By the 1951-52 television season, broadcasters had demonstrated television's ability to attract daytime audiences, principally through the variety-talk format. CBS led the way in adapting the radio serial to television, introducing four daytime serials. The success of three of them, Search for Tomorrow, Love of Life (both produced by Roy Winsor), and The Guiding Light, established the soap opera as a regular part of network television daytime programming and CBS as the early leader in the genre. "The Guiding Light" was the first radio soap opera to make the transition to television, and one of only two to do so successfully (The other was The Brighter Day, which ran for eight years). Between its television debut in 1952 and 1956 The Guiding Light was broadcast on both radio and television.

    By the early 1960s, the radio soap opera--along with most aspects of network radio more generally--was a thing of the past, and "soap opera" in the United States now meant "television soap opera." The last network radio soap operas went off the air in November 1960. Still, television soap operas continued many of the conventions of their radio predecessors: live, week-daily episodes of fifteen minutes, an unseen voice-over announcer to introduce and close each episode, organ music to provide a theme and punctuate the most dramatic moments, and each episode ending on an unresolved narrative moment with a "cliffhanger" ending on Friday to draw the audience back on Monday.

    -Robert C. Allen

    Thumbnail of Nancy Malone

    Nancy Malone on her role as "Robin" on Guiding Light

    00:20
    Thumbnail of Lee Rich

    Lee Rich on how the Hollywood Blacklist affected daytime programming

    01:14
    Thumbnail of Ruby Dee

    Ruby Dee on appearing as a regular on Guiding Light

    01:09
    Thumbnail of Agnes Nixon

    Agnes Nixon on the format and challenges of Guiding Light

    02:08

    William Bell

    William Bell on a potential opening to write for Guiding Light

    03:17

    William Bell on how his wife, Lee Philip Bell, was the key to getting hired by Irna Phillips to write for Guiding Light

    04:41

    William Bell on the first Guiding Light scripts he wrote for Irna Phillips

    03:30

    William Bell on Guiding Light storylines he worked on with Irna Phillips

    00:56

    William Bell on leaving Guiding Light

    01:25

    William Bell on writing Guiding Light in Chicago while production was in New York; on interactions with sponsors

    05:53

    Douglas S. Cramer

    Douglas S. Cramer on working at Procter & Gamble

    06:06

    Ruby Dee

    Ruby Dee on appearing as a regular on Guiding Light

    01:09

    Patricia Field

    Patricia Field on her role on Guiding Light as a wardrobe consultant 

    35:18

    Allison Janney

    Allison Janney on playing "Ginger" on Guiding Light

    01:06

    James Lipton

    James Lipton on playing "Dr. Dick Grant" on Guiding Light, and on working with show creator Irna Phillips

    04:41

    James Lipton on his time on Guiding Light, and on being hired to write for Another World by Irna Phillips

    07:22

    Nancy Malone

    Nancy Malone on her role as "Robin" on Guiding Light

    00:20

    Agnes Nixon

    Agnes Nixon on writing for the television and radio versions of Guiding Light

    02:46

    Agnes Nixon on the format and challenges of Guiding Light

    02:08

    Agnes Nixon on the influence of sponsor Procter & Gamble on Guiding Light

    00:51

    Agnes Nixon on wanting to write socially relevant stories for soap operas -- writing her first cancer story for Guiding Light and getting resistance from sponsor Procter & Gamble

