Today in Soap Opera History (January 3)

1977: Lovers and Friends premiered on NBC.
1980: Edge of Night's Cliff ate Mrs. Corey's soup.
1995: Days' Alice interrupted Bo and Billie's wedding.
2001: All My Children's Bianca was outed at the Crystal Ball.

"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...

1938: Irna Phillips' radio soap opera Woman in White premiered on NBC Red. The show told the story of Karen Adams, a young nurse who dedicated her life to others, taking care of two young siblings after the death of her parents. Karen spent much of her time counseling others, although she did find time to marry and experience some marital difficulties of her own. The show ran until 1942 but returned from 1944 to 1948 as the story of nurse Eileen Holmes and her romance with Dr. Paul Burton, with only a few characters remaining from the original version. During this later period, Woman in White appeared as part of The General Mills Hour, along with two other Irna Phillips serials, The Guiding Light and Today's Children, and Phillips experimented with combining plots and moving characters among the three stories.

Today in Soap Opera History (January 3)

1977: Lovers and Friends premiered on NBC.
1980: Edge of Night's Cliff ate Mrs. Corey's soup.
1995: Days' Alice interrupted Bo and Billie's wedding.
2001: All My Children's Bianca was outed at the Crystal Ball.

"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...

1938: Irna Phillips' radio soap opera Woman in White premiered on NBC Red. The show told the story of Karen Adams, a young nurse who dedicated her life to others, taking care of two young siblings after the death of her parents. Karen spent much of her time counseling others, although she did find time to marry and experience some marital difficulties of her own. The show ran until 1942 but returned from 1944 to 1948 as the story of nurse Eileen Holmes and her romance with Dr. Paul Burton, with only a few characters remaining from the original version. During this later period, Woman in White appeared as part of The General Mills Hour, along with two other Irna Phillips serials, The Guiding Light and Today's Children, and Phillips experimented with combining plots and moving characters among the three stories.

Today in Soap Opera History (January 3)

1977: Lovers and Friends premiered on NBC. 1980: Edge of 
Night's Cliff ate soup Mrs. Corey intended for Deborah.
1995: Days' Alice interrupted Bo and Billie's wedding.
2001: All My Children's Bianca was outed at the Crystal Ball.

"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...

1938: Irna Phillips' radio soap opera Woman in White premiered on NBC Red. The show told the story of Karen Adams, a young nurse who dedicated her life to others, taking care of two young siblings after the death of her parents. Karen spent much of her time counseling others, although she did find time to marry and experience some marital difficulties of her own. The show ran until 1942 but returned from 1944 to 1948 as the story of nurse Eileen Holmes and her romance with Dr. Paul Burton, with only a few characters remaining from the original version. During this later period, Woman in White appeared as part of The General Mills Hour, along with two other Irna Phillips serials, The Guiding Light and Today's Children, and Phillips experimented with combining plots and moving characters among the three stories.

Today in Soap Opera History (January 3)

1977: Lovers and Friends premiered on NBC. 1980: Edge of 
Night's Cliff ate soup Mrs. Corey intended for Deborah.
1995: Days' Alice interrupted Bo and Billie's wedding.
2001: All My Children's Bianca was outed at the Crystal Ball.

"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...

1938: Irna Phillips' radio soap opera Woman in White premiered on NBC Red. The show told the story of Karen Adams, a young nurse who dedicated her life to others, taking care of two young siblings after the death of her parents. Karen spent much of her time counseling others, although she did find time to marry and experience some marital difficulties of her own. The show ran until 1942 but returned from 1944 to 1948 as the story of nurse Eileen Holmes and her romance with Dr. Paul Burton, with only a few characters remaining from the original version. During this later period, Woman in White appeared as part of The General Mills Hour, along with two other Irna Phillips serials, The Guiding Light and Today's Children, and Phillips experimented with combining plots and moving characters among the three stories.

Today in Soap Opera History (January 3)

1977: Lovers and Friends premiered on NBC. 1980: Edge of 
Night's Cliff ate soup Mrs. Corey intended for Deborah.
1995: Days' Alice interrupted Bo and Billie's wedding.
2001: All My Children's Bianca was outed at the Crystal Ball.

"A page of history is worth a pound of logic."
― Oliver Wendell Holmes

"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...

1938: Irna Phillips' radio soap opera Woman in White premiered on NBC Red. The show told the story of Karen Adams, a young nurse who dedicated her life to others, taking care of two young siblings after the death of her parents. Karen spent much of her time counseling others, although she did find time to marry and experience some marital difficulties of her own. The show ran until 1942 but returned from 1944 to 1948 as the story of nurse Eileen Holmes and her romance with Dr. Paul Burton, with only a few characters remaining from the original version. During this later period, Woman in White appeared as part of The General Mills Hour, along with two other Irna Phillips serials, The Guiding Light and Today's Children, and Phillips experimented with combining plots and moving characters among the three stories.

Today in Soap Opera History (January 3)

1977: LOVERS AND FRIENDS premiered on NBC. 1980: EON's
Cliff ate soup Mrs. Corey intended for Deborah. 1995: DAYS'
Alice interrupted Bo and Billie's wedding. 2001: AMC's
Bianca was outed at the Crystal Ball.

"The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see."
- Winston Churchill

"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...

1938: Irna Phillips' radio soap opera WOMAN IN WHITE premiered on NBC Red. The show told the story of Karen Adams, a young nurse who dedicated her life to others, taking care of two young siblings after the death of her parents. Karen spent much of her time counseling others, although she did find time to marry and experience some marital difficulties of her own. The show ran until 1942 but returned from 1944 to 1948 as the story of nurse Eileen Holmes and her romance with Dr. Paul Burton, with only a few characters remaining from the original version. During this later period, WOMAN IN WHITE appeared as part of THE GENERAL MILLS HOURS, along with two other Irna Phillips serials, THE GUIDING LIGHT and TODAY'S CHILDREN, and Phillips experimented with combining plots and moving characters among the three stories.

Today in Soap Opera History (January 3)

On this date in...

1968: On ANOTHER WORLD, after going across the state line Rachel (Robin Strasser) and Russ (Sam Groom) were married with the magistrate's wife, Effie, as their witness. Rachel had convinced Russ they could keep the marriage a secret from his mother, Mary, since he promised her to remain free of responsibility until he's finished his internship and his residency.

When Rachel arrived back on Bay City, she gloated to Ada (Constance Ford), "Say good luck. Say you're happy. Say fireworks, music, blue skies, champagne, merry-go-round, rainbow! I'm married to Dr. Russell Matthews!"

Today in Soap Opera History (January 3)

On this date in...

1964: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Emory, Lyn, and Winston converged at the Lakeview Inn, and a tragic death occurred.

1977: LOVERS AND FRIENDS, created by Harding Lemay and Paul Rauch, premiered on NBC.

1994: ONDERWEG NAAR MORGEN (On the way to tomorrow) debuted on Dutch television; the Dutch writers based their show on RYAN'S HOPE story bibles originally written by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer.

1995: Morgan Englund (Dylan) left GUIDING LIGHT. He would return for guest appearances including the final week in 2009.

1998: Polish soap ZLOTOPOLSCY premiered.