Five Things That Happened On December 7 In Soap History

In 2001, One Life to Live's Todd Manning (Roger Howarth) and Blair Cramer (Kassie DePaiva) remarried at La Boulaie, with the groom flying in the bride's cousins, Cassie and Kelly, for the nuptials. The Rev. Andrew Carpenter presided over the ceremony, which went off without a hitch (save for them saying, "I do," in unison, as both feared the other might back out). Little did Blair know that her child, who Todd had led her to believe was dead because he thought that Max Holden was the father (the baby was Todd's), was being kept upstairs after Todd had tracked him down with the couple who had illegally adopted him. On their wedding night, he presented her with the baby — but claimed that the boy (who they named Jack) had been given up by his birth mother. Blair agreed to adopt him.

In 2005, Jason Thompson made his daytime debut as General Hospital’s Patrick Drake, Noah Drake's son, a hotshot surgeon and the future husband of Robin Scorpio. The actor, who exited the show in 2016 and took on the role of Billy Abbott on Young and Restless, noted to Soap Opera Digest in 2023 that when he was trying out for the role, he did not realize he would be playing the son of Rick Springfield's alter ego. "When I was testing for the role, I was downstairs in the dressing room after doing blocking with Kimberly [McCullough, ex-Robin], and I was sitting there, just kind of going over my stuff, and I got a knock on the door and it was [Casting Director] Mark Teschner. He asked me some questions, asked if I needed anything, and he mentioned, ‘You know, Rick Springfield is your father; you’re playing his son.’ I was like, ‘Oh, wow.’ He said, ‘You know Rick Springfield?’ I said, ‘Of course I know Rick Springfield!’ He walked away and I was  like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s huge!’ "

In 2006, Young and Restless's Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John) and Drucilla Winters (Victoria Rowell) signed all the necessary documents to officially adopt their foster son, Devon (Bryton James). Devon's thoughts turned to his birth mother, Yolanda, who had to that point been unable to kick her dependency on drugs. Dru told Devon, "We're very proud of you," a sentiment Neil echoed. Later, the trio had their hearing with the judge, who approved the adoption, and Devon officially became a member of the Winters family!

In 2006, John Black (Drake Hogestyn) and Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) wed in Italy on Days of Our Lives. John surprised his beloved with the ceremony, and he told Marlena, "We've done this before. We have stood in front of God and pledged our commitment to each other. I just want you to know that the vows I'm about to take, I don't take for granted, because I have come close to losing you too many times before. But the one thing that has always brought us back together is our love. And because that bond is unbreakable and everlasting, ‘til death do us part’ are not just words to repeat. For us, it's the truth. Just as the sun rises and sets, our hearts will be one forever. I love you, baby.”

In 2017, Franco Baldwin (Roger Howarth) and Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) officially got engaged on General Hospital. She had proposed to him earlier (on December 4), but on this day, Franco surprised Elizabeth by setting a romantic scene in the art therapy room, getting down on one knee and formally proposing. Mid-popping the question, Franco realized he didn't know if Elizabeth had a middle name. "Imogene," she told him. "Seriously?" he chuckled. "Okay. Elizabeth Imogene Webber, will you marry me?" "Yes!" she exclaimed.