    04:48

    Agnes Nixon on people underestimating the largely female audience of soap operas

    01:06

    Agnes Nixon on her tenure writing for Guiding Light

    00:45

    Lee Rich

    Lee Rich on how the Hollywood Blacklist affected daytime programming

    01:14

    Helen Wagner

    Helen Wagner on appearing on Guiding Light as a tryout for As the World Turns

    01:18

    Ruth Warrick

    Ruth Warrick on getting a job on Guiding Light

    01:52

    Ruth Warrick on Guiding Light creator Irna Phillips

    08:13

    Ellen Wheeler

    Ellen Wheeler on the tradition of Guiding Light and soap operas in general

    00:38

    Ellen Wheeler on how she came to be a producer for Guiding Light

    01:13

    Ellen Wheeler on her duties as a line producer on Guiding Light

    02:43

    Ellen Wheeler on a typical week as a line producer on Guiding Light

    01:24

    Ellen Wheeler on becoming executive producer of Guiding Light  in 2004

    04:30

    Ellen Wheeler on her vision for Guiding Light as executive producer

    02:55

    Ellen Wheeler on the town of Springfield in Guiding Light

    01:08

    Ellen Wheeler on the audience of Guiding Light

    00:57

    Ellen Wheeler on the day-to-day production of Guiding Light

    02:39

    Ellen Wheeler on the budget for Guiding Light

    01:38

    Ellen Wheeler on the sets for Guiding Light and on location shooting

    02:39

    Ellen Wheeler on working with Guiding Light head writer David Kreizman

    05:16

    Ellen Wheeler on what makes a great story and her favorite Guiding Light storylines

    02:37

    Ellen Wheeler on the social relevance of Guiding Light and then-recent storylines

    07:40

    Ellen Wheeler on using stories from her own life on Guiding Light

    02:53

    Ellen Wheeler on then-current Guiding Light storylines

    00:55

    Ellen Wheeler on dealing with an actor's departure from the show

    01:35

    Ellen Wheeler on Kim Zimmer as "Reva Shayne" on Guiding Light

    02:30

    Ellen Wheeler on the then-current cast of Guiding Light 

    07:10

    Ellen Wheeler on casting Guiding Light

    01:29

    Ellen Wheeler on working with new actors on the show

    00:40

    Ellen Wheeler on Guiding Light's Emmy nominations and wins

    01:36

    Ellen Wheeler on keeping Guiding Light's storylines from getting out

    00:47

    Ellen Wheeler on the Guiding Light series of episodes "Inside the Light"

    07:07

    Ellen Wheeler on the use of music for Guiding Light

    01:45

    Ellen Wheeler on the then-new opening titles for Guiding Light and the title of the show

    02:39

    Ellen Wheeler on Guiding Light's 70th anniversary 

    00:56

    Ellen Wheeler on how emerging technology changed the way Guiding Light is produced 

    05:41

    Ellen Wheeler on the then-future of the soap opera genre 

    01:11

    Ellen Wheeler on her daughter appearing on Guiding Light and her own possible return to acting 

    01:56

    Perry Wolff

    Perry Wolff on going to write for Guiding Light

    01:38

    Kim Zimmer

    Kim Zimmer on watching Guiding Light as a child and how her mother's dream for her was for her to star on Guiding Light

    02:27

    Kim Zimmer on being hired for Guiding Light

    06:13

    Kim Zimmer on her Guiding Light character, "Reva Shayne"

    01:47

    Kim Zimmer on the qualities she brings to "Reva Shayne" on Guiding Light and on how audiences react to her

    03:43

    Kim Zimmer on the premise of Guiding Light

    02:52

    Kim Zimmer on "Reva Shayne's" place in the universe of Guiding Light and on working with the writers on her character

    03:27

    Kim Zimmer on playing a clone story on Guiding Light

    05:03

    Kim Zimmer on "Reva Shayne's" relationship with "Josh Lewis" played by Robert Newman on Guiding Light

    04:56

    Kim Zimmer on "Reva Shayne's" children on Guiding Light

    02:31

    Kim Zimmer on "Reva Shayne's" signature red dresses on Guiding Light

    01:42

    Kim Zimmer on a typical workweek for her on Guiding Light

    04:56

    Kim Zimmer on a typical workday on Guiding Light and on leaving the series in 1990

    05:53

    Kim Zimmer on returning to Guiding Light after a five-year absence

    05:44

    Kim Zimmer on how long she saw herself staying with Guiding Light at the time

    01:17

    Kim Zimmer on her favorite Guiding Light storyline

    01:07

    Kim Zimmer on the infamous Guiding Light fountain scene

    02:11

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