As the World Turns
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As the World Turns | |
Network | CBS |
---|---|
Creator(s) | Irna Phillips |
Executive producer(s) | Christopher Goutman |
Head writer(s) | Jean Passanante |
Senior cast member(s) | Helen Wagner |
Distributor | Procter & Gamble Productions |
Running time | 60 minutes (30 minutes from 1956 to 1975) |
Premiere date | April 2, 1956 |
No. of episodes | 12,984 (as of March 30, 2007) |
As the World Turns Official Website | |
IMDb profile | |
TV.com summary |
As the World Turns (ATWT) is the second longest-running American television soap opera (the first being Guiding Light), airing each weekday on CBS.
It debuted on Monday, April 2, 1956 at 1:30pm. Before this show (and The Edge of Night, which premiered on the same day), all soaps were fifteen minutes in length; ATWT was the first half-hour serial.
At first, viewers did not respond to the new half-hour serial, but ratings picked up in its second year, eventually reaching the top spot in the daytime Nielsen Ratings by the fall of 1958. In 1959, the show started a streak of weekly ratings wins that would not be interrupted for over twelve years. In the year-to-date ratings, As the World Turns was the most-watched daytime drama from 1958 until 1978, with ten million viewers tuning in each day. At its height, core actors such as Helen Wagner, Don MacLaughlin, Don Hastings, and Eileen Fulton became nationally known.
The show transitioned from black-and-white to color in the mid-1960s, with the final black-and-white episode airing on February 17, 1967. The show expanded from a half-hour in length to one hour starting on December 1, 1975. Also in 1975, it transitioned from being televised live to being taped in advance. (ATWT was among the last soaps to make this transition.)
The show has aired over 12,900 installments; the 10,000th episode aired on May 12, 1995. As the World Turns is notable for having been taped in New York City for all of its 51 years on television (43 years in Manhattan and 8 in Brooklyn).
Contents |
[edit] Premise
As the World Turns was the creation of Irna Phillips who, beginning in the 1930s, had been one of the foremost creators and writers of radio soap operas. As a writer, Phillips favored character development and psychological realism over melodrama, and her previous creations (which included The Guiding Light) were especially notable for placing professionals - doctors, lawyers, and clergypeople - at the center of their storylines.
And so it was with As the World Turns, with its slow-moving psychological character studies of families headed by legal and medical professionals. The personal and professional lives of doctors and lawyers would remain central to As The World Turns throughout its run, and would eventually become standard fare on all soap operas. Whereas the 15-minute radio soaps often focused on one central, heroic character (for example, Dr. Jim Brent in Phillips's Road of Life), the expanded 30-minute format of As The World Turns enabled Phillips to introduce a handful of professionals within the framework of a family saga.
One of Phillips' innovations was to introduce a sort of Greek chorus to the stories. The primary purpose of characters such as Nancy Hughes (played by Helen Wagner) was to comment on the crises faced and decisions made by the town's more dynamic residents. This technique contributed to the popularity of the show and continues to be widely used in other soap operas.
Phillips' style favored gradual evolution over radical change. Slow, conversational, and emotionally intense, the show moved at the pace of life itself - and sometimes even more slowly than that. Each new addition to the cast was done in a gradual manner, and was usually a key contact to one of the members of the Hughes family. As such, the show got a reputation as being quite conservative (though the show did showcase the first gay male character on American soap operas, in 1988). During the show's early decades, the content-related policies of its sponsor Procter & Gamble Productions may have contributed to the perception of conservatism. The soap manufacturing giant typically balked at storylines in which adultery and other immoral behavior would go unpunished, and as late as the 1980s characters from the primary families were still generally not allowed to go through with abortions.
[edit] History
As the World Turns premiered on April 2, 1956. It was the first television daytime drama to ever premiere with a 30-minute running time; all daytime dramas until then had had 15-minute running times. By 1958, the program was the number one daytime drama in the United States. As the World Turns continues to run to this day on CBS, and has won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series four times (in 1987, 1991, 2001, and 2003.)
