When did Guiding Light premier?
Guiding Light
"The Guiding Light" was broadcast first by CBS Television on June 30, 1952, replacing the canceled soap opera "The First Hundred Years". These episodes were also 15 minutes long. During the period from 1952 to 1956, "The Guiding Light" existed as both a radio and television serial, with actors recording their performances twice for each day that the shows were broadcast. The radio broadcast of "The Guiding Light" ceased production during 1956, ending this overlap.
Guiding Light
The first television producer of "The Guiding Light" was Luci Ferri Rittenberg, who produced the show over 20 years.
Tina Sloan
Tina Sloan (born February 1, 1943) is an American actress, best known for originating and playing the part of Lillian Raines on the CBS daytime drama "Guiding Light" from 1983 until the show's final broadcast in 2009. Her previous leading roles on daytime television have included scheming Kate Thornton Cannell on "Somerset" (1974–76), troubled Patti Barron McCleary on "Search for Tomorrow" (1976–77), and Dr. Olivia Delaney on "Another World" (1980–81). Her role as Lillian Raines endeared her and over the years, Lillian became one of the show's "guiding lights", a noble woman whose troubled past made her stronger and kept her morally grounded.
Guiding Light
"Guiding Light" was broadcast from three locations: Chicago (where creator Irna Phillips resided), from 1937 until 1946; Hollywood, from 1947 until 1949; and New York City starting during 1949. It was relocated from Chicago to Hollywood (despite objections of both Phillips and Arthur Peterson) to take advantage of the talent pool. Production was subsequently relocated to New York City, where the majority of soap operas were produced during the 1950s, 1960s and much of the 1970s; it remained based in New York City until the show's conclusion. Its final taping location was the CBS studios in midtown Manhattan. From the 1970s to the 1990s it was filmed at the Chelsea Studios. From soon before February 29, 2008, outdoor scenes were filmed on location in Peapack, New Jersey. The location filming coincided with another significant production change, as the series became the first American weekday soap opera to be recorded digitally. The production team chose to film with Canon XH-G1 HDV camcorders.
Unlike the old production model with pedestal-style cameras and traditional three-sided sets, handheld cameras allowed producers to choose as many locations as they wished.
Guiding Light
In November 1975, the name was changed in the show's opening and closing visuals from "The Guiding Light" to "Guiding Light". On November 7, 1977, the show expanded to a full hour and was broadcast from 2:30 to 3:30 pm daily.
Guiding Light (1990–99)
The Guiding Light (TGL) is the longest-running American television soap opera.
Guiding Light (song)
The official video premiered on October 17, 2018, and it uses footage from the band's mini concert that was originally filmed outside of the Tate Modern in London on September 21, 2018.
Robert Scinto
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light (1980–89)
Writer Marland quit in 1982 due to a dispute over treatment of his friend Jane Elliot, when the Carrie multiple personality disorder storyline didn't carry "Guiding Light"'s ratings to #1 above its rival, "General Hospital". Elliot was fired by Allen Potter, and Marland ended the storyline. Before Marland quit, "Guiding Light" won its second Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Drama, for the 1981 - 1982 television season, and despite Marland's departure, things looked very well for this long time CBS drama.
William J. Bell
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light (1990–99)
1998-1999 Season HH Ratings
Peggy Sloane
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light (1990–99)
The Marler/Thorpes
Guiding Light (1990–99)
The Lewises
Allen M. Potter
"Guiding Light"
Roger Newman
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light (1970–79)
On November 5, 1975, the name was changed in the show's opening and closing visuals from "The Guiding Light" to "Guiding Light" in an attempt to modernize the show's image, and, at the same time, the show adopted the harp-and-string-laced "Ritournelle," by Charles Paul, as its theme song, accompanied by a somewhat abstracted visual of sunlight filtering through leaves on a tree. The serial was still called "The Guiding Light" by CBS (and the show's staff announcers, most notably Alan Berns who began his tenure with the program in 1969 and would last as show announcer until the spring of 1997) until fall 1981, when "The" was completely dropped from references and a more upbeat musical theme was adopted.
