50 Years of 'Days of our Lives': The Hortons and The Bradys (Video)

Macdonald Carey and Frances Reid as Dr. Tom and Alice Horton.

NBC has posted a special Days of our Lives 50th anniversary video that looks back at Tom (Macdonald Carey) and Alice Horton (Frances Reid), and Shawn (Frank Parker) and Caroline Brady (Peggy McCay).

Watch the two-minute clip below:

NEWS: Tika Sumpter, Kelly Ripa, Lorenzo Lamas, Michael Ironside, Macdonald Carey, Martha Madison

Tika Sumpter as Michelle Robinson and Parker Sawyers as
Barack Obama in Southside With You.

The Haves and Have Nots star Tika Sumpter is Michelle Obama in Southside With You dramedy
Known for her role as Layla Williams on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, Sumpter is portraying lawyer Michelle Robinson opposite Parker Sawyers as Barack Obama, then a young law firm associate. The romantic dramedy film was inspired by the future first couple’s first date

General Hospital's Jake is back—and dead babies kill soap ratings
"Dead-baby stories win Emmys. Julia Barr won twice—once for the actual story [of Brooke dealing with Laura's death], and a second time for when Brooke accidentally fell in love with her daughter’s killer. In her defense, he’d changed his name and had plastic surgery. But dead babies do not help ratings."

Are late-night talk shows doomed to go the way of soaps?
Writes Robert Rorke in the New York Post: In 2015, only four soaps remain: Days of our Lives on NBC, General Hospital on ABC, and The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful on CBS. Of the quartet, Y&R has the biggest audience, with 4.8 million viewers, while Days and GH perform on a par with Kimmel, and B&B does as well as Fallon. Yet almost no one will tell you that soap operas are the wave of the future — as the media did when Fallon took over from Leno in February 2014.

All My Children alum Kelly Ripa jokes about Justin Bieber's sexy Instagram tribute: "I do believe this is a cry for help"
On Wednesday's episode of Live!, Michael Strahan immediately brought up Bieber’s gushing post to his co-host, in which he shared a photo of Ripa in a bikini and said that she “makes me feel some type of way,” along with the hashtag “#bigcrush.”

“I believe in Justin, I love you,” Ripa responded. “You know I’ve taken my daughter (Lola) to 400 Justin Bieber concerts.”

“I do believe this a cry for help,” she added, getting laughs and cheers from the audience.

Former Falcon Crest star Lorenzo Lamas shooting indie film Prayer Never Fails in Florida
Lamas says, "Nobody would get a shot if it weren't for the independent filmmaker. So, I'm always obliged and happy if my schedule allows to come aboard and participate in well-written scripts."

The Flash casts Michael Ironside as Captain Cold's father
CW's The Flash has cast veteran actor Michael Ironside as Lewis Snart. He is the estranged, abusive father of villains Leonard Snart/Captain Cold (Wentworth Miller) and Lisa Snart/Golden Glider (Peyton List).

See the homes of famous Sioux Cityans, including Days of our Lives legend Macdonald Carey
Many of the homes of famous Sioux Cityans still stand and, if you plan ahead, you can arrange a tour to see some of them. The trolley ride includes a drive past the homes of many of Sioux City's luminaries.

3711 Jones St.: If you were a fan of the daytime soap Days of our Lives, this is were Macdonald Carey, who played Dr. Tom Horton until his death in 1994, grew up.

Martha Madison stars in Winterthorne, premiering August 27th
"The family [and its business] is run by its women, and they've reached a crossroads," explains creator Michael Caruso (DeVanity), who also plays Madison's husband, Victor, in the show. "Martha's complicated character, Miranda, is taking over, and we'll see over the course of four episodes where she started from and some of the good and not-so-good choices she's made in order to control her family."

Today in Soap Opera History (March 15)

Macdonald Carey with Frances Reid

On this date in...

1913: Longtime soap star Macdonald Carey was born (100 years ago today!). He died on March 21, 1994 at age 81. Carey's soap roles: Tom Horton, DAYS OF OUR LIVES (1965-1994); WOMAN IN WHITE (1937), Dick Grosvenor, STELLA DALLAS; Jonathan Hillery, JUST PLAIN BILL; JOHN'S OTHER WIFE (1937); Hickory, YOUNG HICKORY (1937), THE STORY OF ELLEN RANDOLPH).

Watch the PURE SOAP tribute to Carey below:

DAYS OF OUR LIVES Reaches 12,000 Episode: A Celebration In Photos

NBC is airing the 12,000th episode of DAYS OF OUR LIVES on Friday. Below are some of our favorite photos from throughout the years. What has been your favorite storyline over the past 12,000 episodes of DAYS?  And what do you want to see happen in 2013 and beyond?

Today in Soap Opera History (March 15)

On this date in...

1913: Longtime soap star Macdonald Carey was born. He died on March 21, 1994 at age 81. Carey's soap roles: Tom Horton, DAYS OF OUR LIVES (1965-1994); WOMAN IN WHITE (1937), Dick Grosvenor, STELLA DALLAS; Jonathan Hillery, JUST PLAIN BILL; JOHN'S OTHER WIFE (1937); Hickory, YOUNG HICKORY (1937), THE STORY OF ELLEN RANDOLPH)

1957: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Louise feared that Harry might have murdered Marilyn.

