Remembering the CBS sudser on the 40th anniversary of its debut.
Premiere Date: March 29, 1982
Finale Date: March 20, 1987
Created By: Stephen Karpf and Elinor Karpf
Overview: Set in the fictional Washington, D.C. suburb of Jeffersonia, CAPITOL followed the exploits of the politically connected Clegg, Denning and McCandless families. The matriarch of the McCandless family, Clarissa, and the matriarch of the Clegg clan, Myrna, were former best friends whose relationship had been torn apart in their youth when they vied for the romantic affection of Baxter McCandless, who ended up marrying Clarissa. Myrna’s daughter Julie fell in love with Clarissa’s son Tyler, who had a rivalry of his own with Myrna’s son Trey, an ambitious young congressman. Clarissa’s own love life was complicated; she fell for unhappily married Senator Mark Denning, then nursed feelings for Jarrett Morgan, who turned out to be a back-from-the-dead Baxter! Myrna was irked by yet another Clegg/McCandless match when Clarissa’s son Wally romanced Myrna’s daughter Brenda. Trey’s storybook romance with Mark’s daughter, Sloane, culminated with a splashy wedding filmed on location at the Jefferson Memorial, but they ultimately divorced (thanks in no small part to his pull to Kelly Harper). Sloane went on to a royal romance with Prince Ali, heir to the throne of the fictional Baracq. The show ended on a cliffhanging note when Myrna’s husband, Sam, demanded a divorce (at the behest of his blackmailing mistress, Kate), while Sloane faced down a firing squad in Baracq.
Familiar Faces: The CAPITOL cast boasted a slew of actors who would go on to further success in daytime, including Marla Adams (ex-Dina, Y&R) and Marj Dusay (ex-Vanessa, ALL MY CHILDREN; ex-Alexandra, GUIDING LIGHT) as Myrna; Tonja Walker (ex-Olivia, GH; ex-Alex, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) as Lizbeth; Catherine Hickland (ex-Lindsey, OLTL et al) as Julie and Jenny; Constance Towers (ex-Helena, GH) as Clarissa; Billy Warlock (ex-Frankie, DAYS; ex-A.J., GH) as Ricky; and Jess Walton (Jill, Y&R) as Kelly.
We Knew Them When: Teri Hatcher played Anjelica Stimac Clegg from 1986-87, before LOIS & CLARK and DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES; and the late Kelly Preston appeared in 1982 as Gillian McCandless.
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