Five Things That Happened On January 5 In Soap History

In 1953, Ellen Demming (r., with Charita Bauer as Bert Bauer and Theo Goetz as Papa Bauer) made her Guiding Light debut as Meta Bauer. The character had been portrayed by two different actresses on radio, Gloria Bondell and Dorothy Lovett, and then by Jone Allison, who was the first to play her on both radio and television. Demming also played her on both radio and TV until GL ceased radio broadcast in 1956. She remained with GL until 1966, returning from 1971-74.

In 1970, All My Children debuted on ABC. Created by Agnes Nixon, the soap was a daytime mainstay on the network until its cancellation in 2011. Set in Pine Valley, PA, the show distinguished itself in its early days with a focus on young characters (most notably, scheming teen Erica Kane, played by Susan Lucci) and social issues like the Vietnam War. Its original cast included established talents like Ruth Warrick (Phoebe), who had starred in Citizen Kane, and unknowns like Lucci, who was 22 when she was cast as Erica. Families like the Martins and Tylers, and later, the Chandlers, Cortlandts and Hubbards, remained mainstays throughout the show’s run.

In 2009, Ridge and Brooke remarried on the beach at Point Dume on Bold and Beautiful. The bride and groom both opted to wear beachy white outfits, and Ridge surprised Brooke by having their names carved out in sand, surrounded by a heart. It was an intimate ceremony with no guests present. Alas, they would later discover that the union was not valid due to a clerical error committed by Pam.

In 2010, a back-in-town Hayley (Kelly Ripa, with David Canary as Adam, l., and Mark Consuelos as Mateo) hosted a televised special about Pine Valley as AMC marked its 40^th anniversary. Ripa's two-day comeback marked her final appearance in the role of Hayley, which she had played from 1990-2002, and also the last appearance by Consuelos, who was an AMC cast member from 1995-2002.

In 2016 on Days of Our Lives, Nicole (Arianne Zucker) said a tearful good-bye to her beloved Daniel (Shawn Christian), who was brain-dead following a car crash caused by drunk-driving Eric. Meanwhile, Daniel's mother, Maggie, struggled with a big decision, as she had been informed that Daniel was an organ donor, and his heart was needed to save one of the other people injured in the crash, Eric or Brady.