Today in Soap Opera History (September 11)

1975: Ryan's Hope's Jack visited Sister Mary Joel.
1984: Santa Barbara's Jade ran into David Hasselhoff.
1986: Another World's Reginald had a fire started to stop a story.
2003: The Young and the Restless' John punched Victor.

"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...

1941: On radio soap opera Life Can Be Beautiful, "Chichi" Conrad (Alice Reinheart) coped with heartbreaking news.

1967: CBS aired the first color broadcast of The Secret Storm.

1972: The Edge of Night began airing at 2:30 p.m. ET, moving from its usual 3:30 p.m. timeslot where it had been performing well in the ratings. CBS and Procter & Gamble made the decision to move the show to create blocks of P&G soaps that would not compete against each other on CBS and NBC. Edge of Night's ratings took a nose dive, and was eventually moved to ABC on December 1, 1975, to make room for the As the World Turns expansion to one hour. We Love Soaps included this timeslot change on the 25 Biggest Blunders in Daytime Soap Opera History list back in 2011.

1975: On Ryan's Hope, Jack Fenelli (Michael Levin) took Mary Ryan (Kate Mulgrew) to see Sister Mary Joel (Sylvia Sidney), who told Jack she needed his help.

'General Hospital' Partners with The SCAN Foundation & Next Avenue to Offer Alzheimer's Resources & Support

The Corinthos family has something in common with millions of American families — the desire to provide quality care for a loved one suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or other form of dementia.

General Hopsital partnering with The SCAN Foundation and Next Avenue to offer resources and support.



Find out more at nextavenue.org/caring.

Today in Soap Opera History (September 11)

1975: Ryan's Hope's Jack visited Sister Mary Joel.
1984: Santa Barbara's Jade ran into David Hasselhoff.
1986: Another World's Reginald had a fire started to stop a story.
2003: The Young and the Restless' John punched Victor.

"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...

1941: On radio soap opera Life Can Be Beautiful, "Chichi" Conrad (Alice Reinheart) coped with heartbreaking news.

1967: CBS aired the first color broadcast of The Secret Storm.

1972: The Edge of Night began airing at 2:30 p.m. ET, moving from its usual 3:30 p.m. timeslot where it had been performing well in the ratings. CBS and Procter & Gamble made the decision to move the show to create blocks of P&G soaps that would not compete against each other on CBS and NBC. Edge of Night's ratings took a nose dive, and was eventually moved to ABC on December 1, 1975, to make room for the As the World Turns expansion to one hour. We Love Soaps included this timeslot change on the 25 Biggest Blunders in Daytime Soap Opera History list back in 2011.

1975: On Ryan's Hope, Jack Fenelli (Michael Levin) took Mary Ryan (Kate Mulgrew) to see Sister Mary Joel (Sylvia Sidney), who told Jack she needed his help.

'General Hospital' Celebrates 25 Years of Maurice Benard as Sonny Corinthos

ABC7 in Los Angeles stopped by the set of General Hospital on Monday for the 25th anniversary celebration of Maurice Benard playing the character of Sonny Corinthos.

"You make it fun for me, coming to work," an emotional Benard told the GH cast and crew, who were decked out in anniversary t-shirts.

Added co-star Laura Wright, "Maurice has given his heart and soul, and shown so much of show he is through the character of Sonny. So this is truly his family."

"He's just such a mentor to everybody," enthuses co-star Steve Burton (Jason), "because of his work ethic, and his professionalism, and how much he gives to other actors."

Check out ABC7's report below.

'General Hospital' Stars Donnell Turner & Laura Wright Win $20K for Charity on Millionaire

Photo credit: Ronda Churchill, Disney/ABC Home Entertainment and TV Distribution

General Hospital stars Donnell Turner and Laura Wright joined Who Wants To Be A Millionaire host Chris Harrison on the February 28 broadcast of nationally-syndicated game show.

Contestants Turner and Wright won $20,000 that was split between two charities -- Autism Speaks and One Simple Wish.

'General Hospital' Stars Donnell Turner & Laura Wright to Appear on 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire has hosted a multitude of popular celebrities on the show, and on February 28, two daytime favorites will stop by to play the game together and try to win money for worthy causes. Donnell Turner and Laura Wright, stars of ABC's Emmy Award-winning daytime drama General Hospital, will join host Chris Harrison, and take on “Millionaire’s” 14 questions.

Turner and Wright will split their winnings between two charities. Turner – who portrays Curtis Ashford on GH – is playing for Autism Speaks. Wright – GH's Carly Corinthos - is playing for One Simple Wish, an organization with the mission of spreading love, hope and joy to children impacted by foster care, abuse and neglect.

