Obituaries--End of an Era

The final scene of the final broadcast of As the World Turns,  54 years old:



Don Hastings ("Bob Hughes") holds the record as the longest continuous actor in the history of soap operas.  He began his role in 1960 and never took a break from the series.  Eileen Fulton ("Lisa") had started earlier, but she left the show on three different occasions.

Helen Wagner ("Nancy Hughes"), who was there at the beginning clear back in 1956,  almost made it to the end of the series.  She died on May 1, age 91.  

I watched the soap off and on for 35 years.  The best thing about it was the number of actors who had stayed on the show for decades, even if they were not on contract.

Interesting to note that with the death of Helen Wagner, Kathryn Hays ("Kim Hughes," appearing with Hastings in the above clip) was the oldest cast member.  The four most senior cast members in age, Hays, Hastings, Fulton, and Elizabeth Hubbard ("Lucinda Walsh"), were born in 1933-34 over a period of less than nine months.  Hastings is the youngest of the four. 

It's been mentioned elsewhere the very first words spoken on the serial were "Good morning," by Helen Wagner.  It is appropriate the very last word spoken would be "goodnight."

Some scenes that didn't make the final broadcast are here.

Here is an episode from 50 years ago (there are many, many clips and old shows up on YouTube).  I'll just post the first part, which features original cast member Don McLaughlin (Chris Hughes):

News, Etc.

The Medford (Oregon) School District is in major legal hot water because it decided not to have the life skills high school students be in with the general student population at the new high school. The excuse the administrators are making will not wash when in fact it is federal law which states students need to be in the "least-restrictive" environment. Putting these students in the same school building with kids with behavior problems and not having any contact with the general student population is NOT complying with the law. Having the life skills class at the new school with students being able to take electives with the general school population while still having their own self-contained class IS complying with federal law.

The parents are correct in being upset with the district; a major lawsuit is appropriate.
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Next Friday an American television institution, As the World Turns, will air its final episode.

The sad news is no more episodes will be made, but the good news is thanks to YouTube and the internet, the show will live on.
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The number of homeless families has gone up, thanks to this depression.

Obituaries

As the World Turns, next September, after being on the air for 54 years.

Obituaries--End of a Television Era

Guiding Light, 72, counting radio episodes, completed its run today.

An earlier article about the show's cancellation is here.

You can view the complete final episode, number 15,762, right here with other recent episodes.

I watched the show off and on since 1975, but not in recent years. The best years were when the late, great Michael Zaslow, as Roger Thorpe, held court, especially in the late 1970s. He was so good in that part, truly irreplaceable.

The biggest difference between recent episodes and those even from a few years ago is the producers decided to provide real outdoor and indoor scenes in recent years.

I hope there will be "best of DVDs" of the show if it isn't possible to have season sets (probably not possible given the number of episodes).