Five Things That Happened On January 15 In Soap History

In 1982, Genie Francis (pictured with Anthony Geary as Luke Spencer) ended her first run as General Hospital's Laura Webber Baldwin Spencer. The actress had joined the show in 1977 and become a superstar as Laura's romantic entanglements with Scotty, then Luke, helped propel the show from the bottom of the ratings heap to the top. She made a brief return in 1983 and another one in 1984, then came back on a permanent basis in 1993. Francis has left and returned several times since then, but is still going strong as one of the most beloved characters on the show.

In 1993, Santa Barbara aired its final episode on NBC. The show premiered on July 30, 1984. In the finale, CC and Sophia reconciled; Warren and BJ tied the knot; Julia learned she was pregnant, and she and Mason helped Gracie deliver a little boy, who they then agreed to adopt; and Andie was foiled from firing a gun at the wedding celebrants. Lionel delivered a toast to the guests (“May everyone here be as happy as they obviously are today”). Then, as various couples took spins on the dance floor, the names of their portrayers appeared on-screen, an honor then bestowed upon characters not present at the wedding, like Mason and Julia. Then, behind-the-scenes players were also shown — the series’ creators, Jerome and Bridget Dobson, its writing staff and its crew. Lastly, the camera followed Executive Producer Paul Rauch stepping through spotlights in the empty studio and stubbing out his cigarette before walking offstage.

In 1996, Ridge's (Ronn Moss) life was turned upside-down on Bold and Beautiful when he came upon a shocking letter addressed to Brooke. Seemingly written by Dr. Peters, who had overseen the paternity test on young Bridget several years prior, in which she referenced Brooke paying her a million dollars to name Ridge as the father, whether he genuinely was or wasn't! In the end, a second paternity test was ordered up, and this time, the results showed that Eric, not Ridge, was Bridget's father!

In 2014, Sonny Kiriakis (Freddie Smith, l.) proposed to Will Horton (Guy Wilson) on Days of Our Lives. T told Will that Sonny had a pressing need to see him, so when Will caught up with Sonny, he noted that T had said it was urgent. Replied Sonny, "It is. It's urgent for us to be alone and to have no interruptions." When Will took in the scene that Sonny had set up, he mistakenly thought Sonny was surprising him with a celebration of Arianna's upcoming christening, but Sonny clarified that he intended to pop the question. "What question?" asked a confused Will. "Will Horton, will you marry me?" Sonny said.

In 2019, future Days of Our Lives lovebirds Xander (Paul Telfer) and Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) met for the first time. The momentous encounter took place at the Kiriakis mansion, when Xander strolled into the living room to find Sarah and Sonny in the midst of a conversation about their respective romantic woes. Before even introducing himself, Xander swiped a muffin off of the plate Sarah was holding. "Excuse me," she groused. "That was my muffin." Replied Xander, "You're new. We're not related, are we?" Sonny explained that Sarah was Maggie's daughter, and Xander seemed pleased. "So, we're not blood. Lucky me!" he commented. Sarah was far from amused.