Today in Soap Opera History (July 19)

1966: Dark Shadows' Roger crashed due to a missing bleeder valve.
1985: John Aniston debuted as Victor on Days of our Lives.
1990: General Hospital's Wendy was murdered.
2010: Scott Clifton debuted as Liam on Bold and the Beautiful.

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

1940: The first episode of radio soap opera The Carters of Elm Street, written by Mona Kent, aired on the Mutual Network.

Daytime Icons Stephen Nichols and A. Martinez Reflect on the Success of Steve and Kayla and Cruz and Eden

Kin Shriner, Stephen Nichols, A Martinez, Doug
Davidson, Don Diamont and Michael. E. Knight.
Photo Credit: Ramona Rosales

Michael Logan from TV Insider recently sat down with soap superstars Kin Shriner (Scotty Baldwin, General Hospital), Stephen Nichols (“Patch” Johnson, Days of our Lives), A Martinez (Cruz Castillo, Santa Barbara), Doug Davidson (Paul Williams, The Young and the Restless), Don Diamont (Brad Carlton, Y&R) and Michael E. Knight (Tad “the Cad” Martin, All My Children) where they spoke about stardom and survival in the soap world.

Super Couples were all the rage in the 1980s, and who better to talk about successful couples than A. Martinez and Stephen Nichols! Steve and Kayla (Mary Beth Evans) and Cruz and Eden (Marcy Walker) were magical together.

Martinez: Stephen and Mary Beth Evans [Kayla] have survived what’s largely perceived to be unsurvivable—playing out a romance on TV for 30 years. How do they still do it? You always hear stories of people who play lovers and how it so often hits the rocks and how they wind up not being able to tolerate each other off camera. With Marcy Walker [Eden on Santa Barbara], I remember being really concerned about how we could have all that intimacy on screen and not have it mess with us. And it did mess with us. We were lucky because we fought our way out of that, but a lot of actors don’t. It can eat you alive.

Nichols: Mary Beth and I have had our ups and downs, but there is such a deep level of trust between us. We’re not afraid to tell each other anything—or tell each other off—and it has helped us stay connected. When things are rocky with us and a scene just isn’t working, Mary Beth will say, “Look in my eyes. Look in my eyes.” And we’re instantly where we need to be. I know actors who’ve been partnered for years and have a very contentious relationship. I’d have to walk away from that. I would have to say, “I can’t do this job.”

Martinez: Cruz and Eden only happened because Santa Barbara wasn’t clicking with the audience. Everyone was looking for a solution and [executive producer] Jill Phelps thought it was worth taking a chance on us. They wrote three episodes for Marcy and me—some kind of situation where we were trapped together—and Jill said, “You’ve got three days. This is your shot. Make it work. You can make excuses that the writing is inconsistent, or that you don’t like the directors, or you can basically decide to succeed. Your choice.” And it worked.

You can read the full interview with all six daytime icons here

Justin Gocke Dead at 36

Former child actor Justin Gocke died on September 8. He was 36.

Justin Earle Gocke was born on January 31, 1978 in Los Angeles, California.

Justin Gocke and Farrah Fawcett in
The Burning Bed.

He started in the entertainment business at age 6, landing the first job he auditioned for, The Burning Bed movie starring Farrah Fawcett. He continued to work until age 14, ending his acting career shortly after he started high school.

His credits included the role of Brandon Capwell in NBC daytime soap opera Santa Barbara, for which he won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1989. "It was such a fun and memorable day," Gocke recalled in a 2009 interview. He was nominated again in 1991.

Gocke shared his most memorable Santa Barbara scenes with Robin Mattson (Gina) and Justin Deas (Keith). "We were like family, on and off screen," Gocke said.

Sam Hall Dead at 93

Writer Sam Hall died on Friday at age 93.

Former Dark Shadows and One Life to Live writer Sam Hall died on Friday, September 26. He was 93.

Allison Samuel Hall was born on March 11, 1921, in Carrollton, Ohio, and graduated from Dartmouth and Yale. A veteran of the World War II Battle of the Bulge, "Sam" was married to actress Grayson Hall in 1952.

Sam was a playwright who had spent several years working on the CBS daytime drama The Brighter Day. He was not really interested in accepting another TV job but the family had been struggling for a while, and Sam was considering moving back to Ohio to work at his father’s rubber gloves factory. Then Grayson got a short-term acting role on ABC's afternoon soap opera Dark Shadows, which turned into a long-term gig, and that kept them in New York. So when creator Dan Curtis said he needed a new writer to replace Malcolm Marmorstein, Sam said he would give it a try. The series became a cult classic and won the devotion of a loyal fanbase that would continue to follow the characters in novels, comic books, movies, audio stories, a primetime television revival and more. Dark Shadows featured the traditional themes of love and family during its five-year run (1966-1971), but mixed in were werewolves, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, and even a parallel universe.

Victoria Mallory Dead at 64

Victoria Mallory

Former The Young and the Restless actress Victoria Mallory died on August 30, 2014 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Mallory made her Broadway debut when Richard Rodgers chose her to star as Maria in the first revival of "West Side Story" at Lincoln Center. She then went on to play Lili in City Center's revival of "Carnival." Mallory originated the role of Young Heidi in the Harold Prince/Stephen Sondheim production of "Follies" as well as the starring role of Anne Egerman in "A Little Night Music."

Former 'General Hospital' Actor Don Matheson Dead at 84

Don Matheson starred in Land of the Giants.

Actor Don Matheson, whose soap opera roles included Cameron Faulkner on General Hospital, passed away on June 29, his daughter told The Hollywood Reporter. He was 84.

Matheson, who worked as a Detroit narcotics cop before becoming an actor, died in his sleep in the Woodland Hills home of his daughter, actress and musician Michele Matheson, and her family. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer 10 months ago.

In primetime television, Matheson was best known for playing short-tempered businessman Mark Wilson on ABC sci-fi series Land of the Giants, which aired for two seasons from September 1968 until March 1970.

Matheson wed his co-star, Deanna Lund, in 1970 shortly after Land of the Giants was canceled, but their marriage ended in divorce. He never remarried, and their daughter said they remained the best of friends.