Why would they end a soap that's been on for that long? I see absolutely no point in it. And I'm not even a soap opera fan, except I'd love to listen to the super old ones on radio. Did they record those, and if so where can I hear them?
Not to be morbid, but I wonder if anyone was born on April 2, 1956 that died on September 17, 2010. That would mean that 'As The World Turns' was on for their entire life, and only their entire life. Was this on radio first or just TV?
@paulj0557 Production costs is the excuse they used. But as a fan on and off for the past 34 years I can tell you it had seen better days. When I started watching it was in its 18th year at #1. It had great storylines in the 80's and 90's. But at the end it was hardly recognizable as a soap even though it had its matriarch who spent all 54 years on it and 2 other characters who had 50 years each. I hated to see it go off but like everything else, it must come to an end.
@QonOUTview I watched on and off for 34 years. It was the worst closing ever. And what crappy disservice at the memorial for Nancy. Guinness Book record holder for longest time playing same character and her memorial was just a blip in TV history.
Just a sad reminder of how far this show declined. I have remained faithful from 1978 until now, but my god, it is a ghost of what it used to be. BAD WRITING killed ATWT.
@poosandabbey Boy you said a mouth full. I came aboard in '78 as well, fell in love with "Kim", and for the next 20 years couldn't take my eyes off of it -- started recording it daily around 85. Around the turn of the century this show completely shifted away from our beloved core families and characters and became SO focused on either Katy and Simon, or Rose, or Jack and Carly. In mid '99 I would literally watch the show in fast forward NEVER stopping at anything. It's never recovered...
I remember the character Valerie Conway's husband Nick was conniving only wanting her money. Nick was killed when he tried to kill Valerie after she signed over the farm to him as a benefit.
To funny - I remember that too. Didn't the bale of hay intended for Valerie fall on him instead? And of course our beloved busybody Lisa was right in the thick of things and NO ONE ever believed her about anything. Great times!
Sadly, if this show (or ANY show) today packed these brilliant actors, fascinating writing and stories, even this magnificent closing theme, there would be no need for anyone to even begin to think about cancellation. Daytime producers today can't produce their way out of a wet paper bag!
What an awesome theme that was... ATWT's best. Was that Joyce Colman Hughes at the very start? I had forgotten about Joyce and what a wonderfully neurotic character she was! Wasn't she married to Don Hughes and having an affair with Ralph Mitchell?
Yes it was Joyce -- wasn't she a hoot and the way Lisa was always on her ass? That was about where the show was when I started watching in 1978. I remember Joyce was trying to walk out on Don, and she got trapped when the car wedged her against the garage door. Don was in a wheelchair so he couldn't help. Good times! Kim's Dan had just died; John was blackmailing Jane Spencer because Bo wasn't her son; and Colleen Zenk had just started as Babs. God, I love to see those years again!
Actually Dan Stewart didn't die until a year later, in near the end of the summer of 1979 (I know this from doing an extensive transcribing of the soap summaries from the Atlanta Constitution-Journal of the time). Yes, the rest of the storylines did take place as you write in 1978, but Dan's death wasn't the major centerpiece of the show in that year (I think you might be thinking of Kevin Thompson -- I think that's the name -- who was married to good old Sandy & they were having major
problems in their marriage, because Kevin was lying to Sandy about the fact that he hadn't given up the booze -- as his friend Susan {yes, that Susan had done} & then Kevin ended up getting killed a car accident due to his alcoholism & sent Sandy into a brief coma -- before Sandy left town). Dan would die of a longterm illness again in the next summer of 1979.
Those clips are all such high quality, technically and in storytelling. What was the explosion with Andy? And who was that jumping to their death (?)? Thanks so much for this. Those Margo plug pulling scenes still affect me to this day.
thank you so much for the beautiful tribute and the definitive ATWT theme. I miss it and the way the show used to be. Its a pale ghost of what it once was.
THE "soap" of a lifetime. A 20 year fan (1978-98). This show managed to remain familiar regardless of when you watched as they held on to their core characters/families longer than any show in history, Cast came and went but it was still ATWT. Unrecognizable today. I read somewhere the show exploded in 1960 with the arrival of Lisa which I missed. 20 straight years at No. l in the Neilsons. For me, this was their signature theme as well. A complete joy to watch and I still "long" for it.
