Daytime Firsts

Compiled by Steve Frame, October 2009

• First Airings of Soap Operas in Daytime Television: Shortly after DuMont's WABD in New York began broadcasting in May 1944, Lever Brothers sponsored three weeks of daily TV versions of the radio soaps, Big Sister and Aunt Jenny's Real Life Stories. According to the trade journal Sponsor, the "results were good to excellent, but [the TV productions] were primarily the result of the advertiser's desire to 'feel the way' into TV, and to give his staff a workout with visual technique." (May 1944)
  
• First Daytime TV Soap Opera Created For Daytime TV: These Are My Children (1949)
  
• First Daytime Soap to Move from Primetime to Daytime: Hawkins Falls (1950 in primetime; 1951 moves to daytime)
  
• First Soap To Only Have One Actor Speak The Whole Episode: The Edge of Night in December 1968 when Donald May as Adam Drake was the only character to speak for the whole half-hour
  
• First 30 minute Soaps: As The World Turns & The Edge of Night (1956)
  
• First Soap To Get A Special Hour Episode: Another World in May 1974 for the marriage of Steve Frame and Alice Matthews
  
• First Soap Opera to Expand to an Hour: Another World
  
• First Soap To Debut as an Hour in Length: Texas
  
• First Soap To Get A Special 90-Minute Debut Episode: How To Survive A Marriage in Jan 1974
  
• First Soap To Expand to Air Regularly for 90 Minutes: Another World in 1979
  
• First Full Size Bed for Married Couple: Search For Tomorrow in the 1960's for Arthur and Joanne Tate
  
• First Pregnant Woman Shown on Daytime: Mary Stuart (Search For Tomorrow)
  
• First Daytime Soap Star to Get Primetime Spinoff: Eileen Fulton (As The World Turns / Our Private World)
  
• First Daytime Star to Portray His/Her Character in Primetime: Elieen Fulton as Lisa Hughes (As The World Turns / Our Private World)
  
• First Daytime Spinoff: Somerset was a spinoff on Another World in 1970
  
• First Daytime Star to be Nominated for Emmy Award: Mary Stuart (Search For Tomorrow) at the 1962 primetime Emmys
  
• First Abortion: Pat Matthews (Another World) - 1964
  
• First Social Relevance Story: Bert Bauer's uterine cancer (Guiding Light)
  
• First Soap Star to Record An Album: Rosemary Prinz (As The World Turns)
  
• First Soap Star to Get Star Billing: Rosemary Prinz (All My Children)
  
• First Use of Profanity: Meg Aleata (Love of Life) - called her granddaughter a bastard (1973/74)
  
• First Daytime Star to Get Golden Globe Nomination For Her Daytime Role: Emily McLaughin (General Hospital)
  
• First Legal Abortion: Erica Kane Martin (All My Children)
  
• First Soap to Expand to an Hour: Another World
  
• First Unintentional Full Frontal Nudity: General Hospital in the early 80's when the cameras actually taped all of Tony Geary and it made it past the censors
  
• First Planned Nudity: Doug Davidson (Young & the Restless) - butt shot
  
• First Daytime Soap Star to Get Her Picture in the Show Opening: Rosemary Prinz (All My Children)
  
• First Daytime Soap Star to Get Special Billing in the Closing Credits: Eileen Fulton (As The World Turns)
  
• First to Do a Remote Shot Outside the United States: All My Children (Tom & Erica's honeymoon in St. Croix, 1978)
  
• Daytime TV's First Gay Male Character:: Hank Eliot (As The World Turns) - introduced 1988
  
• Daytime TV's First Male/Male Kiss: Vincent Clarkson & Chad Harris-Crane (Passions) beating Luke Snyder & Noah Meyer (As The World Turns) by a few months in 2007
  
• Daytime TV's First Male/Male Sex: Vincent Clarkson & Chad Harris-Crane (Passions) in 2007
  
• Daytime TV's First Lesbian Character: Joann Curtis (Young & the Restless) - 1970's
  
• First Daytime Soap Opera on Cover of TV Guide: As The World Turns (1971)
  
• First Daytime Soap Stars on Cover of Time: Bill & Susan Seaforth Hayes (1976)
  
• First Daytime Soap to Win a Daytime Emmy: The Doctors in 1972
  
• First Daytime Performer to Win a Daytime Emmy: Mary Fickett (Ruth Brent, All My Children) in 1973
  
• First Daytime Performer to Portray the Same Role on Three Shows: Geoffrey Lumb in 1964; portraying Mitchell Dru, a role he created on The Brighter Day in 1962; moved to As The World Turns later in 1962; and then to Another World in 1964
  
