Formatting for daytime serials changed during the 1970′s as the former 1/2 hour slot expanded to 1 full hour. More people than ever were turning into see the exploits of vixen’s Lisa Miller and Barbara Ryan, the villainous and devious theatrics of James Stenbeck and the playboy antics of John Dixon and Craig Montgomery. Through out the years several movie stars have come from the story lines of As the World Turns, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Ms. Marisa Tome, (more…)

As The World Turns began its rise to popularity in 1956, created by Irna Phillips who was one of the most creative writers of radio soap operas. She preferred character development over melodrama, and ran story lines in real-life time, keeping the focus on the personal and professional lives of its characters. Breaking the mold of the 15 minute serial, As The World Turns was the first serial to run a full 30 minutes in length. It soon enjoyed the highest Neilsen ratings for an astounding 12 years, (more…)

The Kennedy Assassination: A Momentous Interruption

Shots were fired at Kennedy’s motorcade at 12:30 PM CST on Friday, November 22, 1963, about six minutes later, the first bulletin hit the national TV and radio airwaves. The first bulletin hit the radio first, coming in on ABC’s radio network. CBS was the first TV station to break the news of shots being fired at Kennedy’s motorcade. The bulletin interrupted the live broadcast of popular soap “As The World Turns.” Newscaster Walter Cronkite delivered the audio bulletin without a cameras as none was (more…)

Helen Wagner (September 3, 1918 ” May 1, 2010) was the only woman to play the character “Nancy Hughes” in the long running soap opera “As The World Turns”. She began playing the role in April of 1956, when the show debuted, and continued to perform the role until her death, which occurred only months before the soap opera taped its final episodes in June 2010.

By playing Nancy Hughes for over 50 years, she is mentioned in the Guinness Book of Records as holding the longest run of a character role in television (more…)