Today in Soap Opera History (September 11)

1975: Ryan's Hope's Jack visited Sister Mary Joel.
1984: Santa Barbara's Jade ran into David Hasselhoff.
1986: Another World's Reginald had a fire started to stop a story.
2003: The Young and the Restless' John punched Victor.

"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...

1941: On radio soap opera Life Can Be Beautiful, "Chichi" Conrad (Alice Reinheart) coped with heartbreaking news.

1967: CBS aired the first color broadcast of The Secret Storm.

1972: The Edge of Night began airing at 2:30 p.m. ET, moving from its usual 3:30 p.m. timeslot where it had been performing well in the ratings. CBS and Procter & Gamble made the decision to move the show to create blocks of P&G soaps that would not compete against each other on CBS and NBC. Edge of Night's ratings took a nose dive, and was eventually moved to ABC on December 1, 1975, to make room for the As the World Turns expansion to one hour. We Love Soaps included this timeslot change on the 25 Biggest Blunders in Daytime Soap Opera History list back in 2011.

1975: On Ryan's Hope, Jack Fenelli (Michael Levin) took Mary Ryan (Kate Mulgrew) to see Sister Mary Joel (Sylvia Sidney), who told Jack she needed his help.

Laura Wright and Wes Ramsey: New Beginnings

It looks like love is in the air for former Guiding Light co-stars Laura Wright and Wes Ramsey. Wright, who has playedCarly Corinthos on General Hospital since 2005, posted a photo with Ramsey on Instagram with the caption, "Hey Hey so this is @wes_ramsey #lifeisbeautiful #newbeginnings #crazy❤️ #grateful #happyMe."

On Guiding Light, Wright starred as Cassie Winslow (1997-2005) and Ramsey played Sam Spencer (2000-2002, 2003, 2004, 2008).

Hey Hey so this is @wes_ramsey #lifeisbeautiful #newbeginnings #crazy❤️ #grateful #happyMe

A post shared by Laura Wright (@welcometolaurasworld) on May 28, 2017 at 10:38pm PDT

First Annual 'General Hospital' Convention Set for March 11-12, 2017

General Hospital has announced its first-ever official convention will take place over the weekend of March 11-12, 2017, at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Hotel Convention Center.

Laura Wright (Carly) and Matt Cohen (Griffin) will serve as co-hosts, and a bevy of cast members have signed on to attend, including Rebecca Budig (Hayden), Leslie Charleson (Monica), Chad Duell (Michael), Michael Easton (Finn), Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth), Roger Howarth (Franco), Wally Kurth (Ned), Michelle Stafford (Nina), Maura West (Ava), Dominic Zamprogna (Dante) and Jacklyn Zeman (Bobbie).

“We have the greatest fans in the world and it’s our goal to get together with them in an all immersive, all General Hospital weekend of fun, sharing stories, laughter and celebration of the show we all love so much,” executive producer Frank Valentini reveals.

Events include Q&A panels, meet and greets, games and contests.

For full details and ticket information, visit creationent.com.

Laura Wright Takes 'General Hospital' Vacation

Laura Wright (via Instagram @welcometolaurasworld)

We haven't seen much of Carly's dazzling smile on ABC soap opera General Hospital lately. It looks like we may temporarily see even less.

Laura Wright, Carly Corinthos' portrayer, took to Instagram to alert fans to a change in her normally heavy taping schedule. She is taking "a couple weeks" off from life at the center of so very much Port Charles drama. She will be spending it with her children, daughter Lauren and son Jon. And her pet pup!

ABC has yet to release an official statement on Wright's very temporary departure. So, perhaps the intense storylines Carly finds herself in the thick of will remain unaffected by Wright's absence.

Both Carly and Wright could probably use some time to decompress after the acute, even gut-wrenching, emotion engulfing the Corinthos clan following Morgan's death. It can't be easy on an actress to give such powerhouse performances of a grieving mother day after day. Then there's the Nelle mystery. So far she seems like an innocent young woman out to be an asset to Carly. Viewers—and Bobbie!—know this not to be true, however.

Wright began her storied soap career over 20 years ago as Ally Rescott Bowman on Loving. She continued the role when Loving became The City. When the ABC canceled the latter, she moved on to play Cassie Layne Winslow on Guiding Light, for which gained great fan and critical acclaim. Next she brought her thespian talents to “General Hospital” as Carly Corinthos. She won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her work in this role. She also won a Soap Opera Digest Award for Favorite New Character when she began playing Cassie on GL.

Wright and her husband, John, an architect, announced their amicable divorce in April of this year. The two continue to co-parent their children.

