I’d like to dedicate this column to my hard-working friend Karen McKenny, who spent the past few months organizing a 60th birthday party for our beloved NBC soap Another World, so sadly missed since it went off the air in 1999. The anniversary tribute took place in Tarrytown, N.Y., and was attended by many of the soap’s stars. I’m so sorry I wasn’t … [Read more...]
The Bad Old Days of the O.J. Trial
April 16, 2024 by 3 Comments
The news of O.J. Simpson’s passing last week at age 76 brought back a flood of memories for long time soap fans. We remember vividly how his sensational murder trial pre-empted our soaps almost every day from November 1994 to October 1995. There were 10 soaps on the big three networks in those days. Would the OJ trial help knock them off the air? … [Read more...]
A Soap Miracle At Last!
March 24, 2024 by 2 Comments
After decades of watching and writing about daytime soap operas, even this most fervent advocate must confess to a bit of ennui lately. But all is not lost. Now comes the best soap opera news in more years than I care to remember! Just when it looked as if the television networks were losing interest in soaps, CBS, with the support of the NAACP, … [Read more...]
Looking Back at “Another World”
November 12, 2023 by 8 Comments
When I was a lonely teenager, soaps filled my after-school hours with surrogate friends and family. Another World became my favorite when young vixen Rachel Davis, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, played by a very young and poignant Robin Strasser, seduced chiseled businessman Steve Frame (George Reinholt), breaking up his romance with … [Read more...]
Tom Lisanti’s Amazing New Book on Ryan’s Hope Is a Gift to Soap Fans Everywhere
October 16, 2023 by 2 Comments
Tom Lisanti’s many followers know him as Mr. Sixties Cinema, based on his wonderfully collectible series of 10 books on that era’s pop culture. In such richly evocative studies of the period as Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies, Drive-In Dream Girls, and Film Fatales, as well as biographies of Carol Lynley and Pamela Tiffin, he tackles his subjects … [Read more...]
Is there a market for soap nostalgia?
August 24, 2023 by 4 Comments
Marlena proudly presents the work of new contributor Mike Poirier, who knows everything about soaps, particularly the old ones. Here, Mike writes about early soaps, such as Somerset— which Marlena is old enough to remember. He also presents resources on how you can see episodes from some long-gone shows. He has been a valued supporter of Soaps for … [Read more...]
The Night Susan Lucci Won the Best Actress Emmy on Her 19th Nomination, plus Jacklyn Zeman: In Memorium
May 13, 2023 by 2 Comments
I’ve had the privilege of interviewing three of the most beautiful entertainers in the world: Kim Kardashian, Elizabeth Taylor (by phone) and Susan Lucci (Erica Kane, All My Children), the latter many, many times. Who could ever forget May 21, 1999, the night at Madison Square Garden when Susan won the Best Actress Emmy on her 19th nomination? … [Read more...]
A Bit of Marlena Soap History: Joan Crawford on The Secret Storm in 1968
April 26, 2023 by 4 Comments
With this week’s news that Dick Van Dyke will guest on Days of Our Lives next fall, it’s time to remember other screen stars who have guested on soaps. Yes, real stars, like, for example, Elizabeth Taylor, who played the original Helena Cassadine on General Hospital in 1981. I was fortunate enough to interview her at the time. She was giggly, … [Read more...]
CBS Wisely Puts a Spotlight on Y&R’s 50th Anniversary
April 3, 2023 by 2 Comments
Fifty years ago (March 26, 1973), I was a college newspaper editor at a prestigious state university. At lunchtime, I stopped what I was doing and ran back to my dorm for lunch. I prepared a sandwich and sat down to watch the premiere of the CBS soap The Young and the Restless. (Yes, my classmates thought I was weird for watching soaps. Even … [Read more...]
Days of Our Lives’ Robert Clary and John Aniston: Warmly Remembered
November 26, 2022 by 1 Comment
Days of Our Lives’ Robert Clary and John Aniston: Warmly Remembered By Patrick Erwin, a contributor to this column for many years on As the World Turns and Guiding Light (Patrick says: I’m honored to be a contributor to Marlena’s column once again.) It’s a bittersweet memory for today’s visit. We’re remembering the sad recent passing of … [Read more...]
