ICYMI Ken Corday Interview

JUST THE FACTS

Welcome To Salem: DAYS debuted on NBC on November 8, 1965 as a half-hour show; it expanded to an hour on April 21, 1975.

Creative Spirit: The show was created by Ted and Betty Corday and Irna Phillips.

First Among Equals: DAYS was the first soap opera to be broadcast in color.

Gone Too Soon: Ted Corday passed away in 1966; Betty took over and ran the show until she retired in 1985. She died in 1987. Their son, Ken, began working on the show in 1980.

Soap Opera Digest: What does it mean to you that the show is turning 55?

Ken Corday: It means a little bit more than it meant at 54 because now you’re halfway to the next huge landmark, which would be 60. Every four years, we shoot another thousand shows. We’ll shoot 14,000 this week, actually. Huge landmarks. Fifty-five years? I can’t get my head around it. I’m grateful, and it’s very admirable for everyone that we’ve come this far.

Digest: Your parents created the show, so you grew up with DAYS being a part of your life since you were a teenager. How does it feel to be marking such a milestone?

Corday: What an honor, a, and b, what an achievement at the same time. I am the custodian of my parents’ child, which is like my brother or sister, and at the same time, has become my child. It’s a very odd relationship. It started as their legacy and it’s still their legacy but has also become mine. And wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to pass it off to my son or daughters. My son seems to have some interest in it. It’s still Betty’s great rule: You’re only as good as your last show and you can’t rest on any other laurel but that. So we have to get the job done every day, every week.

Digest: What do you think about the state of the show today?

Corday: I feel we’re in a really good place. The Covid was very difficult, plus the five-month shutdown, but it gave everyone a chance to reset, reframe and look at this again. We needed to simplify production because of the restraints of the pandemic and the protocol, and in doing that, the show became tighter. Ron’s [Carlivati, head writer] writing is tighter. I feel good about the state of the show today and going forward.

Digest: That production model you mentioned has shifted; you’re now closer to air than you have been in years. Is that a good thing?

Corday: I like it, but we have no choice but to still try to shoot eight shows a week and get ahead. That’s a financial consideration more than anything. We need to wrap our season by a certain date, and in order to do that, we have to shoot a multitude of shows in the next five-and-a-half months.

Digest: What do you think your parents would think about the show today?

Corday: They’d be flabbergasted! My dad didn’t think it would make it a year, and of course, he didn’t make it a year, the show did. My mom was thrilled when we hit our 20th anniversary and our 25th. Fifty-five is just incomparable. They would be proud. They’d be so proud of what everyone has done. The legacy continues. It’s an iconic show, especially for NBC and daytime drama. And if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. We’ll stick with the formula and the families and the romance that seems to have worked for five-and-a-half decades. [NBC exec] Bruce Evans told me he was sitting in a large network programming meeting and people were talking about, “Do we commit to 13 shows on this or the back 13? Are they going to do 26 or are they going to get to their 100th show in syndication?” and he took a small beat and said, “Well, you know, DAYS is shooting its 14,000th next week,” and there was absolute silence in the room and they went, “What? How many?” It’s just a staggering number.

Digest: Will you be making an appearance on the 14,000th show?

Corday: Oh, no. I only did that in 10,000 and I think I did an extra cross in 13,000. My mom and dad’s great lesson to me was never get on the wrong side of the camera. And the one time I did it, it was so difficult and I have such great admiration for the actors who are able to shed their personality and become some other personality and character and do it so seamlessly. When I did it, I felt naked up there and forgot every line. I don’t want to repeat that.

Digest: What are your thoughts as you reflect upon the anniversary?

Corday: You look at 55 years and you realize that a lot of our legacy characters on the show — we still have Maggie, and Doug and Julie, John and Marlena and so many other mainstays — speak to such a long run. That and the fact that there have basically been five head writers, one in every decade, who have changed the pace of the show and were able to move it up a notch or two. The real driving force behind any soap is the head writer and we’ve been fortunate to have some really great ones that were able to reshape the show in a positive way and water its roots with young story for the future. We’re five generations deep now on the show and it’s all flown by so quickly. Here’s to 60!