Akbi Khan has been a soap mega-fan for 31 years. She has been writing about them and working to save the soap genre for several years. Last May she got her Master’s in rhetoric and composition, for which she completed a thesis on the Save Our Soaps (SOS) movement and created her own SOS group, thistimeitsforever.org. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with family and friends, activism for various progressive causes, traveling down her spiritual path, rollerskating, going dancing, anything having to do with language or words, and laughing heartily and often, and more. You may reach her at akbikhan@gmail.com.

ABC Wants You to Catch the 'General Hospital' Fever in New Promos

"Catch the fever, the GH fever," says ABC's new promos for General Hospital. Using iconic song, "Fever," ABC shows off its female and males casts in new fall promos. Watch them below.

Today in Soap Opera History (September 11)

1975: Ryan's Hope's Jack visited Sister Mary Joel.
1984: Santa Barbara's Jade ran into David Hasselhoff.
1986: Another World's Reginald had a fire started to stop a story.
2003: The Young and the Restless' John punched Victor.

"If you don't know history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree."
― Michael Crichton

"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...

1941: On radio soap opera Life Can Be Beautiful, "Chichi" Conrad (Alice Reinheart) coped with heartbreaking news.

1967: CBS aired the first color broadcast of The Secret Storm.

1972: The Edge of Night began airing at 2:30 p.m. ET, moving from its usual 3:30 p.m. timeslot where it had been performing well in the ratings. CBS and Procter & Gamble made the decision to move the show to create blocks of P&G soaps that would not compete against each other on CBS and NBC. Edge of Night's ratings took a nose dive, and was eventually moved to ABC on December 1, 1975, to make room for the As the World Turns expansion to one hour. We Love Soaps included this timeslot change on the 25 Biggest Blunders in Daytime Soap Opera History list back in 2011.

1975: On Ryan's Hope, Jack Fenelli (Michael Levin) took Mary Ryan (Kate Mulgrew) to see Sister Mary Joel (Sylvia Sidney), who told Jack she needed his help.

'General Hospital' Star Laura Wright Ending 20-Year Marriage

Laura Wright

General Hospital star Laura Wright, who plays Carly Corinthos on the daytime soap opera, has quietly split with husband, John, two decades after saying "I do".

"John and I have decided to end our 20 year marriage," says the actress in a statement. "We remain committed and dedicated to our two wonderful children and will always be a supportive, loving family of four – we are just doing it differently now!"

The couple wed in October 1995, and welcomed daughter Lauren in 1998 and son Michael in 2000.

RELATED:
- 'General Hospital' Stars Kirsten Storms & Brandon Barash Getting a Divorce

'General Hospital' Spoilers (March 28-April 1, 2016)

"He has convinced himself he's in love with her," Laura tells Liz about
Nikolas after they discover Hayden's true identity.

Check out the day-to-day spoilers and a sneak peek video below to find out what's happening on ABC soap opera General Hospital during the week of March 28-April 1, 2016.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Monday, March 28
Nikolas (Tyler Christopher) brings Sam (Kelly Monaco) up to date; Tracy (Jane Elliot) has a plan for ELQ that involves her secret weapon; Ava (Maura West) asks for help from an unlikely person.

'General Hospital' Spoilers (March 21-25, 2016)

"Please, dont' ask me to do that," Monica tells Tracy.  "You want me to
pull the plug if you're incapable of doing it."

Check out the day-to-day spoilers and a sneak peek video below to find out what's happening on ABC soap opera General Hospital during the week of March 21-25, 2016.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Monday, March 21
Carly's (Laura Wright) hostile persuasion gets results; Nina (Michelle Stafford) sets the wheels in motion to flush out Crimson's saboteur; Tracy's (Jane Elliot) lab results come in.

'General Hospital' Spoilers (March 14-18, 2016)

Lulu and Laura listen as Scott tells them they are in for some big surprises.

Check out the day-to-day spoilers and a sneak peek video below to find out what's happening on ABC soap opera General Hospital during the week of March 14-18, 2016.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Monday, March 14
Helena (Constance Towers) sends enduring words and emblematic gifts to everyone from her grave; Anna (Finola Hughes) discovers Griffin's (Matt Cohen) real identity and his reason for spying on her; Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) learns the truth about "Claudette."

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith Returning to 'General Hospital'

Stephen A. Smith tweeted a photo with GH star Laura Wright on Monday.  "Damn, I'm a lucky man," he wrote. "On the set of @GeneralHospital right now and look who decided to take a pic with Me?#Haaaaa!!"

Stephen A. Smith, co-host of ESPN2's First Take will be making another appearance on his favorite soap opera, ABC's General Hopsital. GH star Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) posted a video with Smith on Monday, with the following caption: "I had the best time working with @stephenasmith today. He's truly a natural. Not Denzel yet, but getting there." Watch below.

