ABC's second-longest-running soap, "One Life To Live,"
debuted 38 years ago today (it's also the fifth-longest-
running among all soaps). Its emphasis on multiethnic
storylines scared some affiliates away in the early days
(I remember that WLOS/13 Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville
didn't even start carrying OLTL until 1973), and I remember
a 1976 interracial romance that scared off some southern
affiliates (and maybe a few elsewhere, if anyone can tell me)
until ABC had the show kill the storyline. Also, I remember two
affiliates bumping it down to the mornings around 1972: WXIA/11
Atlanta and WLKY/32 Louisville, both of which chose to show
movies at 3:30 (ET).
OLTL expanded from 30 to 45 minutes in July 1976, then to
an hour in January 1978. It aired at 3:30 in the east from '68
to '76, 2:30 from July '76 until it went to an hour, and 2:00
ever since. It tends to rank about sixth or seventh (usually
slightly ahead of Guiding Light) among the nine current soaps.
One personal comment: as an off-and-on (mainly off, in the
last decade or so) GL fan, I absolutely cannot see Jerry ver Dorn
as Texas oil tycoon Clint Buchanan. Ross Marler on GL, yes. A
Texas cowboy type? Not a chance.
debuted 38 years ago today (it's also the fifth-longest-
running among all soaps). Its emphasis on multiethnic
storylines scared some affiliates away in the early days
(I remember that WLOS/13 Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville
didn't even start carrying OLTL until 1973), and I remember
a 1976 interracial romance that scared off some southern
affiliates (and maybe a few elsewhere, if anyone can tell me)
until ABC had the show kill the storyline. Also, I remember two
affiliates bumping it down to the mornings around 1972: WXIA/11
Atlanta and WLKY/32 Louisville, both of which chose to show
movies at 3:30 (ET).
OLTL expanded from 30 to 45 minutes in July 1976, then to
an hour in January 1978. It aired at 3:30 in the east from '68
to '76, 2:30 from July '76 until it went to an hour, and 2:00
ever since. It tends to rank about sixth or seventh (usually
slightly ahead of Guiding Light) among the nine current soaps.
One personal comment: as an off-and-on (mainly off, in the
last decade or so) GL fan, I absolutely cannot see Jerry ver Dorn
as Texas oil tycoon Clint Buchanan. Ross Marler on GL, yes. A
Texas cowboy type? Not a chance.