History of As the World Turns series
[edit] Title sequences
The show has only changed opening title sequences from the original format four times: in 1981, 1993, 1999, and 2002, with a slight modification of the 2002 visuals redone in 2003.
As a testament to the show's unwillingness to change in the early years, the show had the same theme song (an organ tune which transitioned into a pre-recorded version in 1973) and opening visual (a globe spinning in the distance, with the globe moving toward the center to spin stationary) from 1956 to 1981. The visual was not markedly altered when the show transitioned to color in 1967.
The minor changes to the color opening had the globe at the center of the screen and the title zoomed out from the middle of the globe. The organ version of the main theme (by Charles Paul) was used over the color visual until 1973. The color update of the black-and-white visual stayed until October 30, 1981.
The sponsor tags during the black and white and up to the 1981 title changes were hand drawn pictures of the product, or the name of the product superimposed over the globe. On a 1965 closing sequence, the sponsor tag was an actual photo card of the product. This may have been the practice used on credit days. On non-credit days, the superimposure was used. After the 1981 title change, the sponsor tags were actual photos of the products. This continues to this day. There have been occasions, where a sponsor was to be plugged, that it would not occur until after the title sequence. A CBS announcer would plug the product. EX: AS THE WORLD TURNS is brought to you by (product).
On November 2, 1981, a new synthesized theme song was first heard, with new computer-enhanced visuals. The globe had now been relegated to an O in the word WORLD, with three beams of light reflecting separate ways. The tune was modified in 1984 and again in 1988. The globe was on the center of the screen for the closing sequences.
On February 3, 1993, the theme song and opening visual was changed again. The theme song was composed by Barry DeVorzon, famous for composing the theme song of The Young and the Restless. This time the credits were done by computer specialist group Castle/Bryant/Johnsen. In the visuals, the letters of the title slowly passed by, with the seasons illustrated in picture form inside the letters themselves. When the visual finally got to the O in WORLD, a spinning globe fell into its place and the whole title was zoomed out of focus, to be seen by the audience. In 1995, the closing credits ran over original scenes related to events in that day's episode (for example, if a character was seen in an episode, the credits might show them cleaning a room or playing a piano—things too "boring" to be in the episode itself.) By 1997, however, the credits simply rolled over scenes from that day's episode. The globe was used for closing credits from 1993 until they changed to beauty shots. For a brief period, the globe was used to promote the viewer feedback line. Then they would use the beauty shots for the credit crawl.
The show changed its music and opening again on November 1, 1999. For the first time, cast shots (both solo and group) were seen, accompanied by music. At the end, the O in WORLD was shown to consist of different clips from the show's history, not unlike a process first seen in the movie The Truman Show. Internet fans complained that the sound effects in the theme song which accompanied these credits, which was written by David Nichtern and Kevin Bents, sounded too much like "toilet flushing noises."
A new sequence, featuring cast clips to a mellower music selection (written by Jamie Lawrence and, again, David Nichtern), debuted on July 8, 2002. The backdrop to complement the actor clips was colored in gold, and was changed to sky blue in November 2003. The music from 2002 remained intact. Several shorter versions of this intro are used from time to time, featuring different members of the cast in each. In September 2006, a temporary intro was introduced to mark the "Ice Storm" theme of the next few shows. To hear the opening theme, click here.
[edit] History of show announcements
From the show's inception until October 1981, the show's announcer (and the most remembered of all of ATWT's announcers) was Dan McCullough. His voice-overs were utilized as follows:
- Opening titles--"And now, for the next 30 minutes (or full hour), As the World Turns, brought to you today by..." (the extra words presented live were added after "and now..." when the show went to the color standard in 1967)
- Mid-program break--"The first part of this program has been brought to you today by..." (until at least the late 1960s); "This portion of As the World Turns has been brought to you today by..." (late 1960s until 1981), followed by "We'll continue with As the World Turns following station identification" (inception until at least the mid-1970s); "We'll continue with Part II of As The World Turns in just a moment" (mid-1970s until 1981)
- Lead-in to second half--"And now the second half of As the World Turns..., followed by "...brought to you today by..." on days where the second half is officially sponsored.