1971: On DARK SHADOWS, in 1841, Brutus' spirit came for James Forsythe's spirit.

1982: Arthur Jackson went to the home of actress Theresa Saldana (Carlotta, SANTA BARBARA; Christina, ALL MY CHILDREN) and when he saw her, he stabbed her 10 times.

Jackson had seen Saldana in the movie Defiance and found himself hopelessly attracted to her. He decided to kill her, get caught, and get the death penalty so he could join her in death. He found her address through a detective agency that got the address from the California Department of Motor Vehicles. A deliveryman intervened during the stabbing and Saldana survived. Jackson was convicted of attempted murder but he continued to send her threatening letters.

1982: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Mr. Big (the late Brent Collins) kidnapped Tom and Margo.

1991: On NBC's DARK SHADOWS primetime remake, in 1790, Victoria Winters' witchcraft trial begins, Angelique's spirit tries to stop Barnabas Collins from making Josette DuPres his vampire bride. In 1991, Angelique possessed Dr. Julia Hoffman.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Brenda Scott (ex-Gina, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 69
Craig Wasson (ex-Doug, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) - 58
Pricilla Garita (ex-Gabi, SUNSET BEACH; ex-Theresa, PASSIONS; ex-Rita, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Anita, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Kathy, ANOTHER WORLD) - 45
Kim Raver (Teddy, GREY'S ANATOMY; ex-Nico, LIPSTICK JUNGLE; ex-Deanne, CENTRAL PARK WEST) - 43
Eva Longoria (Gabrielle, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES; ex-Isabella, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 37
Kellan Lutz (ex-George, 90210) - 27
Adrianna Léon (ex-Brooklyn, GENERAL HOSPITAL; ex-Colleen, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS) - 24

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you would like to submit a piece of soap opera history for this daily column, please email it to editor@welovesoaps.com.

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COUNTDOWN: Top 30 Soap World (Auto)Biographies, from Mona Bruns Thomas to Christina Crawford, Judy Lewis to Bill & Susan Hayes

We mentioned new memoirs by Kim Zimmer and Susan Lucci in our Cyber Monday list of merchandise to check out. Now we are expanding that list looking at life stories from the world of daytime dramas. Check out our Top 30 list below:

1. "Both of Me" by Mary Stuart

2. "Eight Years in Another World" by Harding Lemay

3. "From the Raven to the Dove" by Sharon Gabet

4. "The Confessions of Phoebe Tyler" by Ruth Warrick and Don Preston

5. "Please, Spell the Name Right" by Jed Allan

CLASSIC CLIPS: Macdonald Carey

Macdonald Carey came in at #40 on the 50 Greatest Soap Actors of All Time list. Here are some classic clips of Carey's work on DAYS OF OUR LIVES.

1965: Tom deals with a shoplifting Julie.

1966: Tom and Alice discuss Marie.
1976: The Hortons celebrate Christmas.

1979: The Hortons sing "Always" - this never gets old.
1983: Tom and Alice are happy Marie is finally going to be happy.

1986: Tom speaks about Eugene.
1987: Tom surprises Alice with a romantic dinner.

1990: A Tom and Alice restrospective on DAYS' 25th anniversary.
1993: Tom Horton's final Christmas.

50 Greatest Soap Actors: #40 Macdonald Carey

NAME: Macdonald Carey
RANK: 40
SOAP ROLES: Tom Horton, DAYS OF OUR LIVES (1965-1994); WOMAN IN WHITE (1937), Dick Grosvenor, STELLA DALLAS; Jonathan Hillery, JUST PLAIN BILL; JOHN'S OTHER WIFE (1937); Hickory, YOUNG HICKORY (1937), THE STORY OF ELLEN RANDOLPH

AWARDS:
Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
1990 Soap Opera Digest Award Editor's Choice
1985 Soap Opera Digest Award win for Outstanding Actor in a Mature Role in a Daytime Serial
1984 Soap Opera Digest Award win for Outstanding Actor in a Mature Role in a Daytime Serial
1979 Soapy Award win for Favorite Actor in a Mature Role
1978 Soapy Award win for Favorite Actor in a Mature Role
1976 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
1975 Daytime Emmy win for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
1974 Daytime Emmy win for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
1973 Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Achievement by Individuals in Daytime Drama
1968 Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Daytime Programming - Individuals

COMMENTS FROM THE PANEL:
Damon L. Jacobs:  He played the quintessential grandfather, healer, voice of reason, calm in the storm.  No matter what happened to the residents of Salem, or in the days of my own lives, Macdonald Carey's presence emanated a grounding presence that let us all know that everything would be okay in time.  My mother watched DAYS while pregnant with me, and to this day there are few sounds that soothe me as effectively as Carey's voice reciting, "Like sands through the hourglass..." It is the mark of a profoundly dignified soul, and glacially talented actor, that his spirit remains alive, vital in Salem, and heard five times a week. Daytime would not have been the same without him, and neither would I.