Irna Phillips

William J. Bell

Agnes Nixon

Douglas Marland

The first three are definite legends for daytime television IMHO.

I'm glad someone mentioned him. I don't know why some keep forgetting the man who trained Douglas Marland.

Amen.

Amen.

I think the level of sophistication Harding achieved is still unmatched. And will be for long.

Lynn Marie Latham, Megan McTavish, Ellen Weston and David Kriezman are the new Bell, Nixon, Marland's etc.

Such talent those people have!

Here's my picks: Agnes Nixon, William J. Bell, Douglas Marland, Claire Labine, Kay Alden, Wisner Washam, Irna Phillips, and Nancy Curlee. I would put Ron Carlivati on that list, but he needs more time to prove himself IMO.

Edited March 23, 200817 yr by AddictedToSoaps

Lynn Marie Latham, Megan McTavish, Ellen Weston and David Kriezman are the new Bell, Nixon, Marland's etc.

Chris B, you are such a smart-ass I LOVE IT! I kind of miss David Kreizman's letters to the Guiding Light fans. He'll bring up Irna Phillips, the longeivty of Guiding Light, and the brotherhood of man. But when you watch the show, it's like watching Hannah Montana smoking crack with aluminum foil.

Edited March 23, 200817 yr by Noel

But when you watch the show, it's like watching Hannah Montana smoking crack with aluminum foil.

Well you would know through experience, Noel

Agnes Nixon, Bill Bell, Doug Marland, Pat Falken Smith, Wisner Washam, Pam Long, Harding LeMay, Lorraine Broderick, Nancy Curlee, Claire Labine, and Paul Avila Mayer are the first names that come immediately to mind.

I think the level of sophistication Harding achieved is still unmatched. And will be for long.

Yep.

He was ahead of his time.

Bell, Nixon, Marland, Lemay, all agreed on.

Pat Falken Smith should be a rung below the four. Her version of Days in the 1970s was just pure magic.

And NO ONE could top Slesar's way of doing mystery stories.

I never saw Marland's work, so I'll do the ones I know:

Agnes Nixon

Claire Labine

Michele Val Jean

Patrick Mulcahey

Lorraine Broderick

Ron Carlivati

Since no-one has mentioned him yet, I'm going to say James E. Reilly. He invented a new approach to doing soaps during the 90s at DAYS. He absolutely revitalized that show and it's the last time a) any soap's ratings have gone consistently UP, and a soap was part of mainstream Americana. I think JER definitely deserves mention.

Bill Bell, Douglas Marland, Pam Long, Nancy Curlee, Claire Labine.

Since no-one has mentioned him yet, I'm going to say James E. Reilly. He invented a new approach to doing soaps during the 90s at DAYS. He absolutely revitalized that show and it's the last time a) any soap's ratings have gone consistently UP, and a soap was part of mainstream Americana. I think JER definitely deserves mention.

I love you the way you think.

DAYS from 1993-1997 is my all time favorite era. It was soap opera perfection. If I owned a soap, I would set up my stories the way Jim did for those 5 years of brilliance.

Since no-one has mentioned him yet, I'm going to say James E. Reilly. He invented a new approach to doing soaps during the 90s at DAYS. He absolutely revitalized that show and it's the last time a) any soap's ratings have gone consistently UP, and a soap was part of mainstream Americana. I think JER definitely deserves mention.

Oh hell no lol

Has anyone mentioned the great Henry Slesar? Henry wrote The Edge Of Night for many years and wrote what was one of the most logical and well written soaps, maybe the most, to ever hit the screen.

The creator of "The Edge of Night" was Irving Vendig, who was also headwriter of the original Perry Mason radio show. There were a succession of headwriters, but the one with the greatest longevity was Henry Slesar, who wrote Edge for fifteen years, a record in daytime.

Slesar developed a theory about writing mystery for daytime. Since "whodunnit" stories might run for many weeks or even months, it was far more difficult to keep the audience guessing, to maintain the element of surprise at the conclusion. Slesar's idea was to create what he called the "blue herring." He believed that daytime audiences were only too familiar with the traditional "red herrings" which are supposed to lead them in a wrong direction. Therefore, an additional twist in the story line was needed-- the blue herring.

In March 1968, Slesar took over as head writer on Proctor and Gamble's daytime drama "The Edge of Night", a position he held for the next 15 years, the longest stint for a head writer in the history of soap opera. For his consistently exhilarating work he was awarded an Emmy for best writing in 1974 and was nominated for the same in 1980 and 1982. He was also nominated for 6 Writers Guild awards. While continuing as "The Edge of Night's" head writer, Slesar also worked on the nighttime series "McMillan and Wife" and "ABC Wide World of Mystery".

According to wikipedia

The Edge of Night was unique among daytime soap operas in that it focused on crime, rather than domestic and romantic matters. The police, district attorneys and medical examiners of fictional Monticello, USA, dealt with a steady onslaught of gangsters, drug dealers, blackmailers, cultists, international spies, corrupt politicians, psychopaths and murderous debutantes while coping with more usual soap opera problems such as courtship, marriage, divorce, child custody battles and amnesia. The show's particular focus on crime was recognized in 1980, when, in honor of its 25 years on the air, The Edge of Night was given a Special Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America.

supposedly at one time 50% of its audience was male, a feat never accomplished again by any soap.