@dalehinely The greatest one of them all, the other networks didn't even try to program anything against it in its prime. In the 60's & 70's we used to tune it to see "Lisa", she was the whole show back then. The other superstar was Rosemary Prinz who played Penny from day 1 until 1968. If you added up all the heartache of every other soap heroine combined it would not compare to what Penny Hughes suffered. Such great days, CBS and P&G are throwing away history.
Wow there is so much going on in that video! I know it would be asking a lot, but is there any way that someone could point out some of the quicker scenes? I don't remember the sequence with Kirk Anderson in the snow, or Barbara in the elevator, or those people running through the jungle(forest)? But it is a good video. :)
Kirk's scene was from 1989. Lucinda ruined his relationship with Iva Snyder by bringing Kirk's ex-wife Lenore to Oakdale. Lenore told Iva that Kirk abandoned her and his two kids, then she left town with the kids. Kirk followed her to Canada where they were hiding in a cabin. The cabin caught fire, and Kirk saved his kids.
In 1994 Barbara was being stalked. Hal left the police force to protect her. Babs' assistant Gregory rigged the elevator at BRO to fall. It was meant for Hal, but Barb got on instead. It later turned out that Barbara had faked her "stalker" to get Hal off the Oakdale PD.
I thought Barbara's fake stalking took place a little earlier in the decade of 1990? (And Barbara wanted Hal off the force so he would stop investigating Darryl Crawford's past -- this was when Barbara was trying to cover up that Jennifer was really Darryl's biological child).
No, it was late 93/early 94. Everyone thought Hal had been shot & killed in Oct. 1992 by the Harper syndicate just as Frannie realized Darryl was innocent of killing Carolyn. Barb blamed Frannie for Hal's death, and Frannie left Oakdale right after Xmas 1992. Hal came "back to life" in 1993. Barbara developed a pathological fear he would be killed and began the fake stalking. Story ended with Hal & Gregory falling thru the skylight on the roof of BRO. I think this happened in the spring of 1994.
Can't figure out the people running/jungle part. At .24 Lily, Holden, Damian, and Cesare are running thru a costume factory struggling over a gun. Cesare tried to kill all 3 but was shot and killed by Eduardo. The scene was from 1994, part of the Rigoletto story.
@williambrown007 No. Cesare is at .24. Hans is at .44. They are different characters. Cesare was actor Matt Servitto. Hans was actor Gerit Vooren. Cesare murdered Bertram Kingsley who was the partner in Kingsley Malta. Eduardo killed him in the costume factory. Hans was a terrorist who blew up Patricia Kingsley's car, kidnapped Lily, tried to murder Courtney, and was shot and killed after shooting Eduardo and trying to murder Lisa. Hans was related to the Kingsley Malta plot, too.
Who was in the car that was on fire and blew up near the end of this great montage? Who was the actress/character passed out on the ground and who was the actor/character who tried to run back to the burning car just before it blew up?
It was Rosanna, Carly, and Mike Kasnoff, from November 1995. Just before Rosanna was going to marry Mike, Carly admitted she slept with Mike. Rosanna and Carly drove off fighting, and the car crashed. Mike followed and got Carly out. When he went back for Rosanna, the car exploded.
I love this segment. I am going to miss As The World Turns when it goes off the air September 17. I still believe CBS and P&G are making one huge mistake!!
Whoa! This show looked like it was really good back then.
truckcoify 2 weeks ago
What was going on at 1:12-1:48?
thomas123853 1 month ago
Nice to see that little bit of Lisa at the Willows. That sounds like such a great storyline but unusual for 70s ATWT.
soapfave06 4 months ago
Why would they end a soap that's been on for that long? I see absolutely no point in it. And I'm not even a soap opera fan, except I'd love to listen to the super old ones on radio. Did they record those, and if so where can I hear them?
Not to be morbid, but I wonder if anyone was born on April 2, 1956 that died on September 17, 2010. That would mean that 'As The World Turns' was on for their entire life, and only their entire life. Was this on radio first or just TV?
paulj0557 1 year ago
@paulj0557 Production costs is the excuse they used. But as a fan on and off for the past 34 years I can tell you it had seen better days. When I started watching it was in its 18th year at #1. It had great storylines in the 80's and 90's. But at the end it was hardly recognizable as a soap even though it had its matriarch who spent all 54 years on it and 2 other characters who had 50 years each. I hated to see it go off but like everything else, it must come to an end.
47matazza 1 year ago
Whats going on with Lisa at 0:26? This is a great montage by the way, LOVE IT!
soapfave06 1 year ago
The music works awesome with the action scenes, damn im gonna miss this show :(
DaysAWFAN 1 year ago
I hope they do something that good for the closing!
