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This article is about the soap opera; "Guiding Light" is also a track from Television 's 1977 Release
''Guiding Light'' (known as '''''The Guiding Light''''' prior to 1975) is credited by the '' Guinness Book Of World Records '' as being the longest-running Soap Opera in production and the longest running drama in television history. The 15,000th televised episode of ''Guiding Light'' will air in the spring of 2006. The program began as an NBC radio serial on January 25 , 1937 before moving to CBS on June 30 , 1952 , as a televised serial. The show currently airs on CBS. ''Guiding Light'' has been recorded in three locations: Chicago, Illinois from 1937 until 1946, Hollywood, California from 1947 until 1949, and New York City from 1949 until the present. It was moved from Chicago to Hollywood in order to take advantage of the greater amount of talent in Los Angeles (and over the objections of both Irna Phillips and Arthur Peterson). Because of the "over-acting" of Hollywood actors, production was moved to New York City, where it remains. It is currently filmed at the CBS studios in midtown Manhattan . HISTORY, PLOT DEVELOPMENT AND CAST Due to the 6-decade run of Guiding Light as well as the complexity of the storylines, the show's history has been split up into separate entries. The 1930s and 1940s See Also: Guiding Light (1937-1949) The series was created by Irna Phillips, who based it on personal experiences. After giving birth to a still-born baby 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, which began as a radio show. The 1950s See Also: Guiding Light (1950-1959) In 1952, ''The Guiding Light'' began airing on CBS Television . Episodes were 15 minutes long. After Irna Phillips moved to '' As The World Turns '' in 1958, her protege Agnes Nixon became Head Writer of ''The Guiding Light''. With the transition to television the main characters became the Bauers, a lower-middle class German immigrant family. The 1960s See Also: Guiding Light (1960-1969) Agnes Nixon left the show in 1966. In 1967 the show was first broadcast in color. A year later, the show expanded from 15 to 30 minutes. The 1960s introduced African-American characters. The main focus of the show slowly moved to Bill and Bert's children. The 1970s See Also: Guiding Light (1970-1979) Feeling pressure from newer, more youth-oriented soaps such as '' The Young And The Restless '', '' Procter & Gamble '' hired headwriters Bridget Dobson and Jerome Dobson in 1975. In the fall of 1975, the name was changed in show's opening and closing visuals from ''The Guiding Light'' to ''Guiding Light''. In November 1977, the show expanded to a full hour. The show in the 1970s focused on the Bauers and the Spauldings. Several notable characters were introduced, including Rita Stapleton, a "vixen" brought in to add complexity to the plotline. The 1980s See Also: Guiding Light (1980-1989) In 1980, the Dobsons were moved to ''ATWT'', and replaced by Douglas Marland . In May 1980, ''Guiding Light'' won its first Daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Achievement in a Daytime Drama. Pam Long became head writer in 1984. An ever more complicated storyline focused on the Bauers, the Spauldings, the Reardons and the Raines. In 1984, Long refocused the show around Rick Bauer, Phillip Spaulding, Mindy Lewis and Beth Raines. The storyline of the "Four Muskateers" proved so popular that Guiding Light managed to dethrone then-powerhouse General Hospital from the top ratings spot. The 1990s See Also: Guiding Light (1990-1999) The realism of the early 1990s was in stark contrast to the mid-1980s, when the show had become "campy." The Bauers, Spauldings, Lewises, and the Coopers had been established as core families, and most major plot developments circled around them. The 2000s See Also: Guiding Light (2000-2009) There were several headwriter changes in the early half of the 2000's. Much-acclaimed writer Claire Labine took over as headwriter in 2000, but she lasted barely a year. She was replaced briefly by Lucky Gold. Millee Taggart took the writing reins in 2002, and Taggart's run had some critical acclaim, breaking away from the organized crime and royalty which had dominated Guiding Light over the past few years. Taggart tried to focus on more traditional storylines. Not all of Taggart's stories were a hit; she also wrote a sequence in which Marah (Lindsey McKeon), reacting to a rape attempt from boyfriend Tony Santos, stripped to her underwear and taunted him to force himself on her. CAST Please see the articles by decade for cast. The current cast is in the article Guiding Light (2000-2009) RATINGS HISTORY Guiding Light, for most of its history, has been a decent to strong performer in the daytime ratings but has suffered a noticeable drop-off in the past decade or so. In the 1950s and 1960s it was one of the highest-rated soaps on air, usually 2nd behind fellow CBS soap ''As The World Turns''. The 1970s saw its popularity dip somewhat but it still garnered decent numbers and was on an upswing as the decade ended. The first half of the 1980s saw a revival in Guiding Light's popularity with a top five placing achieved in most years, and although it slipped as the decade progressed it was still doing quite well. This remained the case until the mid-1990s, when its sunk as low as 8th and although there had been periodic spikes since, this is where the show has remained. As of 2006, the lack of significant improvement in the ratings has intensified speculation about the show's long-term future. In fact, as of 2006, GL does not even air on the CBS affiliates in Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto and Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, Michigan markets, even though the former is now owned by the network outright. AWARDS Daytime Emmy Awards Show
Individuals
Soap Opera Digest Awards
TRIVIA
HEAD WRITERS AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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