- Lead-in to next-to-last commercial break--"We'll continue with As the World Turns in just a moment."
- Closing titles--"This portion of As the World Turns has been brought to you today by..." (on days where the second half is officially sponsored; on days that are not, there would be either no announcement at all or McCullough would invite viewers to "stay tuned" to the next program "on most of these CBS stations").
- As the World Turns opening theme (1973) (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Narrated by Dan McCullough. This version is the one used from 1956-1973, with organ music played by Charles Paul. This episode's sponsor is Ivory Snow.
- Problems playing the files? See media help.
In 1981, after 25 years with ATWT, McCullough retired from the program and was replaced by a much younger announcer, Dan Region. His announcements were as follows:
- Opening titles--"As the World Turns. This portion brought to you today by..." (although beginning in the 1990s, Procter & Gamble began to decrease their sponsorship of the program for some days of the week, even though they themselves were the producers. So, on such days, Region would only announce the title of the program right before the first commercial break.)
- Mid-program break: "This portion of As the World Turns has been brought to you today by (name and description of sponsor). We'll continue with Part II of As the World Turns in just a moment."
- Lead-in to second half--either "And now Part II of As the World Turns!", or "And now we continue with Part II of As The World Turns!" (the second half from 1981 forward was, for the most part, not officially sponsored)
- Lead-in to next-to-last commercial break--"We'll continue with As the World Turns in just a moment!"
- Closing credits--"Stay tuned for Capitol (1982 to 1987, or) Guiding Light (1987 to 1999) next on most of these CBS stations.", or "Join us again for As the World Turns."
After the titles were changed again in 1999, for the first time in the series history (for the most part), ATWT had no official announcer or show announcements, however Martin Bookspan (who had taken over as announcer of Guiding Light) still had to announce the sponsor tags on days where the show was sponsored.
[edit] Cast
[edit] Current cast members
U.S. daytime soap operas currently on the air: |
All My Children (ABC) |
As the World Turns (CBS) |
The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS) |
Days of our Lives (NBC) |
General Hospital (ABC) |
Guiding Light (CBS) |
One Life to Live (ABC) |
Passions (NBC) |
The Young and the Restless (CBS) |
Edit this box |
[edit] Recurring cast members
Actor | Character |
---|---|
Alex Charak | Elwood Hoffman |
Ewa Da Cruz | Vienna Hyatt |
Terri Garber | Iris Dumbrowski |
Allie Gorenc | Sage Snyder |
Ashley Marie Greiner | Faith Snyder |
Kenneth Franklin | Dallas Griffin |
Mick Hazen | Parker Munson |
Daniel Manche | J.J. Larrabee |
Marie Masters | Dr. Susan Stewart |
Robin Mattson | Cheri Love |
Sam Stone | Daniel Hughes |
Kathleen Widdoes | Emma Snyder |
[edit] Comings and Goings
Actor | Character | Date |
---|---|---|
Jennifer Landon | Cleo Babbitt | Debuts April 6th |
Scott Bryce | Craig Montgomery | Returns April 10th |
Jake Silbermann | Noah Mayer | Debuts May 31st |
Jeff Meek | Craig Montgomery | Exits April 2nd |
Zach Roerig | Casey Hughes | Exits May 2007 |
[edit] Deceased cast members
Actor | Character | Years On ATWT | Year Of Death |
---|---|---|---|
Barbara Berjer | Claire Lowell Cassen | 1965-1971 | 2002 |
Benjamin Hendrickson | Hal Munson | 1985-2004; 2005-2006 | 2006 |
William Johnstone | James Lowell | 1956-1978 | 1996 |
Don MacLaughlin | Chris Hughes | 1956-1986 | 1986 |
Santos Ortega | Will Hughes #2 | 1956-1976 | 1976 |
Ethel Remey | Alma Miller | 1963-1977 | 1979 |
