Time Capsule 1989

ALL MY CHILDREN shocked the daytime world by axing Peter Bergman as Cliff after a 10-year run. He did not remain unemployed for long (see YOUNG AND RESTLESS). Also exiting were Ellen Wheeler as Cindy (and her twin, Karen), Kathleen Noone and Mark La Mura (Ellen and Mark). Matthew Cowles returned as Billy Clyde Tuggle, and Jill Larson (Opal) and James Kiberd (Trevor) debuted.... Margaret DePriest replaced Lorraine Broderick as head writer until Agnes Nixon returned to helm the writing team. Felicia Minei Behr was the new executive producer, succeeding Stephen Schenkel.... Stuart was left a widower when AIDS claimed Cindy’s life.... Cliff and Nina married for the final time, and Tad and Dixie wed for the first time after her brief and disastrous marriage to Adam (though the couple did welcome a son, Adam, Jr., later known as JR). Nico and Cecily, and Barbara and Tom, also tied the knot. Barbara gave birth to Travis’s daughter, Molly.... Erica and Travis split and she took up with his brother, Jack; she tracked down her father, Eric, who was working as a circus clown.... David Canary (Adam/Stuart) took home the Outstanding Lead Actor Daytime Emmy, and Debbi Morgan (Angie) tied for the Supporting Actress prize.

ANOTHER WORLD celebrated its 25th anniversary and scripted the on-screen death of Mac Cory after his portrayer, Douglass Watson, passed away.... Anna Stuart returned as Donna, while Alice Barrett (Frankie), Hilary Edson (Stacey) and John Aprea (Lucas) debuted.... John married Sharlene, while Vicky and Jamie’s newlywed bliss was marred by the reveal that she had slept with Jake. Jake and Marley divorced; so did Vicky and Jamie, who proved to be little Steven’s birth father.... Felicia stood trial for evil Jason Frame’s murder, but was exonerated.... Anne Heche (Vicky/Marley) won Outstanding Female Newcomer at the Soap Opera Digest Awards. Martha Byrne (Lily), William Fichtner (Josh) and Hillary B. Smith (Margo) checked out of AS THE WORLD TURNS; Smith’s role was recast with Ellen Dolan, while Heather Rattray took over as Lily. Jon Hensley (Holden) came back; Susan Marie Snyder (Julie) debuted.... Oakdale hosted weddings for Holden and Angel, Lily and Derek, Duncan and Shannon, and Josh and Meg.... Lyla and Casey welcomed daughter Katie, and the new dad was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome; Margo confessed to Hal that he, not Tom, sired Adam; and John reunited with his long-lost son, Duke.... John and Lucinda divorced.... Susan developed a pill addiction.... Paul lost his virginity to Emily and seemingly shot dad James dead.

BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL introduced the Spectra crew, welcoming Darlene Conley (Sally), Bobbie Eakes (Macy), Schae Harrison (Darla) and Michael Fox (Saul), while Jeff Trachta replaced Clayton Norcross as Thorne.... Ridge and Brooke ended their engagement and he popped the question to Caroline, freshly split from Thorne.... Eric and Stephanie’s daughter Angela turned out to be an impostor, Deveney.... Bill, Sr. tied the knot with Margo.... Forrester and Spectra teamed up for a fashion show on the Queen Mary.

Al Rabin briefly ceded the role of DAYS OF OUR LIVES co-EP to Shelley Curtis, while Leah Laiman exited as head writer to make room for Anne Howard Bailey.... Staci Greason (Isabella) and Hunter Tylo (Marina) debuted; Anjelica was recast with Judith Chapman (now Gloria, Y&R) when Jane Elliot exited; Melinda Clarke, daughter of original cast member John Clarke (ex-Mickey), debuted as Faith, a love interest for Rick Hearst, making his soap debut as Scott.... Jack and Jennifer began to fall in love.... Tom and Alice walked down the aisle after discovering that their first union was invalid.... After Steve did an undercover stint as “Daniel” to bust a religious cult, Kayla reeled from the arrival of Steve’s surprise first wife, Marina, who was soon murdered.... Anjelica gave birth to Alexander, her son with Justin.... At the Digest Awards, DAYS won Outstanding Daytime Soap, Outstanding Villain (Matthew Ashford, Jack) and Outstanding Hero (Stephen Nichols, Steve), among other categories. Jane Elliot (Tracy) and Jack Wagner (Frisco) returned to GENERAL HOSPITAL, which said good-bye to Ian Buchanan (Duke, who was recast with Greg Beecroft), and David Lewis (Edward) and hello to Sharon Case (now Sharon, Y&R), who made her soap debut as Monica’s surprise daughter, Dawn.... H. Wesley Kenney was out as EP, replaced by Joseph Hardy, while Gene Palumbo became head writer.... Felicia tied the knot with Colton just in time for Frisco to return from the dead, while Bobbie became Mrs. Tony Jones.... Edward was presumed dead in a plane crash, while Victor Jerome (Ava and Julian’s pop) croaked after swallowing a necklace he’d bought to woo Lucy.... Lucas, whose bio parents were Cheryl and Julian, was born; Tom and Simone became mom and dad to baby Tommy.... Duke faked his death to protect Anna from Julian.... Kimberly McCullough (Robin) won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Ingenue, while Lynn Herring (Lucy) picked up the Digest Award for Outstanding Villainess.... Mark Teschner joined as casting director.

