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They got their start on the soaps

B

bpatrick

I've been trying to come up with the names
of actors who went from the soaps to success
in prime time or the movies. So far I've
got (their soap is in parentheses):

Meg Ryan (As The World Turns)
Christopher Reeve (Love Of Life)
Hal Holbrook (The Brighter Day)
Patty Duke (The Brighter Day)
Ellen Burstyn (then known as Ellen MacRae) (The Doctors)
Tom Selleck (The Young And The Restless)
Marg Helgenberger (Ryan's Hope)
Larry Hagman (Edge Of Night)
Melina Kanakaredes (Guiding Light)
Judith Light (One Life To Live)
Julianne Moore (As The World Turns)
Michelle Forbes (Guiding Light)
Lori Loughlin (Edge Of Night)
John Sylvester White (Principal Woodman on Welcome
Back, Kotter was using the stage name Johnny Sylvester
when he was on Search For Tomorrow 'way back in 1951.)

And although it was a radio show, I can't overlook:

Richard Widmark (Front Page Farrell)

Not a long list, as you can see. Who else is on this
list?
 
Demi Moore (General Hospital)
Jack Wagner (General Hospital)
Marisa Tomei (As The World Turns)
Eva Longoria (Bold and the Beautiful, Young & The Restless)
Rick Springfield (General Hospital)
Gary Sandy from WKRP in Cincinnati (As The World Turns)

Those come to mind off the top of my head
 
> Demi Moore (General Hospital)
> Jack Wagner (General Hospital)
> Marisa Tomei (As The World Turns)
> Eva Longoria (Bold and the Beautiful, Young & The Restless)
> Rick Springfield (General Hospital)
> Gary Sandy from WKRP in Cincinnati (As The World Turns)
>
> Those come to mind off the top of my head
>
I left out Kim Delaney (All My Children).
 
Considering the long list of top actors and actresses who were regulars on the "soaps" early in their careers, it's obvious that the soaps are a great training ground.

An aspiring young actor or actress should seriously consider getting a role on a daytime soap. If they can get a role on a soap, it will help their career both in terms of getting experience and opening doors to "bigger and better things" down the road.
 
Don Knotts(Search For Tomorrow back in the 50's)
Tony Randall(One Man's Family)
David Hasellhoff(Young And The Restless)
Ted Danson(Somerset)
John Stamos(General Hospital)
 
> I've been trying to come up with the names
> of actors who went from the soaps to success
> in prime time or the movies.
> Who else is on this
> list?
>
Another World:
Anne Heche (Marley Love Hudson McKinnon (aka Marnie Stone)/Victoria 'Vicky' Hudson Frame Harrison McKinnon (aka Vicky Carson))
Eric Roberts (Ted Bancroft)
Jackee Harry (Lily Mason)
Ray Liotta (Joey Perrini)
Kyra Sedgwick (first Julia Shearer)
Faith Ford (last Julia Shearer)
Brad Pitt (Chris)
Kelsey Grammer (Dr. Canard)
Susan Sullivan (Lenore Moore Curtin Delaney)
Henry Simmons (Tyrone Montgomery)
Christine Baranski (Beverly Tucker)
Richard Burgi (Chad Rollo)
Amy Carlson (Josie Watts (Matthews) Sinclair)
Gabrielle Carteris (Tracy Julian)
Lindsay Lohan (Alli Fowler)
Rue McClanahan (Caroline Johnson)
Chris Noth (Jimmy; Dean Whitney)
Ving Rhames (Czaja Carnek)
Ted Shackelford (Ray Gordon)
Christopher Rich (Alexander 'Sandy' Cory)

The Edge of Night:
Lori Laughlin (Jody Travis)

The Doctors:
Alec Baldwin (Billy Aldrich)

Ryan's Hope:
William Converse-Roberts (Duke Cheever)

Search for Tomorrow:
Jane Krakowski (Rebecca 'T.R.' Kendall)

Multiple soaps...
Dorothy Lyman (A World Apart (Julie Stark), The Edge of Night (Elly Jo Jameson), Another World (Gwen Parrish Frame), All My Children (Opal Sue Gardner Purdy Courtlandt))
Julian McMahon (Home and Away [Aussie soap] (Ben Lucini), Another World (Ian Rain))
Luke Perry (Loving (Ned Bates), Another World (Kenny))
Rena Sofer (Another World (Joyce Abernathy), Loving (Amelia 'Rocky' McKenzie Domeq), General Hospital (Lois Cerullo Ashton Ashton))
Dondre Whitfield (Another World (Jesse Lawrence), All My Children (Terence Frye))
Ann Wedgeworth (The Edge of Night (Angela 'Angie' Talbot), Another World -and- Somerset (Lahoma Vale Lucas))
Janine Turner (General Hospital (Laura Templeton), Another World (Patricia Kirkland))
 
> I've been trying to come up with the names
> of actors who went from the soaps to success
> in prime time or the movies. So far I've
> got (their soap is in parentheses):
>
> Meg Ryan (As The World Turns)
> Christopher Reeve (Love Of Life)
> Hal Holbrook (The Brighter Day)
> Patty Duke (The Brighter Day)
> Ellen Burstyn (then known as Ellen MacRae) (The Doctors)
> Tom Selleck (The Young And The Restless)
> Marg Helgenberger (Ryan's Hope)
> Larry Hagman (Edge Of Night)
> Melina Kanakaredes (Guiding Light)
> Judith Light (One Life To Live)
> Julianne Moore (As The World Turns)
> Michelle Forbes (Guiding Light)
> Lori Loughlin (Edge Of Night)
> John Sylvester White (Principal Woodman on Welcome
> Back, Kotter was using the stage name Johnny Sylvester
> when he was on Search For Tomorrow 'way back in 1951.)
>
> And although it was a radio show, I can't overlook:
>
> Richard Widmark (Front Page Farrell)
>
> Not a long list, as you can see. Who else is on this
> list?
>
Sarah Michelle Gellar("All My Children")
Richard Hatch(the actor)("Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman")
If I'm not mistaken Mark Hamill also launched his career doing soaps.<P ID="signature">______________
"Always on the move." Obi-Wan Kenobi in Revenge Of the Sith</P>
 
> Considering the long list of top actors and actresses who
> were regulars on the "soaps" early in their careers, it's
> obvious that the soaps are a great training ground.
>
> An aspiring young actor or actress should seriously consider
> getting a role on a daytime soap. If they can get a role on
> a soap, it will help their career both in terms of getting
> experience and opening doors to "bigger and better things"
> down the road.
>
One more I should mention, came to me the other day:
Ming-Na of ER, known as Ming-Na Wen when she played
Lien Hughes on As The World Turns. As longtime ATWT
fans probably know, Tom Hughes fathered her when he was
in Vietnam.
 
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