Today in Soap Opera History (February 9)

1968: Dark Shadows' Josette jumped off Widows' Hill.
1984: Days of our Lives' Roman convinced Abe he was innocent.
1989: Another World featured the single women of Bay City.
1996: All My Children's Laurel was shot and killed.

"History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent 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...

1968: On Dark Shadows, Angelique (Lara Parker) tried to fool Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) using Josette's voice to go to Widows' Hill. Barnabas guessed what her plan was and left to save Josette. Josette climbed to Widows' Hill where Angelique showed her a vision of what she would become if she stayed with Barnabas. Barnabas arrived but Josette was frightened by him. He grabbed her to save her from the cliff but Josette pulled away and jumped to her death.

Today in Soap Opera History (February 9)

1968: Dark Shadows' Josette jumped off Widows' Hill.
1984: Days of our Lives' Roman convinced Abe he was innocent.
1989: Another World featured the single women of Bay City.
1996: All My Children's Laurel was shot and killed.

"All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."
― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"

"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...

1968: On Dark Shadows, Angelique (Lara Parker) tried to fool Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) using Josette's voice to go to Widows' Hill. Barnabas guessed what her plan was and left to save Josette. Josette climbed to Widows' Hill where Angelique showed her a vision of what she would become if she stayed with Barnabas. Barnabas arrived but Josette was frightened by him. He grabbed her to save her from the cliff but Josette pulled away and jumped to her death.

Florence Henderson Dead at 82

Florence Henderson

Florence Henderson, who went from Broadway star to become one of America's most beloved television moms in The Brady Bunch, has passed away, her manager and her publicist said. She was 82.

Henderson died Thursday night at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, after being hospitalized the day before, said her publicist, David Brokaw. Henderson had suffered heart failure, her manager Kayla Pressman said in a statement.

Family and friends had surrounded Henderson's hospital bedside, Pressman said.

On the surface, The Brady Bunch with Henderson as its ever-cheerful matriarch Carol Brady, resembled just another TV sitcom about a family living in suburban America and getting into a different wacky situation each week.

But well after it ended its initial run, in 1974, the show resonated with audiences, and it returned to television in various forms again and again, including The Brady Bunch Hour in 1977, The Brady Brides in 1981 and primetime soap opera The Bradys in 1990. It was also seen endlessly in reruns.

"It represents what people always wanted: a loving family. It's such a gentle, innocent, sweet show, and I guess it proved there's always an audience for that," Henderson said in 1999.

'Dancing with the Stars' Season 23 Cast Includes Maureen McCormick, Jake T. Austin, Ryan Lochte, Rick Perry & Vanilla Ice

Maureen McCormick with Artem Chigvintsev
Photo Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

The celebrity cast of Dancing with the Stars are slipping on their dancing shoes and getting ready for their first dance on the ballroom floor, as the 23rd season kicks off on Monday, September 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. This season’s lineup of celebrity dancers includes two
Gold medal-winning U.S. Olympians, a multi Grammy award-winning musician, a star of one of the most iconic television programs ever, one of the greatest
wide receivers of all time, and the former governor of Texas, to name just a few.

As announced this morning on ABC’s Good Morning America, the celebrities with their professional partners heading to the ballroom this season (in
alphabetical order) are:

* Amber Rose with Maksim Chmerkovskiy

* Calvin Johnson Jr. with Lindsay Arnold

* Jake T. Austin with Jenna Johnson

* James Hinchcliffe with Sharna Burgess

* Jana Kramer with Gleb Savchenko

Today in Soap Opera History (February 9)

1968: Dark Shadows' Josette jumped off Widows' Hill.
1984: Days' Roman convinced Abe he was innocent.
1996: AMC's Laurel was shot and killed.
2007: Y&R's Lauren killed Sheila.

"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...

1968: On Dark Shadows, Angelique (Lara Parker) tried to fool Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) using Josette's voice to go to Widows' Hill. Barnabas guessed what her plan was and left to save Josette. Josette climbed to Widows' Hill where Angelique showed her a vision of what she would become if she stayed with Barnabas. Barnabas arrived but Josette was frightened by him. He grabbed her to save her from the cliff but Josette pulled away and jumped to her death.

