
2008: One Life to Live's Starr and Tess each gave birth, as did
Tina's dog, David Vickers.

"History never looks like history when you are living through it."
― John W. Gardner

"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: On The Guiding Light radio soap opera, Meta (Jone Allison) shot and killed Ted after their son, Chuckie, died. Listen to the episode here. Bill and Papa Bauer were shocked to hear the news and Bill vowed to get his sister, Meta, out of jail.

1957: On "the continuing story of" The Edge of Night, Mike (John Larkin) became suspicious when Roger commented that he needed the car to meet with the new owners of the Retreat Nursing Home, the place where Billy was born.

1967: On Peyton Place, Eddie (Dan Duryea) and Lee (Steve Oliver) chatted at the bar about the benefits of working for a wealthy guy like "Old Man Peyton."

Today in Soap Opera History (November 6)

1979: EON's Nola was surprised Deborah knew she was the
mystery caller.  1981: Tony DiMera arrived in Salem on DAYS.
2008: Multiple births on OLTL.

"History is a vast early warning system."
― J. 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: On THE GUIDING LIGHT, Meta (Jone Allison) shot and killed Ted after their son, Chuckie, died. Listen to the episode here. Bill and Papa Bauer were shocked to hear the news and Bill vowed to get his sister, Meta, out of jail.

1957: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Mike (John Larkin) became suspicious when Roger commented that he needed the car to meet with the new owners of the Retreat Nursing Home, the place where Billy was born.

Today in Soap Opera History (November 6)

On this date in...

1957: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Mike (John Larkin) became suspicious when Roger commented that he needed the car to meet with the new owners of the Retreat Nursing Home, where Billy was born.

1981: Thaao Penghlis debuted as Tony DiMera in DAYS OF OUR LIVES.

1985: Actor Joel Crothers passed away at age 44. He played roles on numerous soap operas including THE EDGE OF NIGHT, DARK SHADOWS and SOMERSET.

Today in Soap Opera History (November 6)

On this date in...

1957: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Mike became suspicious when Roger commented that he needs the car to meet with the new owners of the Retreat Nursing Home, where Billy was born.

1985: Actor Joel Crothers passed away at age 44. He played roles on numerous soap operas including THE EDGE OF NIGHT, DARK SHADOWS and SOMERSET.

2006: PASSIONS began streaming on NBC.com.