QonOUTview 1 year ago
@QonOUTview I watched on and off for 34 years. It was the worst closing ever. And what crappy disservice at the memorial for Nancy. Guinness Book record holder for longest time playing same character and her memorial was just a blip in TV history.
47matazza 1 year ago
Just a sad reminder of how far this show declined. I have remained faithful from 1978 until now, but my god, it is a ghost of what it used to be. BAD WRITING killed ATWT.
poosandabbey 1 year ago
@poosandabbey Boy you said a mouth full. I came aboard in '78 as well, fell in love with "Kim", and for the next 20 years couldn't take my eyes off of it -- started recording it daily around 85. Around the turn of the century this show completely shifted away from our beloved core families and characters and became SO focused on either Katy and Simon, or Rose, or Jack and Carly. In mid '99 I would literally watch the show in fast forward NEVER stopping at anything. It's never recovered...
TimsDale4ever 1 year ago
I will miss this show so much!
TheCheyannepretty 1 year ago
I remember the character Valerie Conway's husband Nick was conniving only wanting her money. Nick was killed when he tried to kill Valerie after she signed over the farm to him as a benefit.
Tommy6583 2 years ago
To funny - I remember that too. Didn't the bale of hay intended for Valerie fall on him instead? And of course our beloved busybody Lisa was right in the thick of things and NO ONE ever believed her about anything. Great times!
TimsDale4ever 2 years ago
Sadly, if this show (or ANY show) today packed these brilliant actors, fascinating writing and stories, even this magnificent closing theme, there would be no need for anyone to even begin to think about cancellation. Daytime producers today can't produce their way out of a wet paper bag!
TimsDale4ever 2 years ago 3
Those were the days! Bon Voyage, ATWT!
NelsonAspen 2 years ago
This song is heartbreaking knowing as the world turns is being cancelled
ValentinoRomaUno 2 years ago 2
What an awesome theme that was... ATWT's best. Was that Joyce Colman Hughes at the very start? I had forgotten about Joyce and what a wonderfully neurotic character she was! Wasn't she married to Don Hughes and having an affair with Ralph Mitchell?
veronapj 2 years ago 4
Yes it was Joyce -- wasn't she a hoot and the way Lisa was always on her ass? That was about where the show was when I started watching in 1978. I remember Joyce was trying to walk out on Don, and she got trapped when the car wedged her against the garage door. Don was in a wheelchair so he couldn't help. Good times! Kim's Dan had just died; John was blackmailing Jane Spencer because Bo wasn't her son; and Colleen Zenk had just started as Babs. God, I love to see those years again!
TimsDale4ever 2 years ago
Actually Dan Stewart didn't die until a year later, in near the end of the summer of 1979 (I know this from doing an extensive transcribing of the soap summaries from the Atlanta Constitution-Journal of the time). Yes, the rest of the storylines did take place as you write in 1978, but Dan's death wasn't the major centerpiece of the show in that year (I think you might be thinking of Kevin Thompson -- I think that's the name -- who was married to good old Sandy & they were having major
TheWhatsinaname 2 years ago
problems in their marriage, because Kevin was lying to Sandy about the fact that he hadn't given up the booze -- as his friend Susan {yes, that Susan had done} & then Kevin ended up getting killed a car accident due to his alcoholism & sent Sandy into a brief coma -- before Sandy left town). Dan would die of a longterm illness again in the next summer of 1979.
TheWhatsinaname 2 years ago
What is that scene at the very end following the Mike, Carly, and Roseanna storyline? The one with the bomb exploding in the room?
williambrown007 2 years ago
Those clips are all such high quality, technically and in storytelling. What was the explosion with Andy? And who was that jumping to their death (?)? Thanks so much for this. Those Margo plug pulling scenes still affect me to this day.
CarlD2 2 years ago
I think the explosion has to do with the time he and Courtney were sucked into Lily & Holden's kidnapping by Hans, who tried to kill Eduardo.
Oakdalian 1 year ago
Orlena Grimaldi jumped off the roof of Fairwinds.