• First Daytime Soap Opera Stars Fired at the Height of their Popularity: George Reinholt & Jacqueline Courtney (Steve & Alice Frame, Another World) - 1975
  
• First Daytime Gay Wedding: Tamara Braun & Eden Riegel (Reese Williams & Bianca Montgomery, All My Children) - 2009
  
• First Lesbian Flirting in Daytime: - Jeanne Cooper & Brenda Dickson as Katherine & Jill; Katherine flirts with Jill while drunk in 1974
  
• First Soap Star to Appear Nude in Playgirl Ryan McDonald in one of the early issues of the magazine in 1973; did not do full frontal
  
• First Soap Star to Appear Nude While Still In His Role in a National Magazine George Reinholt while still in his role on Another World. Even though his shots were not full frontal nudity, it still got him into hot water with Paul Rauch and Procter & Gamble
  
• First Character To Return From The Dead:: Paul Raven who died on Love of Life in 1956 returns as Matt Corby in 1970
  
• First Interracial Romance:: Mia Elliott with Paul Bradley & Dr. Jim Abbott on Love is A Many Splendored Thing in 1967
  
• First Black/White Interracial Romance: Carla Gray & Dr. Jim Craig on One Life To Live in 1968
  
• First Disabled Performer to Appear in a Daytime Soap Opera: Susan Peters as Susan Martin on Miss Susan in 1951
  
• First Daytime Soap To Experiment With Color: The Guiding Light in 1953
  
• First Professional Athlete to Star in Daytime: John Beradino, former pro baseball player, debuted as Dr. Steve Hardy in April 1963
  
• First Soap to Change Production Coasts: The Brighter Day which moved from New York City to Los Angeles, California in the Summer of 1961
  
• First Soap to Give a Contract Role to an African-American Performer: The Brighter Day in the Summer of 1962; offering former motion picture actor Rex Ingrum a contract with the show. Shortly after his debut the series was cancelled; not giving him or the character much chance to ever catch on
  
• First Oscar-winning Performer to Star in Daytime: Anne Revere on Flame in the Wind/A Time For Us in 1964
  
• First Daytime Soap Star to Leave His Show Due to a Starring Role in Primetime: Sam Groom who left his role on Another World when he received the starring role in Police Surgeon in 1971
  
• First Soap Star to Die While in Their Daytime Role Actively: Melba Rae who played Marge Bergman on Search For Tomorrow; died 29 Dec 1971
  
• First Soap To Use Real Drug Addicts As Part of The Show: One Life To Live in 1972
  
• First Soap Opera Actress to Openly Admit to Having A Child Out of Wedlock: Sharon DeBord of General Hospital in 1973
  
• First Soap Star Poached From Another Network: Denise Alexander who was lured away by General Hospital from Days of Our Lives in 1973
  
• First African-American Wedding in Daytime: Ed Hall and Carla Gray of One Life To Live in September 1973
  
• First Soap to Switch Networks: The Edge of Night moves from CBS to ABC in 1975
  
• First Real Life Twins to Play Twins or Siblings: Deidre Hall and Andrea Hall-Lovell on Days of Our Lives in 1978
  
• First Soap to Debut with a Special Primetime Episode: Capitol in 1982
  
• First Character with AIDS: Cindy Parker on All My Children in 1987
  
• First Soap to Debut with a Fully Integrated Cast: Generations in 1989
  
• First Lesbian Kiss: Bianca and Lean on All My Children in 2003
  
• First Soap To Tackle the Gay Marriage Issue: One Life To Live in 2004 when Marcie's brother wanted to marry his boyfriend
  
• First African-American Gay Character: Simone on Passions (2005)
  
• First Transgendered Character: Zarf/Zoe on All My Children (2006)
  
• First Child Character To Age in Regular Time: Amy Ames on The Secret Storm
  
  

Edited June 21, 201015 yr by Gilbert

This may be splitting hairs, but Rosemary Prinz was billed as "Special Guest Star" on AMC while a little over a decade later Beverlee McKinsey would be billed as "Starring" in Texas.

Was the first hour-long AW ep for Steve and Alice's wedding or Walter and Lenore's?

Edited June 21, 201015 yr by SFK

The first was Steve and Alice.

I didn't know that about lesbian flirting with Katherine and Jill, or about George Reinholt posing near-nude in Playgirl or some other magazine. He was kind of hot back then.

Was Steve Bond the first to have full frontal photos published while he was on a soap? I know the photos were from before GH.

Daytime TV's First Lesbian Character: Joann Curtis (Young & the Restless) - 1970's

Wasn't JoAnn some confused straight woman who went back to her husband?