Today in Soap Opera History (February 9)

1968: DARK SHADOWS' Josette jumped off Widows' Hill.
1984: DAYS' Roman convinced Abe he was innocent.
1996: AMC's Laurel was shot and killed: 2007: Y&R's Lauren
killed Sheila, who looked just like Phyllis.

"Maybe if people started to listen, history would stop repeating itself."
- Lily Tomlin

"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...

1968: On DARK SHADOWS, Angelique (Lara Parker) tried to fool Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) using Josette's voice to go to Widows' Hill. Barnabas guessed what her plan was and left to save Josette. Josette climbed to Widows' Hill where Angelique showed her a vision of what she would become if she stayed with Barnabas. Barnabas arrived but Josette was frightened by him. He grabbed her to save her from the cliff but Josette pulled away and jumped to her death.

Today in Soap Opera History (April 29)

On this date in...

1932: Radio soap opera ONE MAN'S FAMILY premiered on Los Angeles, Seattle and San Francisco stations.

1940: YOUNG DOCTOR MALONE aired its first episode on CBS Radio, having moved from the Blue Network.

1980: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Raven finally arrived at the hospital to see Jaimey.

World AIDS Day Tribute: Howard E. Rollins, Timothy Patrick Murphy, Biff Warren, Paul Keenan, Larry Riley, Robert Reed, Rock Hudson, Brad Davis, Alan L. Hale, Teddy Wilson, Tom Fuccello, Raymond St. Jacques, Lee Mathis

As this year's World AIDS Day comes to a close we want to recognize some of the other creative talents from the soap world who lost their lives due to complications from the AIDS virus.

Check out our World AIDS Day features and tributes from earlier today here.

Howard E. Rollins Jr. (Ed Harding, ANOTHER WORLD, FBI Agent, ALL MY CHILDREN)
October 17, 1950 to December 8, 1996 (age 46)

Timothy Patrick Murphy (Mickey Trotter, DALLAS; Spencer Langley, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW)
November 3, 1959 to December 6, 1988 (age 29)

Biff Warren (Mark Lewis, AS THE WORLD TURNS)
December 9, 1955 to September 26, 1993 (age 37)

NEWS: Sherwood Schwartz Dead at 94, James Franco, A Rabbi On Soaps

Sherwood Schwartz dead at age 94
Schwartz created GILLIGAN'S ISLAND and THE BRADY BUNCH, which eventually turned into a primetime soap called THE BRADYS. Schwartz died of natural causes in his sleep, surrounded by his family.

James Franco on his new attitude about soaps in the latest Playboy
“Generally, people think actors start on soaps, and if they can, they move up the ladder. Early in my career I auditioned for soaps and didn’t get on them. Until going on GENERAL HOSPITAL, I was like, ‘Of course I’m not going to go on a soap, that lower form of entertainment.’ I don’t view it that way anymore; it’s all entertainment, just for different audiences.”

Today in Soap Opera History

On this date in...

1983: Kathy Bates debuted on ALL MY CHILDREN as a prisoner who would beat up Erica Kane.

2005: Legendary writer and producer Bill Bell died at age 78.

Celebrating a birthday today are:
Celeste Holm (ex-Isabella, LOVING; ex-Anna, FALCON CREST) - 94
Joseph R. Sicari (ex-Freddy, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 72
Kate Mulgrew (ex-Mary, RYAN'S HOPE) - 56
Leslie Jordan (ex-Brother Boy, SORDID LIVES) - 56
Susan Pratt (ex-Claire, GUIDING LIGHT; ex-Barbara, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Charlotte, AS THE WORLD TURNS; ex-Elizabeth, LOVING; ex-Annie, GENERAL HOSPITAL) - 55
Eve Plumb (ex-Dora, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-June, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Jan, THE BRADYS) - 53
Jack Armstrong (ex-Carson, DAYS OF OUR LIVES; ex-Chad, THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL; ex-Kevin, ONE LIFE TO LIVE; ex-Greg, ALL MY CHILDREN) - 53

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you have a tip on a bit of soap history on this date or future dates, let us know. Send an email to editor@welovesoaps.com.