Five Things That Happened June 21 In Soap History

In 1976, Deidre Hall made her Days of Our Lives debut as Marlena Evans, who would go on to become one of soaps' most iconic characters. Hall recalled to Soap Opera Digest in 2015, "When I got the audition for DAYS, I was quite excited. I screen-tested with some women whose faces were very recognizable to me and I thought, ‘What am I doing here?’ When my agent got the call and called me saying that I got the job, I figured that everybody else had turned it down because how could they have gotten to me on that list of amazing women? So I turned it down, too. I thought, ‘There must be something wrong with this.’ I didn’t know what it was, but I wasn’t going to get caught in that trap. So they went away for a while and came back about six weeks later and said, ‘Would she reconsider?’ And I explained to my agent what my thoughts were and she said, ‘Oh, you’re so crazy. We’re taking the job.’ "

In 1986, supercouple Andrew "Frisco" Jones (Jack Wagner) and Felicia Cummings (Kristina Wagner) tied the knot for the first time on General Hospital. Felicia got cold feet about marrying a cop and canceled the ceremony, but came to her senses and the couple’s supporters rallied to transform the living room of Bobbie’s brownstone into a garden-like setting for the wedding, while Anna tracked down the MIA minister. Felicia’s gown, which reflected her Aztec heritage, was designed by Robert Miller, and cut and fit by Dennis Tompkins, who used 25 yards of ecru-dyed lace with accents of pearl and honey-colored beads, while Frisco looked sharp in his dress uniform.

In 1994, Joshua Morrow made his Young and Restless debut as Nick Newman, the son of supercouple Nikki and Victor Newman. In 2023, Morrow recalled to Soap Opera Digest, "My third audition I ever had in my life was for The Bold and the Beautiful, and I almost became Dylan. It got down to me and the guy whose actual name is Dylan [Neal], this tall, good-looking dude. I went in for a screen test, which I’d never done before, and was there for hours. I was in astronomy class the next day of college, and I got a page from my manager, and he’s like, ‘They went with the other guy, you didn’t get it.’ I was just demolished. I really thought that would be a fun job, and he was like, ‘We’ll find something else.’ A week later they called me again, to read for The Young and the Restless."

In 1996, Robin (Kimberly McCullough) announced her HIV-positive status at the Nurses’ Ball on General Hospital. She had learned of her diagnosis the previous year, after having unprotected sex with her boyfriend, Stone Cates. Tragically, Stone soon learned that he had full-blown AIDS and he passed away. Only a select few knew Robin's HIV status before she courageously went public with it at the ball.

In 2013, Darin Brooks made his Bold and Beautiful debut as Wyatt Fuller, later known as Wyatt Spencer. Brooks was already a familiar face to daytime fans, as he had previously portrayed Max Brady on Days of Our Lives, a role for which he won a Daytime Emmy as Outstanding Younger Actor. The actor made his final appearance in the role on January 19, 2024.