# # First to Do a Remote Shot Outside the United States: All My Children (Tom & Erica's honeymoon in St. Croix, 1978)

What about Mary and Jack on Ryan's Hope in late 1977? They went to Ireland.

Edited June 21, 201015 yr by CarlD2

And Joann was Kay's friend, right? They were the ones that had the controversial lesbian bit that got wrapped up post-haste, right? As for Kay and Jill... in this day and age, the idea of some cougar letting down her hair and "testing" the girl who works for her while throwing back vodka on the rocks and smoking a Marlboro Light would be so hot.

JoAnn had a failed marriage, her husband was cheating on her with a Brooks sister, I believe. JoAnn began overeating, devouring a aheet cake and a casserole in one episode. Katherine befriended her and helped her lose weight and gave her presents. They kissed and were going to go on a cruise. Then the ratings crashed and Bill Bell ended the story and basically said never again (too bad MAB didn't listen to him...). Brock told Katherine that she was mistaking friendship for something else and she needed to stop. JoAnn and her husband reconciled and I think they left town.

This was around the same time as the equally controversial and canceled bisexual story on DAYS.

I can see the scenario you mention, although not on most TV, which is so afraid of a woman's sexuality. I can see it on Cinemax After Dark though.

This was around the same time as the equally controversial and canceled bisexual story on DAYS.

Was that the one with Julie? Or Mike?

The one with Julie.

Did they ever plan anything with Mike or was that just one of those where a man isn't sure of his sexuality until he falls for a woman? I can't remember what Wesley Eure said in that interview last year.

YAY!!! Passions gets the credit it deserves haha!!

The one with Julie.

Did they ever plan anything with Mike or was that just one of those where a man isn't sure of his sexuality until he falls for a woman? I can't remember what Wesley Eure said in that interview last year.

Im not sure, i do not think we will ever really know. Its been discussed by many and it seems like nobody is sure. I think that they were testing the waters and were maybe going to go there but changed their mind. Id love to see some of it, i wonder if the paly center has any of it...

JoAnn began overeating

She was already overeating. It got worse with his affair.

Edited June 21, 201015 yr by DeeeDee

From SOD Synopsis from May 77

Sharon Duval and Julie Williams go on a shopping spree and return to Sharon's house with all their goodies. Julie had admired a beautiful cameo necklace but didn't purchase it because of the exorbitant price. Sharon did. While the two women are sharing a cup of coffee and a pleasant conversation, Sharon gives Julie the necklace. Needless to say, Julie is stunned at Sharon's show of generosity. When Julie makes noises about leaving, Sharon pleads with her to stay. They have sherry in Sharon's bedroom and Julie admires the decor. To everything Julie admires, Sharon answers by saying "take it, it's yours." Julie laughs off her continued generosity until Sharon offers Julie the house! But even then, she is not aware of what Sharon is telling her. Again she makes noises about leaving. She sits at Sharon's dressing table and Sharon blurts out her true feelings. She tells JUlie that although Karl is leaving Salem, she, Sharon will stay. She will stay forever to be with Julie. She loves Julie. Julie, caught unawares by Sharon's admission, recoils in horror and runs from Sharon's house. Sharon, feeling the rejection and digust Julie is feelings, does the only thing she feels she can do... cut her wrists.

Interesting that at that time,a lesbian was presented as a disturbed and sad character. That was pretty typical of the times.

i don't think they had any plans to make Mike gay-it was just another provocative sexual theme to explore.Once Mike banged Linda,he was sure he was straight. Again, a story that reflected the times.

I thought Erica had the first abortion on AMC. That was one of the reasons why people were losing their minds when TPTB brought Josh back

Erica had the first legal abortion.Pat's was illegal.

Kathy on SFT and characters on Somerset and Return To Peyton Place also had abortions.That storyline seemed to have died out by late 70's.

I know Ashley on Y&R had one around 87 as did Ellie Snyder on ATWT.Were there any others?

Erica had the first legal abortion.Pat's was illegal.

Kathy on SFT and characters on Somerset and Return To Peyton Place also had abortions.That storyline seemed to have died out by late 70's.

I know Ashley on Y&R had one around 87 as did Ellie Snyder on ATWT.Were there any others?

Lulu on GH had one a few years ago

Erica had the first legal abortion.Pat's was illegal.

Kathy on SFT and characters on Somerset and Return To Peyton Place also had abortions.That storyline seemed to have died out by late 70's.

I know Ashley on Y&R had one around 87 as did Ellie Snyder on ATWT.Were there any others?

More recently, Mimi on Days & Lulu on GH.