Guiding Light
Internationally, "Guiding Light" currently airs in Iceland, Italy, Hungary and Serbia. It also aired September 3, 2007 to August 26, 2011 in the UK on Zone Romantica /CBS Drama, and was pulled at the point where the outside location filming was due to begin. The last screened scene of the show in the UK was Cassie hiding out with troubled son Will – just as the rest of the family were discovering that he had actually killed his uncle Alonzo.
Mike Cohen
"Guiding Light"
List of LGBT characters in soap operas
"Guiding Light" (also known as "The Guiding Light") is an American television soap opera broadcast by NBC Radio, followed by CBS Radio and then CBS Television, which aired between January 1937 and September 2009.
James E. Reilly
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light (1980–89)
1985–1986 Season
Guiding Light
The final episode also included the original tag line, with some revision, printed on the screen with the words "There is a destiny that makes us FAMILY" (replacing the word 'brothers'), as well as quick film clips of each of the show's title cards and announcers during the six decades it was on television, leading to the show's former long-time beginning announcement: "And now, "The Guiding Light"".
Guiding Light (1937–49)
The show was cancelled by NBC twice, once in 1939 and once in 1946. The first time on October 13, 1939, it was brought back by popular demand of the listening audience and began again only four months later in January 22, 1940. (Although some of the characters, Rose Kransky and part of her family, briefly transitioned to another Phillips' creation, "The Right to Happiness", with Phillips bringing back the characters to "The Guiding Light" when NBC restarted the show.) The November 29, 1946 NBC cancellation coincided with the Federal Communications Commission forcing a split of NBC and the creation of the ABC network. CBS would pick up the show seven months later on June 2, 1947. CBS would be where the show would stay until its cancellation on television in September 2009.
Guiding Light (1980–89)
1981–1982 Season (HH Ratings)
Matthew Labine
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light (1990–99)
The Bauers
Guiding Light
"Guiding Light" was created by Irna Phillips, and began as an NBC Radio serial on January 25, 1937. On June 2, 1947, the series was transferred to CBS Radio, before starting on June 30, 1952, on CBS Television. It continued to be broadcast concomitantly on radio until June 29, 1956. The series was expanded from 15 minutes to a half-hour during 1968 (and also switched from broadcasting live to pre-taping around this same time), and then to a full hour on November 7, 1977. The series broadcast its 15,000th CBS episode on September 6, 2006.
Guiding Light (1980–89)
In May 1980, "Guiding Light" won its first Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in a Daytime Drama, although many were surprised the departing Michael Zaslow did not win the award for Outstanding Achievement as a Lead Actor for playing Roger Thorpe. (The scene that won the Emmy was Zaslow's "hall of mirrors" sequence with Lenore Kasdorf.)
Paul Rauch
"Guiding Light"
Angela Tessinari
"The Guiding Light"
Guiding Light (1960–69)
The Guiding Light (GL) (known since 1975 as Guiding Light) was a long-running American television soap opera.
CBS Broadcast Center
After a 37-year absence, "Guiding Light" returned to the Broadcast Center in September 2005, after 17 years at EUE/Screen Gems studios, 222 East 44th Street and 20 years at the CBS/Himan Brown studios at 221 West 26th Street. The show had been produced in Studio 45 at the CBS Broadcast Center from 1965 to 1968 before moving to West 26th Street. "GL" used Studios 42 and 45 until its final broadcast on September 18, 2009.
Guiding Light
During 2004, former director and actress Ellen Wheeler (Emmy Award winner as an actress for the series "All My Children" and "Another World") took over as executive producer of "Guiding Light." She and writer David Kreizman made numerous changes to the sets, stories, and the cast. Several veteran actors were eliminated, mainly because of budget decreases. Because of the lack of veteran influence, Wheeler reemphasized the youth of Springfield, especially the controversial pairing of cousins Jonathan and Tammy.
