Happy Anniversary to One Life To Live — Relive Four Decades of Drama in Llanview!
On July 15, 1968, television viewers traveled for the first time to the town of Llanview, where they would become engrossed in the ongoing drama, romance, and adventure involving families like the Lords, the Woleks, and the Grays. For the next four decades, One Life To Live chronicled the lives and loves of those families, plus the Buchanans, Mannings, and more as characters and families came and went. It was honored with numerous Daytime Emmy Awards over the years, taking home Outstanding Drama Series in 2002.
Life in Llanview
Created by the iconic Agnes Nixon, the original title of the new daytime drama was Between Heaven and Hell, but was changed to avoid controversy. Upon its premiere, OLTL aired as a half-hour soap until 1976, when it expanded to 45-minute episodes, and finally to a full hour in 1978. Unfortunately, after nearly 43 years on the air, ABC cancelled OLTL, and its final episode aired on January 13, 2012. Some characters, like Michael Easton’s John McBain, Roger Howarth’s Todd Manning, and Kristen Alderson’s Starr Manning, were then brought over to General Hospital to continue telling their stories for a time. Then, in 2013, OLTL was revived as a streaming soap from The OnLine Network, featuring much of the same cast, but that incarnation was sadly short-lived.
During its years on the air, OLTL helped to launch the careers of stars like Tommy Lee Jones (Mark), Laurence Fishburne (Joshua), Judith Light (Karen), Ryan Phillippe (Billy), Phylicia Rashad (Courtney), Blair Underwood (Bobby), Marcia Cross (Kate), Hayden Panettiere (Sarah), Nathan Fillion (Joey), Melissa Fumero (Adriana) and Renée Elise Goldsberry (Evangeline). And many actors remained in their roles for decades, such as Erika Slezak (Viki), Phil Carey (Asa), Robert S. Woods (Bo), Robin Strasser (Dorian) and Kassie DePaiva (Blair).
Celebrate this classic soap’s legacy by browsing through our special gallery of memorable moments and characters from its storied history.
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