[edit] Famous stars
The actors, musicians, and directors who have gotten their start or became better known because of their work on As the World Turns include:
- Courteney Cox Arquette (Bunny; 1984)
- Jason Biggs (Pete Wendall; 1994-1995)
- Brian Bloom (Dusty Donovan; 1983-1988)
- Jordana Brewster (Nikki Munson; 1995-1998)
- Shawn Christian (Mike Kasnoff; 1994-1997)
- Margaret Colin (Margo Montgomery Dixon Hughes; 1981-1983)
- Dana Delany (Hayley Wilson Hollister; 1981)
- William Fichtner (Josh Stricklyn; 1987-1989)
- Thomas Gibson (Derek Mason; 1988-1989)
- James Earl Jones (Dr. Jerry Turner; 1966)
- Lauryn Hill (Kira Johnson; 1991)
- Kristanna Loken (Danielle Andropoulos; 1994)
- Mary McDonnell (Claudia Colfax; 1980)
- Julianne Moore (Frannie Hughes/Sabrina Hughes; 1985-1988)
- Ming-Na (Lien Hughes; 1988-1991)
- Annie Parisse (Julia Lindsey Snyder; 1998-2001; 2002)
- Danny Pintauro (Paul Ryan; 1983-1984)
- Parker Posey (Tess Shelby; 1991-1992)
- Emmy Rossum (Abigail Williams; 1997)
- Meg Ryan (Betsy Stewart Montgomery Andropoulos; 1982-1984)
- Mark Rydell (Jeff Baker; 1956-1962)
- Roselyn Sanchez (Pilar Domingo; 1996-1997)
- Martin Sheen (Jack Davis; 1965-1970)
- Kerr Smith (Ryder Hughes; 1996-1997)
- Michael Swan (Duncan McKechnie; 1986-1995, 2001, 2002)
- Bo Taylor (Michael Evans; 1986-1988); (Dr. Mark Evans;1986-2007 (exits in April))
- Richard Thomas (actor) (Tom Hughes; 1966-1967)
- Marisa Tomei (Marcy Thompson Cushing; 1983-1985)
- Tamara Tunie (Jessica Griffin; 1986-1995,1999-2007)
- James Van Der Beek (Stephen Anderson; 1995)
- Steven Weber (Kevin Gibson; 1985-1986)
See also: List of As the World Turns cast members
[edit] Scheduling/Ratings history
As The World Turns is best known for its virtually uninterrupted reign as the highest-rated soap from 1958 to 1978, twice tying for first place with NBC's Another World (1973-74 and 1977-78), which, like ATWT, was a P&G-packaged serial. By the mid-1960s, it was so firmly entrenched that its strongest competition, Let's Make a Deal, despite developing a devoted fan base in its own right and becoming one of daytime's most popular game shows, could not quite come close to matching it in the Nielsens. Its strength was such that ABC ran hourlong drama reruns in the 1-2 p.m. (Noon-1 Central) slot in the mid-1960s, and NBC, after losing Deal to ABC in 1968, ran a total of eight shows, all short-lived (excepting Three on a Match), against ATWT and Deal from that point until 1975.
It was only in April 1975, when NBC, encouraged by the success of its expansion of AW to one hour, did the same to Days, moving its start time to coincide with ATWT. That marked the first erosion ever of the venerable soap's hold on the daytime crown, but CBS fought back later that year by electing to make ATWT its initial one-hour soap (these expansions incidentally occurring only seven years after the last two 15-minute serials, Search for Tomorrow and Guiding Light, assumed the half-hour format). To do so, however, CBS had to lose one serial, and it chose P&G's Edge of Night, which paralleled ATWT in that it premiered on the same day in 1956 and had, until recently, broadcast live daily from the CBS New York studios (except for taped location scenes). Edge lost a large portion of its audience when it changed to an earlier timeslot in 1972. P&G, however, wanted to continue Edge, and CBS' plan to expand ATWT in September was held up until P&G cut a deal with ABC, who picked the crime-and-mystery-themed soap up for its afternoon lineup. Within weeks of expanding in December, ABC was forced to relocate Deal to Noon/11, where it died six months later. However, the last half-hour of ATWT faced that network's successful $10,000 Pyramid (later $20,000) at 2/1, so the expansion did not totally succeed.