Guiding Light
Since it ended its CBS run on September 18, 2009, the reruns of "Guiding Light" currently air on Sky 1 since September 21, 2009.
Nancy Curlee
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light
During January 1996, soap opera veteran Mary Stuart joined the cast as Meta Bauer (though referred to many times over the years, the long-running character originally played by Ellen Demming had not been seen onscreen since 1974); the character remained on the show until Stuart's death during 2002.
Maura Penders
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light (2000–09)
1999-2000 Season (HH Ratings)
Guiding Light
On April 1, 2009, CBS canceled the series after 72 years, with the series finale airing on September 18, 2009, making it the second-to-last Procter & Gamble soap opera to end.
Eleanor Labine
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light (1980–89)
A replacement headwriter was found in Pam Long (who originally started writing in fall 1983 with Richard Culliton). Long was an actress who had appeared on the then-recently canceled Procter & Gamble soap opera "Texas" and, in an unusual move, was given the headwriter reins of that show during its last months. At "Guiding Light", she eventually clashed with CBS and Procter & Gamble executives who resisted her idea of introducing a Jewish family, the Weisses, to Springfield. With the rejection by Procter & Gamble and CBS of her idea for this new core family, Long left the show in early 1991. The only Weiss to ever be introduced to the canvas was Matt Weiss—and he only appeared for a couple of months in early 1991.
Guiding Light
In Canada, "Guiding Light" was available to viewers directly through CBS-TV network affiliates from border cities or cable TV feeds until the show's ending in 2009. In addition, "Guiding Light" also made it on several Canadian television networks through the 1980s up until its last air date.
Beth Chamberlin
Chamberlin is best known for her portrayal of Beth Raines Spaulding LeMay Winslow Spaulding Bauer Spaulding on the CBS daytime soap opera "Guiding Light". She was the second actress to portray the role and initially portrayed Beth for a two-year stint from 1989 to 1991. She reprised her role as Beth three years later briefly, in January 1994 for only six months under then GL executive producer Jill Farren Phelps. Chmberlin again departed her role as Beth at the conclusion of her six-month contract in June of that same year. She returned to the role in November 1997 full-time and remained with the show until its cancellation in 2009. She also played the role of Lorelei Hills, Beth's disassociative identity disorder personality, from 2001 to 2002. She was nominated for the 2010 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal as Beth Raines on the final season of "Guiding Light". Additionally, Chamberlin was nominated two other times for Soap Opera Digest Awards, once in 1991 for Outstanding Super Couple and again in 1998 for Outstanding Villainess.
Guiding Light
Agnes Nixon relinquished her role as chief writer during 1965 to work for the series "Another World". On March 13, 1967, "The Guiding Light" was first broadcast in color. On September 9, 1968, the program was expanded from 15 to 30 minutes.
Tita Bell
"Guiding Light"
Gillian Spencer
"Guiding Light"
Cassie Layne Winslow
Cassie Layne Winslow is a fictional character on the CBS Daytime soap opera "Guiding Light". She was first portrayed by Laura Wright for an eight-year period, followed by Nicole Forester until the character's departure in 2008.
Guiding Light
On April 1, 2009, CBS announced that it would not renew "Guiding Light", and the last broadcast date would be September 18, 2009. Procter & Gamble initially announced that they would attempt to find another outlet to distribute the series, but later admitted that they had been unsuccessful in doing so, and that on September 18, 2009, after 57 years on television (preceded by 15 years on radio for a total broadcast history of 72 years), "Guiding Light" would end its broadcast history on CBS.
Melissa Hayden (actress)
She is best known to soap fans for playing the role of Bridget Reardon on "Guiding Light" from May 21, 1991 to June 18, 1997, in which she spawned some of the show's most-remembered storylines. After she left "Guiding Light", Hayden dropped out of the public eye for many years, but in 2009, she reprised her role as Bridget for the ending of the series.