Oakdalian 1 year ago
Simply an amazing montage!
joetofalo 2 years ago
thank you so much for the beautiful tribute and the definitive ATWT theme. I miss it and the way the show used to be. Its a pale ghost of what it once was.
larkpraise 2 years ago 2
THE "soap" of a lifetime. A 20 year fan (1978-98). This show managed to remain familiar regardless of when you watched as they held on to their core characters/families longer than any show in history, Cast came and went but it was still ATWT. Unrecognizable today. I read somewhere the show exploded in 1960 with the arrival of Lisa which I missed. 20 straight years at No. l in the Neilsons. For me, this was their signature theme as well. A complete joy to watch and I still "long" for it.
dalehinely 2 years ago 6
@dalehinely The greatest one of them all, the other networks didn't even try to program anything against it in its prime. In the 60's & 70's we used to tune it to see "Lisa", she was the whole show back then. The other superstar was Rosemary Prinz who played Penny from day 1 until 1968. If you added up all the heartache of every other soap heroine combined it would not compare to what Penny Hughes suffered. Such great days, CBS and P&G are throwing away history.
Robert4770 1 year ago
Wow there is so much going on in that video! I know it would be asking a lot, but is there any way that someone could point out some of the quicker scenes? I don't remember the sequence with Kirk Anderson in the snow, or Barbara in the elevator, or those people running through the jungle(forest)? But it is a good video. :)
voyage2k 2 years ago
Kirk's scene was from 1989. Lucinda ruined his relationship with Iva Snyder by bringing Kirk's ex-wife Lenore to Oakdale. Lenore told Iva that Kirk abandoned her and his two kids, then she left town with the kids. Kirk followed her to Canada where they were hiding in a cabin. The cabin caught fire, and Kirk saved his kids.
saynotoursoap 2 years ago
In 1994 Barbara was being stalked. Hal left the police force to protect her. Babs' assistant Gregory rigged the elevator at BRO to fall. It was meant for Hal, but Barb got on instead. It later turned out that Barbara had faked her "stalker" to get Hal off the Oakdale PD.
saynotoursoap 2 years ago
I thought Barbara's fake stalking took place a little earlier in the decade of 1990? (And Barbara wanted Hal off the force so he would stop investigating Darryl Crawford's past -- this was when Barbara was trying to cover up that Jennifer was really Darryl's biological child).
Wellveryinteresting 2 years ago
No, it was late 93/early 94. Everyone thought Hal had been shot & killed in Oct. 1992 by the Harper syndicate just as Frannie realized Darryl was innocent of killing Carolyn. Barb blamed Frannie for Hal's death, and Frannie left Oakdale right after Xmas 1992. Hal came "back to life" in 1993. Barbara developed a pathological fear he would be killed and began the fake stalking. Story ended with Hal & Gregory falling thru the skylight on the roof of BRO. I think this happened in the spring of 1994.
saynotoursoap 2 years ago
Can't figure out the people running/jungle part. At .24 Lily, Holden, Damian, and Cesare are running thru a costume factory struggling over a gun. Cesare tried to kill all 3 but was shot and killed by Eduardo. The scene was from 1994, part of the Rigoletto story.
saynotoursoap 2 years ago
Do you mean the "jungle" with spectators watching Tonio fall from the helicopter? That's Duncan, Sabrina and an aide in Montega, 1991.
Oakdalian 1 year ago
@saynotoursoap If im not mistaking, Cesare is Hans I believe.
williambrown007 1 year ago
@williambrown007 No. Cesare is at .24. Hans is at .44. They are different characters. Cesare was actor Matt Servitto. Hans was actor Gerit Vooren. Cesare murdered Bertram Kingsley who was the partner in Kingsley Malta. Eduardo killed him in the costume factory. Hans was a terrorist who blew up Patricia Kingsley's car, kidnapped Lily, tried to murder Courtney, and was shot and killed after shooting Eduardo and trying to murder Lisa. Hans was related to the Kingsley Malta plot, too.
saynotoursoap 1 year ago
Who was in the car that was on fire and blew up near the end of this great montage? Who was the actress/character passed out on the ground and who was the actor/character who tried to run back to the burning car just before it blew up?
DanMan869 2 years ago
It was Rosanna, Carly, and Mike Kasnoff, from November 1995. Just before Rosanna was going to marry Mike, Carly admitted she slept with Mike. Rosanna and Carly drove off fighting, and the car crashed. Mike followed and got Carly out. When he went back for Rosanna, the car exploded.
saynotoursoap 2 years ago
Very cool. Thanks, Jonathan!
DanMan869 2 years ago
jgraefe1
I love this segment. I am going to miss As The World Turns when it goes off the air September 17. I still believe CBS and P&G are making one huge mistake!!
jgraefe1 1 year ago
What a beautiful theme song. I fondly remember listening to the theme song as a child when my mother watched As The World Turns.
gjdemi04 2 years ago 6