William deVry Made His General Hospital Debut as Julian and Other Big Soap Moments From July 30

In 1984, Santa Barbara premiered on NBC. The glitzy, sophisticated soap was created by Jerome Dobson and the late Bridget Dobson, who decided to set their show in the actual California city in which they resided. When it debuted, SB centered around four families: the wealthy Capwells and Lockridges, the middle-class Perkinses, and a less-privileged Latina clan, the Andrades. The latter two families were mostly phased out as time went on, with the Capwells remaining front and center. The show was a monster hit abroad, airing in over 40 countries (it shot on location in France and Russia, where it enjoyed great popularity) and was named Outstanding Daytime Drama in 1988, 1989 and 1990, but went off the air in 1993.

In 1984, Reva Shayne Lewis (Kim Zimmer) infamously baptized herself “the slut of Springfield” in the country club fountain on Guiding Light, bellowing at her former lover and current stepson, Joshua Lewis (Robert Newman), "You look at me like I'm naked all the time, like I don't have a heart or a brain!" At the time, Joshua was in a wheelchair following an accident caused by his reckless driving, and Reva was married to his father, HB Lewis. The incident occurred when Reva became fed up with Josh constantly judging and insulting her.

In 2007, Rosanna (Cady McClain) emerged from a two-year coma on As The World Turns with the help of an experimental drug. When she regained consciousness, Paul (Roger Howarth) was the first person she laid eyes on, and he briefed her on everything that had happened while she was comatose. Paul, who was desperate for Rosanna to remember Craig's role in the accident that had cost Rosanna two years of her life, took her back to Oakdale, where Craig had married Paul's former lover, Meg.

In 2013, William deVry made his General Hospital debut as “Derek Wells,” who turned out to be Julian Jerome. Julian, originally played by Jason Culp from 1988-90, had been presumed dead for decades, but returned to the canvas shortly after the arrival of his heretofore unknown sister, Ava Jerome, to plot to reclaim the territory formerly controlled by their mafia family, which was now under the auspices of the Corinthos organization. deVry's characterization of Julian was a hit with fans, particularly in his pairing with Nancy Lee Grahn's Alexis, and he remained with the show through 2021. In 2023, the actor mused of the GH hiring process, "Feels like it was yesterday. Wow. Everyone was very nice. I remember all the actors being called to stage. Together. We could literally see and hear everyone auditioning for the role of Julian. You had to have your wits about you to get through it and excel. I suppose it worked out well for me. I remember being pretty excited to join the legend that is General Hospital.”

In 2021, Ted King — already well-established in the daytime world via his roles on Loving/The City (Danny Roberts), General Hospital (Luis Alcazar and Lorenzo Alcazar) and One Life to Live (Tomas Delgado) — made his debut on Bold and Beautiful as Jack Finnegan, the adoptive father of John "Finn" Finnegan. (Later, of course, it would be revealed that Jack was Finn's biological father, as well.) The following year, King would take home the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Performer for his work on the show. The actor enthused to Soap Opera Digest of joining B&B, "The timing was perfect because we’d all been locked down due to the coronavirus. I had shot a pilot last fall in Colorado and was waiting to hear if that was going to be picked up and I turned the television on in the middle of the day and there are my friends, working, acting on television. I was incredibly happy for them but also jealous because they had jobs they knew they could come back to the next week and with the coronavirus, I didn’t know what the future held so when B&B came knocking, I jumped at the opportunity."