Guiding Light
Overall, the first half of the 1980s saw a revival in "Guiding Light's" popularity, with a top-five placing achieved in most years and even a brief dethroning of then-powerhouse "General Hospital" from the #1 ratings spot for three consecutive weeks. However, as the decade progressed, the ratings slipped a bit, although it was still performing solidly. In 1995, beginning with CBS flagship station WCBS-TV in New York, "Guiding Light" began airing at 10 a.m. Eastern time in several markets. Its once-solid performance began to crumble by the mid-1990s, when its ratings sunk as low as ninth place out of ten. However, during the controversial clone storyline in 1998, the ratings experienced a brief resurgence, moving up to fifth for many weeks that summer. Nielsen reported "Guiding Light" had 5 million viewers in 1999.
Peggy Schibi
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light (1990–99)
1994-1995 Season (HH Ratings)
Alan Spaulding
Alan Spaulding is a fictional character on the CBS soap opera "Guiding Light". He was played by Christopher Bernau from the time of the character's introduction in 1977 until June 1988, when Christopher Bernau left the role due to health problems; Daniel Pilon stepped into the role from 1989 until the character was sent to prison in 1990. From 1994 to the series 2009 conclusion, the character was played by Ron Raines.
Jane Atkins
"Guiding Light"
Sofia Landon Geier
"Guiding Light"
Grant Aleksander
Aleksander portrayed Phillip Spaulding on the daytime drama "Guiding Light" from 1982 to 1984. He was temporarily replaced for a time by actor John Bolger, but returned to "Guiding Light" from 1986 to 1991, citing exhaustion from being front-burner five days a week for five years. He also dealt with the loss of both of his parents in the early 1990s, and took an extended sabbatical from the show. Aleksander again returned to the show in April 1996, and Phillip was once again involved in front-burner story, with ex-wife Beth, as well as new love interests Harley Cooper and Olivia Spencer.
Guiding Light (1937–49)
Procter & Gamble was the original sponsor of "The Guiding Light" until March 16, 1942, when General Mills started sponsorship. Procter & Gamble would again sponsor the show when CBS picked up the show on June 2, 1947.
Guiding Light (1990–99)
1996-1997 Season
Bruce S. Barry
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light (1970–79)
In the 1970s, unlike in the 1960s after Agnes Nixon left to begin writing for "Another World" in 1966, there was less of a revolving doors of head writers and story line seemed to stabilize in only two directions, first what was aired from January 1, 1970 to near the end of October 1975 and then what was aired from near the beginning of November 1975 to the end of the decade on December 31, 1979. The first half of the decade was mainly dominated by the story lines that were written by the head writing married couple of Robert Soderberg and Edith Sommer who wrote for the show from near the end of 1969 to the spring of 1973 and were long time and reliable soap scribes. And then the head writing team that replaced Soderberg and Sommer, James Gentile, Robert Cenedella and former "The Guiding Light" cast member James Lipton continued most of the stories in the same direction as started by Soderberg and Sommer from the spring of 1973 to near the end of October 1975.
Guiding Light (1970–79)
The Guiding Light (TGL) (known since 1975 as Guiding Light) was a long-running American television soap opera.
Guiding Light (1950–59)
Prior to the launches of the half-hour shows "As the World Turns", and "The Edge of Night" (both launched the same day), CBS and "Procter & Gamble" tried to convince Phillips to combine "The Guiding Light" and "Search for Tomorrow" into one single half hour show. Phillips declined.
Guiding Light (1980–89)
1986–1987 Season
Victor Miller (writer)
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light
Atlantic Satellite Network (ASN) – a supplementary service to its ATV system of CTV affiliates exclusively for Atlantic Canada – aired the soap simultaneously with the CBS feed from 1983 to 1984; then, the broadcast was moved to 12 noon until 1985.
