Tyler Christopher Made His General Hospital Debut As Nikolas Other Big Soap Moments From July 15

In 1968, One Life To Live premiered on ABC. Created by Agnes Nixon and set in Llanview, Pennsylvania, OLTL distinguished itself from the start with the socioeconomic diversity of its original cast of characters, which included both the moneyed Lords (including Gillian Spencer's Viki and Ernest Graves's Victor, pictured) and the working-class Woleks. It was the first soap to regularly feature Black characters, the mother/daughter duo of Sadie and Clara/Carla. OLTL's storied run on ABC ended in 2012, though the show had a short-lived Internet reboot in 2013.

In 1983, Lauralee Bell (with John Denos as Joe) made her Young and Restless debut as Cricket Blair, later known as Christine. The daughter of the show's legendary co-creators, William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell, the actress started out making summertime appearances during her school breaks, but eventually became a contract player — and a popular one at that. As she recalled to Soap Opera Digest on the occasion of her 40th anniversary with the show in 2023, "It was [originally] for just two days. It was a little scary this time because I had to do a photo session and that required a lot of confidence, but I was terrified. Plus, I had this thick Midwestern accent, which made it hard to understand me. So I did the best I could and when it was over, I asked, ‘If I take acting lessons, and work really hard, do you think I could do two more days?’ And my dad said, ‘Well, we’ll see.’ Then it became two more days and another two days.”

In 1996, Tyler Christopher made his General Hospital debut as Nikolas Cassadine, Laura Spencer's secret son by Stavros Cassadine and nephew of Stefan Cassadine, which made him the half brother of Lucky Spencer. Then known as Tyler Baker, the daytime newcomer went on to become a popular and acclaimed member of the cast, nabbing the 1997 Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Male Newcomer. His first GH run ended in 1999, but he returned from 2003-2011 and from 2013-16. Christopher won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor for his work as Nikolas in 2016. Sadly, the actor passed away in 2023, just shy of his 51st birthday.

In 1997, Todd Manning (Roger Howarth) wed Téa Delgado (Florencia Lozano) on One Life To Live. He paid her $5 million to become his wife, knowing that the marriage would bolster his chances of securing custody of his daughter with ex-wife Blair, Starr. In time, they developed genuine feelings for one another, and wound up back at the altar in 1998.

In 2002, Leo du Pres (Josh Duhamel) and Greenlee Smythe (Rebecca Budig) tied the knot on All My Children. Their happiness was short-lived, as Leo was killed later that year alongside his murderous mother, Vanessa.