This topic was inspired by @mikelyons
post about realism in soaps (or lack thereof).

 

As touch and go as realism can sometimes be on daytime soaps, there are certain totems that signify life in the real world.

For me, some of the companies, characters that exist/existed on soaps seem to have counterparts in the real world.

For example,

 

Y&R's Jabot Cosmetics reminds me of Estee Lauder, both family owned cosmetic/skincare companies.

 

ATWT- Walsh Industries-Worldwide is reminiscent of McKinsey, a management consultant firm.

 

ATWT- Tad Channing, a venomous, contemptible real estate devloper/builder who left behind chaos, financial ruin and attempted rapes on his road to ignominy and perdition, reminds me of...well, I refuse to mention him by name at this point.

 

Can you think of any soaps, whether companies, characters, etc., that have real life counterparts?

I once read that Jock Ewing was based on H.L. Hunt and Blake Carrington was based on Marvin Davis.

 

There's been more than a few nods to the Kennedys over the decades. Off the top of my head:

The Whitneys of EDGE

Johnny and Roger Forbes, LOVING

Spencer and Grant Harrison, ANOTHER WORLD

Linda Fairchild-Rush and Peter Fairchild, CENTRAL PARK WEST (Jackie and JFK Jr.).

 

Speaking of CPW, Gerald McRaney's Adam Block, a media mogul from the south, was clearly Ted Turner.

The Lords (OLTL) were said to be based on the Annenberg publishing dynasty (TV Guide, etc.).

Felicia Gallant (AW) was supposed to be based on novelist Jacqueline Susann, who was good friends with head writer (at the time) Robert Soderberg

A lot of people msy have been incredulous at a Black family owning a chain of ice cream parlours (or did that have to do with them being located in Chicago?) but I looked it up and there are quite a few ice cream parlours owned by Black families. I saw at least one that predated the debut of Generations too.

A couple I specifically remember:
 

I remember on Y&R MAB yammering that Tucker McCall was inspired by Richard Branson and McCall Unlimited was based on Virgin Group. 
 

Sunset Beach’s Sara Cummings and Melinda Fall were timely based on Monica Lewinsky and Linda Tripp respectively as Brian Patrick Clarke’s US Congressman character was obviously based on Clinton.

Passions’ Sheridan was originally inspired to be Diana.

 

I seem to recall someone trying to connect the Kiriakis family on Days to the Onassis/Niarchos families.

 

 

 

 

 

B&B: the Eric Forrester is based off of Ralph Lauren. His office has a distinctly Polo vibe to it. 
 

 

RH - Irish-Catholic young politician Frank Ryan = JFK
Also, the supporting character of Jumbo Marino I would say was portrayed by his real-life counterpart, Fat Thomas, who, shall we say, was not an actor and ran in certain circles.

AMC: I don't know if this was the intent but Jenny and Opal Gardner reminded me of Brooke & Teri Shields: a beautiful, virginal teenaged girl whose ambitious mother managed her and pushed her into modeling and looking seductive. Jenny arrived in PV the same year that Endless Love was released.

OLTL - Whether Clint Ritchie happened to have a lot in common with Clint Buchanan (which helped him get the job in the first place), or TPTB often wrote around Clint R, I'd put him in, I think, the very small group of soap actors for whom it could be said that the lines of actor/character separation were among the blurriest. I think a lot of Clint B, especially in his prime, was heavily written to Clint R's characteristics.

 

30 minutes ago, applcin said:

RH - Irish-Catholic young politician Frank Ryan = JFK
 

AMC: I don't know if this was the intent but Jenny and Opal Gardner reminded me of Brooke & Teri Shields: a beautiful, virginal teenaged girl whose ambitious mother managed her and pushed her into modeling and looking seductive. Jenny arrived in PV the same year that Endless Love was released.

I knew I was missing at least one.

 

For what it's worth, I remember Dorothy Lyman describing Opal as "a white-trash Teri Shields" (or words to that extent) in a PEOPLE profile circa 1983.