Today in Soap Opera History (July 26)

The cast of Young Widder Brown.
"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: Young Widder Brown premiered on NBC Radio. The popular Frank and Anne Hummert radio soap opera told the story of young Ellen Brown, a 30 year old mother, who struggled to raise her children without the small town mentality that came with living in Simpsonville. The show ran for nearly 18 years, until June 22, 1956.

1972: On As the World Turns, Tom Hughes (Peter Galman) and Carol Deming (Rita McLaughlin) were married. The wedding was shot on location at the Riverdale Presbyterian Church in Riverdale, New York.

1976: One Life to Live and General Hospital each expanded to 45-minute episodes each weekday. Up until this point, One Life to Live had aired right after General Hospital, but would air before GH  for the remainder of its run on ABC (January 13, 2012).

1976: On Another World, Mac Cory (Douglass Watson) accused his wife, Rachel (Victoria Wyndham), of neglecting her son, Jamie Frame (Bobby Doran).

1985: On Santa Barbara, Barnaby "Brick" Wallace (Richard Eden) and Amy Perkins (Kerry Sherman) held a crossbow on Jerry Lee (Joel Crothers) and Jack Lee (also Joel Crothers), with both men claiming to be Jack. Julia Wainwright arrived and kissed them both to figure out who was the real Jack. Later, Jerry and Jack battled in a sword duel.

Today in Soap Opera History (July 26)

The cast of Young Widder Brown.

"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...

1938: Young Widder Brown premiered on NBC Radio. The popular Frank and Anne Hummert radio soap opera told the story of young Ellen Brown, a 30 year old mother, who struggled to raise her children without the small town mentality that came with living in Simpsonville. The show ran for nearly 18 years, until June 22, 1956.

1972: On As the World Turns, Tom Hughes (Peter Galman) and Carol Deming (Rita McLaughlin) were married. The wedding was shot on location at the Riverdale Presbyterian Church in Riverdale, New York.

1976: One Life to Live and General Hospital each expanded to 45-minute episodes each weekday. Up until this point, One Life to Live had aired right after General Hospital, but would air before GH  for the remainder of its run on ABC (January 13, 2012).

1976: On Another World, Mac Cory (Douglass Watson) accused his wife, Rachel (Victoria Wyndham), of neglecting her son, Jamie Frame (Bobby Doran).

1985: On Santa Barbara, Barnaby "Brick" Wallace (Richard Eden) and Amy Perkins (Kerry Sherman) held a crossbow on Jerry Lee (Joel Crothers) and Jack Lee (also Joel Crothers), with both men claiming to be Jack. Julia Wainwright arrived and kissed them both to figure out who was the real Jack. Later, Jerry and Jack battled in a sword duel.

Today in Soap Opera History (July 26)

The cast of Young Widder Brown.

"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: Young Widder Brown premiered on NBC Radio. The popular Frank and Anne Hummert radio soap opera told the story of young Ellen Brown, a 30 year old mother, who struggled to raise her children without the small town mentality that came with living in Simpsonville. The show ran for nearly 18 years, until June 22, 1956.

1972: On As the World Turns, Tom Hughes (Peter Galman) and Carol Deming (Rita McLaughlin) were married. The wedding was shot on location at the Riverdale Presbyterian Church in Riverdale, New York.

1976: One Life to Live and General Hospital each expanded to 45-minute episodes each weekday. Up until this point, One Life to Live had aired right after General Hospital, but would air before GH  for the remainder of its run on ABC (January 13, 2012).

1976: On Another World, Mac Cory (Douglass Watson) accused his wife, Rachel (Victoria Wyndham), of neglecting her son, Jamie Frame (Bobby Doran).

1985: On Santa Barbara, Barnaby "Brick" Wallace (Richard Eden) and Amy Perkins (Kerry Sherman) held a crossbow on Jerry Lee (Joel Crothers) and Jack Lee (also Joel Crothers), with both men claiming to be Jack. Julia Wainwright arrived and kissed them both to figure out who was the real Jack. Later, Jerry and Jack battled in a sword duel.

Today in Soap Opera History (July 26)

The cast of Young Widder Brown.

"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...

1938: Young Widder Brown premiered on NBC Radio. The popular Frank and Anne Hummert radio soap opera told the story of young Ellen Brown, a 30 year old mother, who struggled to raise her children without the small town mentality that came with living in Simpsonville. The show ran for nearly 18 years, until June 22, 1956.