Although the eventual hit game Family Feud ran against ATWT from July 12, 1976 until April 22, 1977, it did not become a smash hit for ABC until its move to the mornings. It was only when ABC made its first move to a one-hour soap with All My Children that trouble really began for ATWT (and also Days), since ABC kept that serial's starting time at 1/Noon, meaning that fans of that serial who tuned to NBC or CBS would miss out on the last half of that day's storyline (or, contrariwise, would not, if they watched until the mid-program commercial break and then changed channels, pick up the ATWT or Days activites from the episode's beginning, since ABC strategically placed its break several minutes after the bottom of the hour). Further, AMC's emphasis on youth-oriented, sexier storylines provided a sharp contrast to the domestic, almost quaint tone of ATWT (and, to a lesser degree, the melodramatic, somewhat topical Days). Worse still, on January 16, 1978, ABC ballooned its decade-old One Life to Live to the 2/1 starting time, compounding the other networks' headaches.
Eventually, ATWT's audience defected enough to the point that during the 1978-79 season, it lost its ratings crown and even its position as CBS' highest-rated soap, with that honor going to sister serial Guiding Light. Nonetheless, the show still rated strongly, despite its problems, which were largely stylistic and capable of remedy by writing and cast adjustments, something that occurred fairly frequently through the mid-1980s. In March 1979, NBC decided to put Days head-to-head with AMC, perceiving it as the show to beat. About a year later, CBS countered this move by expanding the fast-growing The Young and the Restless and moving it to 1/Noon. This meant that, for the first time, ATWT would have a new starting time, 2/1, against AW and OLTL. This, however, did not help either ATWT or Y&R, and both shows returned to their former slots in June 1981, with affiliates receiving the option to run Y&R at 12:30/11:30 or Noon/11 and Search for Tomorrow spending its last days on CBS at 2:30/1:30.
CBS decided, despite ABC's clear triumphs, to stand put with ATWT until March 1987, when it scrapped the five-year-old Capitol in favor of The Bold and the Beautiful. Believing that Bold would do better running in tandem with Y&R (especially on Eastern Time Zone affiliates), CBS scheduled it at 1:30/12:30, and finally settled ATWT at 2/1, where it has remained since that time. Although facing the full length of AW and OLTL once again, the Douglas Marland era of 1985-1993 saw a resurgence in ratings, and by 1991 it was back in its once habitual top-four placing. ATWT would survive NBC's cancellation of its sister AW in 1999 in favor of Passions, which is itself scheduled for cancellation in September 2007.
The venerable soap celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006 looking ahead to a secure future, even though no longer dominant. This is largely because, although it has lost audiences steadily since the emergence of cable networks and other viewing alternatives since the mid-1990s, so have all the other daytime dramas.