Guiding Light (2000–09)
2007-2008 Season
Reva Shayne
Reva Shayne (formerly Lewis, Spaulding, Winslow, and Cooper) is a fictional character on the long-running CBS daytime soap opera "Guiding Light" played by four-time Daytime Emmy Award winner Kim Zimmer from November 28, 1983 to July 1990 and April 14, 1995 until the show's final episode on September 18, 2009. Zimmer has become such a celebrated performer that she is often considered to be an "icon" in the daytime drama industry.
Guiding Light (1990–99)
1991-1992 Season (HH Ratings)
Harding Lemay
"Guiding Light"
Robert Newman (actor)
Newman is best known for his role as Joshua Lewis on the American soap opera "Guiding Light", a role he played from 1981 to 1984, and again from 1986 to 1991, and 1993 to the series finale in September 2009.
Carolyn Culliton
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light (2000–09)
As a result of many missteps in the show's production and writing, Conboy and Weston were eventually fired after only a year. Ellen Wheeler of "Another World" and "All My Children" fame became executive producer in the spring of 2004. Her regime addressed unresolved plots. Wheeler and writer David Kreizman won praise from viewers and critics at first. The serial won the Writers Guild of America Award for best written daytime serial in 2005 and the show was the only one nominated. But the show still seemed unfocused at times, ratings continued to stagnate and in early 2005, it was revealed that "Procter & Gamble" had ordered "Guiding Light" to take a large budget cut. The actors themselves would also see a reduction in salary, and long-time stars Michael O'Leary, Jerry verDorn, and Marj Dusay were taken off contract. (verDorn would ultimately decide to leave the show, and Ross Marler was killed off; Dusay and O'Leary remained on a recurring basis.)
Guiding Light
A pivotal character, off-and-on, until the spring of 1998, Roger Thorpe, was introduced on April 1, 1971. The role of Roger was originally proposed to be blonde, fair-skinned preppy type, a man who was dating his boss's daughter Holly. Ultimately, Michael Zaslow, a dark haired actor with a more ethnic appearance, was hired for the role instead by long-time casting director, Betty Rea. Zaslow portrayed Roger as a complicated and multifaceted villain.
Guiding Light
On April 1, 2009, CBS announced that it canceled "Guiding Light" after a run of 72 years due to low ratings. The show taped its final scenes on August 11, 2009, and its final episode on the network aired on September 18, 2009. On October 5, 2009, CBS replaced "Guiding Light" with an hour-long revival of "Let's Make a Deal", hosted by Wayne Brady.
Irna Phillips
In 1937, Phillips created her third radio serial, "The Guiding Light" (shortened to simply "Guiding Light" after 1975), basing it on personal experiences; after giving birth to a stillborn child at age 19, she found spiritual comfort listening to sermons by a preacher of a church centered on the brotherhood of man. It was these sermons that formed the nucleus of the creation of "The Guiding Light". From 1937 to 1946, the series was broadcast from Chicago on the NBC radio network. The show was cancelled by NBC twice; once in 1939, and once in 1946. After the first time on October 13, 1939, it was brought back by popular demand of the listening audience and began again only four months later on January 22, 1940. NBC cancelled the series a second time on November 29, 1946, coinciding with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission forcing a split of NBC and the creation of the ABC network. CBS would pick up the series seven months later on June 2, 1947, where it transferred to television in June 1952, and where it would stay for the remainder of its run until its television conclusion in September 2009.
Guiding Light (1980–89)
Before Allen Potter was forced out as Executive Producer, in the middle of 1983, and replaced by Gail Kobe, the characters of Rick Bauer (Ed and Leslie Jackson Bauer's son) and Phillip Spaulding were SORASed, reintroduced as older teenagers, and brought on were the character of Beth Raines and a more prominent role for the Lewises. The decision to feature the Lewises came as a result of the prime-time series, "Dallas" and the cancellation of "Procter & Gamble"'s soap, "Texas" The show introduced Billy's vivacious daughter, Melinda Sue "Mindy" Lewis. Beth was living in an abusive situation with her stepfather, Bradley Raines and with her mother Cedars nurse, Lillian Raines. Phillip, Rick, Mindy and Beth would go through high school together, and then college. They would affectionately be known as the Four Musketeers. Bradley though, with Mindy's unwitting help, would find out the truth about Phillip's birth and tell him before Alan and Justin had a chance too, and for a while Phillip refused to accept both men back in his life. He'd forgive Justin before the end of 1983, but not Alan. Beth would also be raped by Bradley, which would halt the romance building between Phillip and Beth.
