Five Things That Happened On June 12 In Soap History

In 1989, it was the end of an era on Another World as patriarch Mac Cory (Douglass Watson, bottom l.) succumbed to a heart attack. His death was scripted following the real-life passing of his Daytime Emmy-winning portrayer, Watson, who had played the role since 1974. Mac's death was a huge blow to (clockwise from top l.) stepson Matthew (Matt Crane), daughter Amanda (Sandra Ferguson), stepson Jamie (Laurence Lau), widow Rachel (Victoria Wyndham) and mother-in-law Ada (Constance Ford).

In 2006, Mary Beth Evans (pictured with Peter Reckell as Bo Brady) returned to DAYS as Kayla after a 14-year absence. Her original run as Kayla lasted from 1986-92, after which time she joined the cast of General Hospital as Katherine Bell (1993-99) and also appeared on As the World Turns (2000-05). In 2015, the actress recalled to Soap Opera Digest, "The first scene I think I had was a phone call to Caroline [played by the late Peggy McKay]. I said, ‘Hi, Mom, it’s Kayla,’ and I started crying! One of my favorite, favorite things to do is when I have scenes with my mother. When I do those scenes involving her Alzheimer’s and anything with her, I can barely get through the rehearsal. I get choked up because I just adore her. Really, I love everyone there. I feel, honestly, that every day I’m there is such a gift.” 

In 2006 on General Hospital, Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough, l.) revealed the truth to Nikolas Cassadine (Tyler Christopher): the baby whose christening they were attending was not the biological son of Jax (Ingo Rademacher, far r.) and the late Courtney — Nik was the real father! Carly (Laura Wright, far r.), who had played a huge role in the deception, adamantly denied Robin's claims. Then Jax had an attack of conscience and decided he had to come clean. He declared that Robin was right; he wasn't the father, and Nikolas was. In time, Nik reclaimed the baby boy and renamed him Spencer (Jax had called him John).

In 2008, Katy Perry guest-starred as herself on Young and Restless. Michael Graziadei (Daniel), who shared scenes with the pop star, recalled to Soap Opera Digest in 2023, "I remember she was really sweet but very soft-spoken. She didn’t know the show — I mean, she knew of it, but she didn’t know who anyone was and she wasn’t a diva at all. She was very professional and knew her lines, and she knew what to do, which is very important. She was really cool and just hung out with us. She was happy to be there and excited about having a song [‘I Kissed A Girl’] that was doing really well.”

In 2012, Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) and Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) remarried on Young and Restless. Their first marriage had ended in divorce in 2010, but they found their way back to each other and wed in a private ceremony, which was officiated by Katherine Chancellor, shortly after Phyllis sadly suffered a miscarriage after an altercation with Daisy Carter. The couple's children (their daughter Summer, her son Daniel, and his son and daughter, Noah and Faith) were the only other people in attendance.