Five Things That Happened On January 6 In Soap History

In 1983, Linda Dano debuted as Another World’s Felicia Gallant, a flamboyant romance novelist. She remained with the show through to its cancellation in 1999 and won a Daytime Emmy in 1993 as Outstanding Lead Actress for her work during Felicia's harrowing battle with alcoholism. In 2024, she recalled to Soap Opera Digest, "That was an amazing storyline. I was so pleased to play it. It had a real beat to it. In other words, it was real. And because of it, I got so much mail about people who were struggling with alcohol and didn’t know what to do, and they would say to me, ‘I’m following you and you’re helping me. And I can’t tell you how appreciative I feel.’ ”

In 1987, James DePaiva (r.) made his One Life To Live debut as Max Holden, who in his early days was intertwined in story with Tina Lord (Andrea Evans) and Cord Roberts (John Loprieno). DePaiva exited the show in 1990, and returned from 1991-2003, then visited in 2007. “I fell into a great role that really put me on the map," DePaiva mused to Soap Opera Digest in 2017. Landing on OLTL proved significant not only to his career but to his personal life: it was on the show that he met and married Kassie DePaiva, then Kassie Wesley, who played Blair.

In 1997, Sunset Beach premiered on NBC. The California-set soap was created by Josh Griffith, Robert Guza, Jr. and Charles Pratt, Jr. and ran until December 31, 1999. Developed as a co-production of Spelling Productions (the only daytime soap produced by television legend Aaron Spelling) and NBC, it was intended to invigorate the network's soap lineup by drawing in a younger audience. Among its original cast were Sherri Saum as Vanessa, Clive Robertson as Ben, Susan Ward as Meg, Jason George as Michael, Lesley-Anne Down as Olivia and Sam Behrens as Gregory.

In 1998, Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) and Ridge Forrester (Ronn Moss) tied the knot for the second time on Bold and Beautiful. The bride was escorted down the aisle by her father, Stephen, as Stephanie (the groom's mother) fervently prayed for the ceremony to be interrupted by Ridge's former wife Taylor. Brooke's young children, Rick and Bridget, gave their mom away to be married after a reading by Eric. Mused the minister, "Ridge, the constant artist with an eye for beauty and Brooke the scientist — who better suited for this man, who better to fulfill this woman's life?"

In 1999, Carly Tenney (Maura West) gave birth to her son Parker on As The World Turns. It was still New Year's Eve in Oakdale, a critical detail, as Carly's sister Rosanna had promised her child a $50 million trust fund on two conditions: that Carly was married to the father, who could not be Mike Kasnoff, and that the child be born before 1999. Carly seduced Hal Munson, who agreed to marry her, but also got herself inseminated with sperm from John Dixon to ensure a pregnancy. Carly and Hal's marriage quickly imploded, since Carly was in love with Jack Snyder (Michael Park). Carly got confirmation that John was the biological father of her child and they hastily wed, and with Jack's help, she gave birth just before the stroke of midnight, meeting Rosanna's deadline. Of course, it was later revealed that Hal was indeed Parker's biological father, so Carly and John quickly divorced and she shared custody of her son with Hal.