Guiding Light
The 1970s saw the popularity of "The Guiding Light" dip somewhat. The competition imposed upon "The Guiding Light" during this decade was from other serials such as "The Doctors" on NBC, but it still garnered decent ratings. After four years, CBS bumped its timeslot up by a half-hour to accommodate Procter & Gamble's demand that "The Edge of Night" move to 2:30/1:30, a move that led to the end of that show on CBS three years later. In the meantime, "The Guiding Light" stayed steadily on course against NBC's "Days of Our Lives" and ABC's "The Newlywed Game." In late 1974, ABC replaced "The Newlywed Game" with "The $10,000 Pyramid," which went on to garner strong ratings, but not greatly at "The Guiding Light's" expense. Meanwhile, by fall 1975 (at which point the show had officially dropped the word "The" from its title, although it was still referred to as "The Guiding Light" on air for several years after), the impending departure of "The Edge of Night" for ABC - to say nothing of CBS' planned expansion of some serials - affected "Guiding Light" by pushing it back to 2:30/1:30 once more in December. At that time, NBC still ran "The Doctors" in the 2:30 slot, and ABC had a short-lived hit the next year with an updated version of the game show "Break the Bank." To complicate the picture further, ABC opted to make its first show expansions, that of "One Life to Live" and "General Hospital," in July 1976; each of those shows occupied one-half of a 90-minute block until November 4, 1977.
Guiding Light (2000–09)
In 2007, the show celebrated its 70th anniversary with two special episodes. The first episode aired on January 25, depicting the actors portraying many of the actors from the radio show and the early years of the television show. The second appeared on February 14, depicting the actors' trip to Biloxi, Mississippi to aid in rebuilding three homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The theme for the 70th anniversary, "Find Your Light", attempted to return the show to its roots of giving back to the community.
Pam Long
"Guiding Light"
Pat Falken Smith
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light (1980–89)
The 1980s was a time of many transitions and many firsts for the show.
Ellen Wheeler
"Guiding Light"
Peter Brash
"Guiding Light"
Richard Culliton
"Guiding Light"
Lisa Connor
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light
During the daytime drama's 57th season on television and 72nd overall season, the series had changed its look to a more realistic experience in an attempt to compete with the growing popularity of reality television. The new look of "Guiding Light" included free-hand camera work and less action shown on traditional studio sets. Producer Ellen Wheeler introduced a "shaky-cam" style, present in a number of movies, featuring extreme-closeups and frequent cuts, including those that "broke the axis" (which proved disorienting to viewers accustomed to shows with the traditional "soap opera look"). Also new was the filming of outdoor scenes in actual outdoor settings. Even many indoor scenes had more of an "on location" feel, repurposing real locations, such as "Guiding Light's" production offices, to be motel rooms, nail salons, quick-mart and other businesses or locations. Thereby, the series had numerous sets without the cost of numerous separate locations. CBS and the show's producers had hoped that the new look would increase ratings, but the plan was ultimately unsuccessful.
Mary Pat Gleason
Mary Pat Gleason (born February 23, 1950) is an American film and television actress and an Emmy Award winning writer. From 1983–85, she appeared on "The Guiding Light" as Jane Hogan.
Guiding Light
The series had its 70th broadcast anniversary during 2007. The anniversary was commemorated with the initiation of website FindYourLight.net and a program of outreach, representing Irna Phillips's original message. There was also a special episode during January 2007, with current cast members playing Phillips and some of the earlier cast members. The series also introduced special beginning credits commemorating the anniversary.
