Five Things That Happened On October 31 In Soap History

In 1984, John Reilly (r., pictured with Anthony Geary as Luke Spencer) made his General Hospital debut as Sean Donely. The actor remained with the show until 1995 and passed away in 2021. Tristan Rogers (Robert), who worked closely with Reilly, recalled to Soap Opera Digest in 2023, "He was always a treat. John was my first friend there and the only person I had any association with, and when he and I would see one another outside the studio, we always had a great time. In fact, there was one time I had my parents here [from Australia] and we had Christmas dinner with him. I was gone from the show when he left, and he was one of the few things I missed at that time."

In 2007, Emily Bowen-Quartermaine (Natalia Livingston) and Nikolas Cassadine (Tyler Christopher) got engaged again on General Hospital. "Will you marry me?" Nikolas posed to Emily. She responded, "Yes, I will marry you, Nikolas Cassadine, as I did before, as I will a million times again. I'll be honored to stand before God and all the people we love the most, and promise to love and cherish you for the rest of our lives. I'll help you bring up Spencer. And when the time's right, we'll have children of our own. And I believe with all my heart that we're going to have a long and happy life together."

In 2008, Galen Gering debuted as Rafe Hernandez on Days of Our Lives. In 2020, he reflected on his tenure on the show on Instagram, writing, "Onscreen I’ve fought for marriages and fought evil twins. I’ve put people in prison and been imprisoned. And offscreen, I’ve made friendships that I will have for a lifetime. All the while, I’ve been so fortunate to have the love and support of the greatest fans in the world. I hope you know how thankful I am to have had you at my side."

In 2008, All My Children’s Reese Williams (Tamara Braun, l.) popped the question to Bianca Montgomery (Eden Riegel). "I never knew how full my heart could be until I met you," Reese began. She recalled meeting Bianca for the first time at a park, "looking at the most beautiful woman I have ever seen play with the sweetest little girl in the world. You're so kind and so warm and caring and compassionate.... I fell in love with you on that day, and it has just grown stronger and stronger since.... and so I am asking you, my beautiful, beautiful, beautiful Bianca, will you marry me?" "Yes, I will marry you!" Bianca exclaimed.

In 2017, GH’s Kevin Collins (Jon Lindstrom) and Laura Webber (Genie Francis) got engaged. Kevin proffered a ring and told Laura, "I'm a lucky man to be loved by someone as kind and generous and stunning as you, and to be able to love you back. When I asked you to move in with me, I made you a promise — that my feelings were real and that they were never going to change. I meant it then and I mean it even more now." He went on to say, "I learn something new about you every day and I'm dazzled all over again." He concluded his romantic speech by asking, "Laura, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" She didn't hesitate and responded, "Yes! Yes, with my whole heart, yes!"