Five Things That Happened On May 23 In Soap History

In 1978, Doug Davidson debuted on Young and Restless as Paul Williams. Of his audition for his long-running, Daytime Emmy-winning role, Davidson recalled to Soap Opera Digest in 2023, "I thought I blew it, and then I got a call on Sunday night from the wardrobe lady. I was confused because I didn’t know I got the part, and that’s how I found out. At that point, it was not a major role. It was a half-hour show, and Erica Hope was playing Nikki. So they messengered a script to me on Monday, and I went in to work the next day.” Recalling his first day on the job, he admitted, “I was scared to death."

In 1985, Bo Brady (Peter Reckell) and Hope Williams (Kristian Alfonso) said, “I do” on Days of Our Lives. At St. Mary’s Church in the Cotswolds in England, before family, friends and nobility, the couple pledged their troth. “I never thought I could have someone in my life that could make me so happy,” beamed the groom, who also serenaded his bride, resplendent in a silk satin and silk tulle gown with a 10-foot train. The occasion was marred by a wedding-crashing assassin — and worse yet, they spent their wedding night in jail (for stealing a milk truck and a horse), but made up for it on their Manhattan honeymoon. Fun fact: Real-life DAYS fans were tapped to fill the pews of the Los Angeles church where the ceremony was taped.

In 1986, future Daytime Emmy-winner and soap superstar Mary Beth Evans debuted as Kayla Brady on Days of Our Lives. The role had previously been played by Catherine Mary Stewart. In 2020, she recalled of her audition to Soap Opera Digest, "I remember exactly what I wore — a pink silky dress with a giant sailor-like collar with lace. It was very Sandra Dee. Then I met Stephen [Nichols, Steve]. He came in to read with me. He was wearing the leather jacket, the scar, the patch. After the screen test, he always says that I said, ‘Well, that was crap.’ And he said, ‘No, it was good.’ ”

In 2005, Kirsten Storms (l., pictured with Lindze Letherman as Maxie's sister, Georgie Jones) debuted on General Hospital as Maxie Jones. The former Days of Our Lives star, who played Belle Black, had watched the show prior to joining it. In 2023, reflecting on her early days in the role, Storms told Soap Opera Digest, "I was definitely nervous. I don’t think any amount of experience could make me not feel nervous when starting a new job, or even daily when I go up to set for my first item; I always have a bit of nerves. So, yeah, I definitely was nervous, not so much about taking on the role, only because when they explained to me who Maxie was, I was excited. It wasn’t a character type that I had played before. I usually got cast as the good girl next door that the boy has the crush on, and Maxie was a bit more edgy. So I was excited to take that on. I was more nervous about seeing Maurice Benard [Sonny] walk by.”

In 2019 on General Hospital, Kevin Collins (Jon Lindstrom) regained consciousness after being knocked out and left dangling from the rafters at the Nurses Ball by his psychotic, serial-killing twin, Ryan Chamberlain. Ryan, meanwhile, caught up to Ava at the mountaintop hideaway where she had been lying in wait for the man who murdered her daughter Kiki and seduced her while posing as his brother. Ava brandished a gun, prepared to end his life.