Guiding Light (1990–99)
1990-1991 Season (HH Ratings)
Guiding Light
After a hiatus from Canadian television stations for many years, the series came back on CHCH-TV, exclusively for the Ontario market. In September 2007, Global picked up the show nationwide after CHCH-TV dropped it, claiming "Passions"’ former time slot. "Guiding Light" returned to CHCH for the rest of its run when Global decided to air the 2008 TV series "The Doctors".In January 2012, SoapClassics released a four-disc DVD collection of 20 selected episodes. The oldest episode on the collection dates from April 1, 1980, while the latest episode is from September 14, 2009, during the show's final broadcast week.
Guiding Light
January 1998, Bethany Joy Lenz came to the show as "Teenage Reva Clone". Producers were so impressed with her acting and attitude during her three-week role as "Teenage Reva Clone" on the show that she was re-hired later that year in the contract role of "Michelle Bauer Santos" on the daytime serial. From 1999-2000.
Nancy Williams Watt
"Guiding Light"
Jean Carol
Carol's most high-profile acting role was as Nadine Cooper in the daytime drama "Guiding Light". She joined the show in 1988 and quickly became a popular comic foil. At the 1990 Soap Opera Digest Awards she was awarded Outstanding Female Newcomer. Her stint on the show lasted for seven years until the character of Nadine was murdered by Brent Lawrence. She returned to "Guiding Light" for one special episode on Mother's Day 2006.
Andrea Giles Rich
"Guiding Light"
John O'Connell (director)
"Guiding Light"
Guiding Light (1990–99)
Then-Executive Producer Phelps herself was a controversial figure among "Guiding Light" fans. Actress Beverlee McKinsey played Alexandra Spaulding, Alan's older sister, on "Guiding Light" during the Pam Long years, and executed an option in her contract that, combined with vacation time she had earned, allowed her to leave the show without giving the show notice. This was a great loss to the show, as McKinsey was part of a triangle of sorts, as the interfering party between her newly found son, originally named Nick McHenry who would end up being the twin of Lujack; and also was a newspaper reporter who would later be ensnared to be involved with the corporate intrigue at Spaulding, Enterprises) and his new girlfriend Mindy Lewis. (Eventually, veteran actress Marj Dusay would take over the role of Alexandra.) It is widely believed that Phelps didn't read McKinsey's contract and thus allowed the show to lose the legendary actress.
John Conboy
Guiding Light
Guiding Light (2000–09)
On November 14, 2005, "Guiding Light" had a show "make-over". In the new opening sequence, the first few scenes were presented in widescreen and then followed by a new opening theme song with new video clips, a new logo, and a new musical tune. Also, the show became downloadable at CBS.com later in the day as a podcast that can be listened to on iPods and other (portable) media players. This feature was promoted at the end of each show by various cast members who urge viewers to "take the "Light"" with them. Around this time, "Guiding Light"'s sets also changed considerably. Longtime sets such as Company, Josh and Reva Lewis's House, and Cedars Hospital received makeovers, and the Beacon Hotel lobby set was scrapped. Characters also started to live in the Beacon Hotel, rather than houses or apartments, even though they have been on the show for some time. In addition, "Guiding Light" also debuted new sets. The show added a new "Main Street" set which features an outdoor coffee bar (CO2 or Company 2) and a new theater. The Main Street set is being used quite frequently. "Guiding Light" also made over the Cross Creek cabin set and moved the cabin to Springfield for Josh and Reva.
Guiding Light (1937–49)
From 1943 to 1946, "The Guiding Light" and two other Phillips-created soaps ("Woman in White" and "Today's Children") were aired as a programming block known collectively as "The General Mills Hour", with "Guiding Light" cast member Ed Prentiss acting as master of ceremonies. Major characters made crossover appearances between the three shows, and at one point during this period, Phillips considered the experiment of running the individual program segments longer or shorter than the then-traditional quarter-hour. However, the "Hour" was disbanded before Phillips could proceed further with the idea.
Shelley Curtis
"Guiding Light"