One example of the drastic change in daytime television can be found in the following: Daytime history: Highest rated week (November 16-November 20, 1981) (Household ratings- Nielsen Media Research)
Serial | Household Rating | (Time Slot) Network | Millions Of Viewers |
---|---|---|---|
General Hospital | 16.0 | (3-4pm) ABC | 30 million |
All My Children | 10.2 | (1-2pm) ABC | 14 million |
One Life To Live | 10.2 | (2-3pm) ABC | 13.9 million |
Guiding Light | 7.9 | (3-4pm) CBS | 9.9 million |
The Young And The Restless | 7.3 | (12:30-1:30pm) CBS | 9 million |
1995 ratings
Serial | Millions Of Viewers |
---|---|
The Young And The Restless | 7.155 |
All My Children | 5.891 |
General Hospital | 5.343 |
The Bold And The Beautiful | 5.247 |
One Life To Live | 5.152 |
[edit] Schedule
As the World Turns broadcast history
- April 2, 1956 - November 28, 1975: 1:30-2 pm (12:30-1 pm Central)
- December 1, 1975 - February 1, 1980: 1:30- 2:30 pm (12:30-1:30)
- February 4, 1980 - June 5, 1981: 2-3 pm (1-2)
- June 8, 1981 - March 20, 1987: 1:30-2:30 pm (12:30-1:30)
- March 23, 1987 - present: 2-3 pm (1-2)
[edit] As the World Turns crew
- 1956 - 65: Ted Corday
- Mid to late 1970s: Joe Willmore
- 1978 - 1980: Joe Rothenberger
- 1980 - Fall 1981: Fred Bartholomew
- Fall of 1981 - October 1984: Mary-Ellis Bunim
- October 1984 - October 1988: Robert Calhoun
- October 1988 to May 1995: Laurence Caso
- May 1995 - November 8, 1996: John Valente
- November 11, 1996 - June 1999: Felicia Minei Behr
- July 1999 - Present Christopher Goutman
- 1956- Mid 60s: Irna Phillips
- Mid 1960s - 1966: Irna Phillips and William J. Bell
- Late 1960s: Katherine Babecki
- 1970: Joe Kane and Ralph Ellis
- 1971: Winnifred Wolfe and Warren Swanson
- 1971 -1973: David Lesan & Irna Phillips
- 1973 -1978: Robert Soderberg and Edith Sommer
- 1979: Ralph Ellis and Eugenie Hunt
- Late 1979: Douglas Marland
- Late 1979 -1981: Bridget and Jerome Dobson
- 1981: Paul Roberts
- 1981: Tom King
- 1981 -1982: K.C. Collier
- 1982 -1983: Bridget and Jerome Dobson
- 1983: Caroline Franz and John Saffron
- 1984-85: Tom King and Millee Taggart
- 1985: Cynthia Benjamin and Susan Bedsow Horgan
- 1985 -1993: Douglas Marland (Died)
- 1993 -1995: Juliet Law Packer & Richard Backus
- 1995: Richard Culliton (Fired)
- 1996: Stephen Black & Henry Stern (Both fired)
- Late 1996 -1997: Stephen Demorest, Mel Brez and Addie Walsh
- 1997: Jessica Klein
- 1997: Stephen Demorest, Mel Brez and Addie Walsh
- 1998 -1999: Lorraine Broderick
- 1999 -2000: Leah Laiman
- 2000 -2005: Hogan Sheffer
- Late May 2005 -present: Jean Passanante
ATWT current crew
Writing Team: Jean Passanante, Christopher Whitesell, Leah Laiman, Bettina F. Bradbury, Susan Dansby, Judith Donato, Elizabeth Page, Courtney Simon, Judy Tate, Lisa Connor, Anna Cascio, Richard Culliton, David A. Levinson
Producing Team: Christopher Goutman, Carole Shure, Jennifer Schacor, Jennifer Maloney, Vivian Gundaker
Directing Team: Michael Eilbaum, John O'Connell, Jennifer Pepperman, Maria Wagner, Habib Azar, Sonia Blangiardo, Christopher Goutman
[edit] Inturn
In 2006, CBS launched a reality TV show called Inturn on their broadband channel innertube, the winner of which would go on to receive a 13-week acting contract on As The World Turns. The eventual winner of Inturn was Alex Charak, an 18 year old "Student/Pizza Transportation Artist" from New York [1]. Charak made his debut as the character Elwood Hoffman on September 26, 2006. A one-hour "best-of" show aired on CBS on November 24, 2006.
