HISTORY'S Moment in Media: A Happy 58th Anniversary to "General Hospital"

Soap operas were imported to television from radio in the 1950s and 3960s Guiding Light created by quotQueen of the Soapsquot Irna Phillips was adapted from her radio series of the same name The shows came to be known as soap operas because of their audiences and their sponsors They aired during the daytime hours to an audience of postwar homemakers and so companies like ColgatePalmolive sponsored the shows and advertised their detergents and dish liquidsThe first episode of General Hospital is available on YouTube and it looks nothing like the toosharp lingeringcloseup style we expect from soaps today In fact the blackandwhite broadcast with its dramatic cinematography and careful use of shadow looks almost like an episode of The Twilight Zone Still the soap followed the usual family dramas and romantic liaisons of the soap genre with the added excitement of some adventure storiesIt was one of two medicalthemed soap operas to launch on the same day both capitalizing on the success of primetime medical series like Dr Kildare and Ben Casey The other NBC39s The Doctors ran until 1982 when it was canceled in the face of declining ratingsIn fact the soap genre in general was losing viewers in the 1970s as women entered the workforce But in 1978 Gloria Monty took over General Hospital as executive producer and she revitalized the show by attracting a younger audience Last fall a writer for a women39s website recalled watching GH and other ABC soaps in her college student center every day quotalong with hundreds of other studentsquotPerhaps the peak of massculture and teenculture interest in General Hospital came in 1981 when 30 million tuned in for the wedding of the socalled super couple Luke Spencer and Laura Webber It also attracted GH fan Elizabeth Taylor to make a special appearance as a wedding guest In somewhat quintessential soap style Taylor was portraying Helena Cassadine the widow of a man Luke and Laura had killedTaylor wasn39t the only celebrity to appear on GH over the years Demi Moore John Stamos and Ricky Martin are veterans Rick Springfield used the show as a springboard to pop stardom And from 2009 to 2012 already a major movie star James Franco joined the show to play an artist named FrancoAs farfetched as soap opera plots could be amp8212 amnesia is much less prevalent in real life than they would have you believe amp8212 cultural critics have lately been reevaluating the shows recognizing them as an area in which women had creative control and real influence in the midcentury television business and as a template for our recent era of quotprestige TVquot with their openended plots and complicated antiheroesBut even as the genre is being reconsidered it isn39t exactly thriving Only four American soaps remain on the air And General Hospital which averaged 14 million daily viewers during that 1981 Luke and Laura season averaged about 22 million last seasonClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

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HISTORY'S Moment in Media: A Happy 58th Anniversary to "General Hospital"

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HISTORY'S Moment in Media: A Happy 58th Anniversary to "General Hospital"

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