1972: On As the World Turns, Tom Hughes (Peter Galman) and Carol Deming (Rita McLaughlin) were married. The wedding was shot on location at the Riverdale Presbyterian Church in Riverdale, New York.

1976: One Life to Live and General Hospital each expanded to 45-minute episodes each weekday. Up until this point, One Life to Live had aired right after General Hospital, but would air before GH  for the remainder of its run on ABC (January 13, 2012).

1976: On Another World, Mac Cory (Douglass Watson) accused his wife, Rachel (Victoria Wyndham), of neglecting her son, Jamie Frame (Bobby Doran).

1985: On Santa Barbara, Barnaby "Brick" Wallace (Richard Eden) and Amy Perkins (Kerry Sherman) held a crossbow on Jerry Lee (Joel Crothers) and Jack Lee (also Joel Crothers), with both men claiming to be Jack. Julia Wainwright arrived and kissed them both to figure out who was the real Jack. Later, Jerry and Jack battled in a sword duel.

Today in Soap Opera History (July 26)

The cast of Young Widder Brown.

"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...

1938: Young Widder Brown premiered on NBC Radio. The popular Frank and Anne Hummert radio soap opera told the story of young Ellen Brown, a 30 year old mother, who struggled to raise her children without the small town mentality that came with living in Simpsonville. The show ran for nearly 18 years, until June 22, 1956.

1972: On As the World Turns, Tom Hughes (Peter Galman) and Carol Deming (Rita McLaughlin) were married. The wedding was shot on location at the Riverdale Presbyterian Church in Riverdale, New York.

1976: One Life to Live and General Hospital each expanded to 45 minutes. Up until this point, One Life to Live had aired right after General Hospital, but would air before GH  for the remainder of its run on ABC (January 13, 2012).

1976: On Another World, Mac Cory (Douglass Watson) accused his wife, Rachel (Victoria Wyndham), of neglecting her son, Jamie Frame (Bobby Doran).

1985: On Santa Barbara, Barnaby "Brick" Wallace (Richard Eden) and Amy Perkins (Kerry Sherman) held a crossbow on Jerry Lee (Joel Crothers) and Jack Lee (also Joel Crothers), with both men claiming to be Jack. Julia Wainwright arrived and kissed them both to figure out who was the real Jack. Later, Jerry and Jack battled in a sword duel.

Today in Soap Opera History (July 26)

On this date in...

1938: YOUNG WIDDER BROWN, from Frank and Anne Hummert, premiered on NBC Radio. It told the story of young Ellen, a 30 year old mother, who struggled to raise her children without the small town mentality that came with living in Simpsonsville.  The popular radio soap opera ran until June 22, 1956.

1976: ONE LIFE TO LIVE and GENERAL HOSPITAL each expanded to 45 minutes. Up until this point, OLTL aired after GH, but moved to the timeslot before GH and remained there way until OLTL left ABC in 2013.

1976: On ANOTHER WORLD, Mac (Douglass Watson) accused Rachel (Victoria Wyndham) of neglecting Jamie (Bobby Doran).

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Classic Photo Of The Day (1974 Cast)

In honor of the upcoming 40th anniversary of THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS (YR40), We Love Soaps will be posting a "Classic Photo of the Day" for the rest of the month. Today's photo is of the cast in 1974. The only cast member remaining from this picture is Jeanne Cooper (Katherine Chancellor). Brenda Dickson played Jill Foster at the time. That character is the only one left on the show today, now played by Jess Walton. Julianna McCarthy returned in 2010 when the show had the character of Liz Foster die.

Today in Soap Opera History (July 26)

On this date in...

1938: YOUNG WIDDER BROWN, from Frank and Anne Hummert, premiered on NBC Radio. The show told the story of young Ellen, a 30 year old mother, who struggles to raise her children without the small town mentality that came with living in Simpsonsville.

1972: On AS THE WORLD TURNS, Tom Hughes married Carol Deming.

1976: ONE LIFE TO LIVE and GENERAL HOSPITAL each expanded to 45 minutes. Up until this point, OLTL aired after GH, but starting on this day OLTL aired first and it remained that way until OLTL went off the air in 2012.

1976: On ANOTHER WORLD, Mac (Douglass Watson) accused Rachel (Victoria Wyndham) of neglecting Jamie (Bobby Doran).