[edit] Awards Won
[edit] Writer's Guild of America Awards
- 2007 "Best Daytime Serial" Written by Jean Passanante, Leah Laiman, Christopher Whitesell, Courtney Simon, Anna Cascio, Lisa Connor, Paula Cwikly, Hogan Sheffer, Judy Tate, Bettina Bradbury, Richard Culliton, Susan Dansby, Judy Donato, Josh Griffith, Elizabeth Page, Melissa Salmons, Charlotte Gibson; CBS
[edit] Daytime Emmy Awards
[edit] Show
As The World Turns has won 43 Daytime Emmys:
- 2005 "Outstanding Writing Team"
- 2005 "Outsanding Achievement in Casting for a Drama Series"
- 2004 "Outstanding Writing Team"
- 2003 "Outstanding Drama Series"
- 2002 "Outstanding Writing Team"
- 2001 "Outstanding Writing Team"
- 2001 "Outstanding Drama Series"
- 1999 "Outstanding Original Song" TIED with General Hospital
- 1993 "Outstanding Directing Team"
- 1991 "Outstanding Drama Series"
- 1987 "Outstanding Drama Series"
[edit] Individuals
- 2006 "Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series" Jennifer Landon (Gwen Norbeck Munson)
- 2004 "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" Cady McClain (Rosanna Cabot Montgomery)
- 2003 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" Benjamin Hendrickson (Hal Munson)
- 2001 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Martha Byrne (Lily Walsh Snyder/Rose D'Angelo)
- 2001 "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" Lesli Kay (Molly Conlan McKinnon)
- 1990 "Outstanding Juvenile Male in a Drama Series" Andrew Kavovit (Paul Ryan)
- 1988 "Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series" Julianne Moore (Frannie Hughes/Sabrina Hughes)
- 1987 "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" Larry Bryggman (Dr. John Dixon)
- 1987 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" Gregg Marx (Tom Hughes)
- 1987 "Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series" Martha Byrne (Lily Walsh)
- 1986 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" John Wesley Shipp (Doug Cummings)
- 1985 "Outstanding Juvenile Male in a Drama Series" Brian Bloom (Dusty Donovan)
- 1984 "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" Larry Bryggman (Dr. John Dixon)
- 1984 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" Justin Deas (Tom Hughes)
[edit] Trivia
- On November 22, 1963, the live CBS broadcast of As The World Turns was interrupted for the first bulletins (audio only with a "CBS News Bulletin" slide) by Walter Cronkite about the shooting of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Shortly thereafter, CBS switched to uninterrupted news coverage of this historic and tragic event. As NBC and ABC, the other two major U.S. TV networks, were not programming at the time (that time period belonging to their local affiliates), As The World Turns has the distinction of being the last regular U.S. network program broadcast for the next four days as the assassination of JFK and the transition of power to Vice-President Lyndon Johnson took center stage.
- April 2, 2006 was the 50th anniversary of the soap opera on CBS. The special included tributes to the many actors on the show, favorite moments and episodes, bloopers, memories, and more.
- At 88 years old, Helen Wagner is tied with Mike Wallace as the second oldest personality on television (they both rank behind Days of our Lives star Frances Reid). She also holds the world record for appearing the longest amount of time on one television show as the same character, playing the role of Nancy Hughes since the show went on the air on April 2, 1956. She was 37 years old when the show started.[1]
- A spin on this title is common when soap operas are spoofed (As the Apple Turns, As The Stomach Turns).
- In 1988, "As The World Turns" made daytime television history by introducing daytime television's first gay male character, Hank Elliot (actor Brian Starcher). In May 2006, the character of Luke Snyder (Lily and Holden's son) came out of the closet. Actors Van Hansis (Luke) and Martha Byrne (Lily) appeared in a Public Service Announcement urging the soap's audience to stand up against homophobia and discrimination and to "Be an Ally and a Friend", a public service campaign from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). [2]
- Jon Hensley (Holden) and Kelley Menighan Hensley (Emily) are married in real life. Holden and Emily were once married, but she was then played by Melanie Smith.
- Maura West who plays Carly Tenney is married to Scott DeFrietas, who played Andy Dixon for two decades.
[edit] See also
- List of cast members of As the World Turns
- List of As the World Turns characters
[edit] See super (or semi) couples on As the World Turns
[edit] External links
- Procter & Gamble Productions Forum
- CBS-TV: ATWT
- Soapdom: ATWT
- ATWT Information & Message Board
- TV Tome: ATWT
- ATWT at IMDb
- ATWT Storyline Suggestions
Categories: 1956 television program debuts | CBS network shows | Television series by Procter & Gamble Productions | 1950s American television series | 1960s American television series | 1970s American television series | 1980s American television series | 1990s American television series | 2000s American television series | Soap operas