I had the best time working with @stephenasmith today. He's truly a natural. Not Denzel yet, but getting there. pic.twitter.com/D7tbcLUgrp

— Maurice Benard (@MauriceBenard) March 8, 2016

'General Hospital' Spoilers (March 7-11, 2016)

Helena has lasting words and symbolic gifts for all from her grave.

Check out the day-to-day spoilers and a sneak peek video below to find out what's happening on ABC soap opera General Hospital during the week of March 7-11, 2016.

[SPOILER ALERT]

Monday, March 7
Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Carly (Laura Wright) take a long, hard look at the direction of their relationship; Lulu's (Emme Rylan) declaration gives Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) new hope; Baxter (Tom Parker) covers when Sam (Kelly Monaco) starts asking too many probing questions about Hayden (Rebecca Budig); Griffin (Matt Cohen) is stumped by Tracy's (Jane Elliot) test results.

Watch Clips of 'The Joyful Storm' Soap Opera from the Movie 'Joy' (Video)

You've never seen a soap opera quite like The Joyful Storm.'That's because it only exists within the upcoming movie Joy.

20th Century Fox has just released a series of Joyful Storm promotional videos along with a mock Soap Opera Digest cover to celebrate the unique soap opera integration in the upcoming film, Joy. Featuring beloved soap stars Susan Lucci, Donna Mills, Laura Wright, and Maurice Benard, David O. Russell has gathered together a special cast of soap opera alumni to play unique roles in much-anticipated and fabulously reviewed Joy. Stars Diane Ladd and Virginia Madsen also have unique connections to the soap opera community, including Ladd’s brief stint on the long-running daytime drama The Secret Storm, which also happened to star Donna Mills.

Joy, directed by David O. Russell and starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Edgar Ramirez, Isabella Rossellini, Diane Ladd, and Virginia Madsen, opens in theaters Christmas Day.

Watch the mock The Joyful Storm clips below.

NEWS: People Magazine Releasing 'Days of our Lives' Collector's Issue; Plus, Liza Huber, Laura Wright, Jordi Vilasuso

Days of  our Lives collector's issue.

People magazine to release Days of our Lives 50th anniversary collector's issue
Celebrate 50 years of love, lust and drama on Days of our Lives with People's special collector's edition, out October 30!

Susan Lucci's Daughter Liza Huber Reveals Her Son Has Cerebral Palsy
Huber, the daughter of soap opera legend Susan Lucci, exclusively reveals the courageous story of her 7-year-old son, Brendan, in this week's issue of People. Her candid interview comes after years of keeping silent about her son's condition.

"If I am trying to hide it, how does it look to him?" asks Huber, 40. "I don't ever want him to feel bad about himself. I want him to feel good and proud and celebrate the way he overcomes challenges."

New Jordi Vilasuso film released on iTunes
Jordi Vilasuso, who joins the cast of Days of our Lives in 2016, has a new movie called Circle that was just released on iTunes. The film, describes the actor, is "a thriller where we are all trapped in one place and people die within this circle. It is a really dark film. I play a Marine. It is like 12 Angry Men on Death Row. Everybody is fighting for their life."

Gilmore Girls Limited-Series Revival Set at Netflix
Netflix has closed a deal with Warner Bros. for a limited-series revival of Gilmore Girls penned by series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and exec producer Daniel Palladino.

Although negotiations with the cast are only now beginning, all of the major players — most notably Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Kelly Bishop and Scott Patterson — are expected back for the continuation. Additionally, per multiple insiders, the revival will consist of four 90-minute episodes/mini-movies.

General Hospital star Laura Wright to host fundraiser on Sunday, November 15
Wright (who plays Carly) will be the hostess at A Cure MS Event! Starlight Dreams Gala fundraiser for multiple sclerosis.

Yahoo lost $42 million on Community and two other original series
Yahoo says it had trouble monetizing the original shows Community, Sin City Saints and Paul Feig's Other Space. Yahoo’s CFO Ken Goldman said the three high-profile projects “didn’t work the way that we hoped it would” and that we "couldn’t see a way to make money over time.” While today's news doesn’t sound good for the prospect of a Community movie, Variety reports that a film is "still in play — with or without Yahoo."

Welsh soap opera Pobol y Cwm introduces its first-ever English-speaking character
The popular S4C programme introduced “ground-breaking” Dolores, played by actress Lynn Hunter, into life in Cwmderi on Tuesday, October 20 – and the character promises to shake things up. Dolores will be Pobol y Cwm’s first long-running character unable to speak fluent Welsh, and Lynn believes the soap opera is taking a brave step in presenting her to Cwmderi, a Welsh language community.