GENERATIONS, created by current Y&R Head Writer Sally Sussman (who also served as EP), premiered on NBC on March 27. Set in Chicago, the show featured soaps’ first core black family, the Marshalls. Its original cast included Kristoff St. John (Adam, now Y&R’s Neil, in his soap debut), George DelHoyo (Rob, recently DAYS’s Orpheus) and Kelly Rutherford (Sam). Vivica A. Fox soon joined as Maya.... Adam took up with married Doreen, then began seeing secret-keeping Maya; Sam seduced her professor, Rob, hoping he’d give her a passing grade, then filed sexual harassment charges against him.

It was a casting bonanza at GUIDING LIGHT, which welcomed returning faves Jordan Clarke (Billy), Maeve Kinkead (Vanessa) and Michael Zaslow (Roger), along with Beth Chamberlin (Beth), Jean Carol (Nadine), Morgan Englund (Dylan), Kimberley Simms (Mindy) and Sherry Stringfield (Blake), while Daniel PAUL DRINKWATER/NBC Pilon was out as Alan and Michelle Forbes left as Sonni/Solita.... Supercouple Josh and Reva finally got hitched in a sumptuous ceremony at Cross Creek, and the happy couple also celebrated the discovery that Josh was Marah’s birth father. Other newlyweds were Alan-Michael and Harley, Phillip and Blake, Hawk and Sarah, and Rusty and Rose (who was subsequently murdered).... Roger and Beth returned from the dead.... Harley’s arriving ex, Dylan, was the secret son of Reva and Billy.... Supervillain Will fell to his death.... Meredith had a miscarriage and divorced Rick.... Robert Calhoun began his run as EP, succeeding Joseph Manetta. LOVING saw an EP change, with Mary-Ellis Bunim replacing Joseph Hardy.... Rena Sofer (now Quinn, B&B) made her daytime debut as Rocky, while RYAN’S HOPE patriarch Bernard Barrow (ex-Johnny) joined the ranks as Louie.... Despite her love for Trucker, Trisha was tricked into marrying Jeff.... The real Clay Alden returned; Alex and Ava welcomed a son, Sandy.... Curtis wooed Trucker’s sister, Rocky.

Gerald Anthony reprised Marco for a short run on ONE LIFE TO LIVE.... Viki, Tina, Gabrielle and assorted other Llanview citizens were trapped in the underground city of Eterna.... Megan, who was revealed to be Viki’s bio daughter, won a Daisy Award for her work on FRATERNITY ROW.... Sarah’s rapist, Austin, met his maker.... Gabrielle was busted for switching Michael and Alicia’s dead baby with Brenda’s live one. RYAN’S HOPE went off the air on January 13 after a 13-and-a-half-year run. In the final episode, Kate Mulgrew (the late Mary) provided a voice-over, wishing Jack well as he married Leigh. Maeve led the revelers in an emotional rendition of “Danny Boy” and declared, “Have a good life.”

SANTA BARBARA cleaned up at the Emmys, winning trophies for Lead Actress Marcy Walker (Eden), Supporting Actor Justin Deas (Keith), Supporting Actress Nancy Lee Grahn (Julia, now GH’s Alexis, who tied for the prize), Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Writing. Robin Mattson (Gina, now GH’s Heather) was honored at the Digest Awards for her comedic performance.... Carrington Garland (Kelly), Roscoe Born (Robert) and Paul Johansson (Greg) debuted, while Lane Davies (Mason), Louise Sorel (Augusta), Vincent Irizarry (Scott, now DAYS’s Deimos), Signy Coleman (Celeste) and Todd McKee (Ted) exited.... Mason and Julia said, “I do.”... Eden’s rapist, Zack, took a fatal fall.... Cruz and Eden welcomed a baby girl, Adriana, who was kidnapped (they got her back); Cruz’s dad and brother, Rafael and Ric, were introduced....C.C. met his grown son, Greg. Y&R found its new Jack Abbott in AMC alum Peter Bergman when it parted ways with Terry Lester, while Jeanne Cooper (Katherine) took on a memorable dual role as Marge, and Mark Derwin made his soap debut as Adrian.... Nikki and Victor cooed over newborn son Nick.... Cricket and Scott’s engagement ended over the news that they shared a bio dad, Jim, while Cricket’s mom, Rebecca, died from AIDS.... Lauren and Scott tied the knot; so did Nina and Phillip, who soon “died” in a drunk-driving accident.... Derek raped Cricket.... Paul was suspected of killing lover Cassandra’s hubby, George, and he faked his death to clear his name.... Victor took ownership of Jabot, besting Jack.... Clint found a Kay look-alike, waitress Marge, and trained her to take over Ms. Chancellor’s life.... Eric Braeden (Victor) and Jeanne Cooper won Digest Awards for Lead Actor and Actress.