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''Guiding Light'' (known as '''''The Guiding Light''''' prior to 1975, '''''GL''''') is an American Television Program 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'' aired on September 7 2006 . Due to this series run, it is not only considered to be the longest soap opera, but the longest series of any show created. The program was created by soap writer Irna Phillips , and began as an NBC radio serial on January 25 1937 before moving to CBS on June 30 1952 , as a televised serial. The show's title refers to a lamp in the study of Reverend Dr. John Ruthledge, a major character when ''Guiding Light'' debuted in 1937, that family and residents could see as a sign for them to find help when needed. PRODUCTION AND LOCALES ''The Guiding Light'' has been broadcast from 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 (despite objections of both Irna Phillips and Arthur Peterson) to take advantage of the talent pool. Production was subsequently moved to New York City, where it remains. It is currently taped at the CBS studios in midtown Manhattan . The fictional action has also been set in three different locales - it was based in the fictional towns of Five Points and Selby Flats before "moving" to its current day locale of Springfield . 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. Cast lists are under individual articles. 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 the on-air sermons of Preston Bradley, a very famous Chicago preacher and founder of the Peoples Church, a church which promoted 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. 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. 1960s See Also: Guiding Light (1960-1969) Agnes Nixon relinquished her role as head writer in 1966. In 1967, the show was first broadcast in color. A year later, the show expanded from 15 to 30 minutes. The 1960s saw the introduction of African-American characters, and the main focus of the show shifted to Bill and Bert's children, Mike and Ed. 1970s See Also: Guiding Light (1970-1979) Feeling pressure from newer, more youth-oriented soap operas such as '' All My Children '', Procter & Gamble hired headwriters Bridget Dobson and Jerome Dobson in 1975. The Dobsons introduced a more nuanced, psychologically layered writing style, and included timely storylines, including a complex love/hate relationship between estranged spouses/step-siblings Roger And Holly . They also created a number of well-remembered characters, including Rita Stapleton , whose complex relationships with Roger and Ed would propel much of the story for the remainder of the decade, and Alan Spaulding and Ross Marler , who would both remain central characters into the 2000s. In the fall of 1975, the name was changed in 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 aired from 2:30-3:30 p. m. daily. The show in the 1970s focused on the Bauers and the Spauldings. Several notable characters were introduced. 1980s See Also: Guiding Light (1980-1989) The decision was made to re-introduce the thought-dead character of Bill Bauer. Everyone had thought that he had died in an airplane crash in the early 1970s, but he was said to actually be alive. When he returned to Springfield, he brought his daughter Hillary with him. Shocking to most viewers, Jerome and Bridget Dobson killed its young heroine, Leslie Jackson Bauer Norris Bauer, R. N. She was killed by a drunken driver, and many viewers stopped watching the show due to this death. In 1980, the Dobsons began writing ''As the World Turns'', and were replaced by writer and former actor Douglas Marland . He created some new characters like vixen Nola Reardon. In May 1980, ''Guiding Light'' won its first Daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Achievement in a Daytime Drama. An ever more complicated storyline focused on the Bauers, the Spauldings, the Reardons and the Raines. Pam Long became head writer in 1983, and refocused the show on Freddy Bauer (now called Dr. Rick Bauer), Phillip Spaulding, Mindy Lewis and Beth Raines. She also introduced characters Alexandra Spaulding and Reva Shayne. Long would return for a second stint from 1987 to 1990. 1990s See Also: Guiding Light (1990-1999) With the new decade, the show started to change from Long's homespun, earthy style to a more realistic style. The Bauers, Spauldings, Lewises, and the Coopers had been established as core families, and most major plot developments circled around them. The show suffered major cast losses mid-decade, including the loss of characters Maureen Bauer and Alexandra Spaulding. As the decade progressed, the show began a series of outlandish plot twists to compete with the serial Days Of Our Lives , including a highly controversial story on Cloning . 2000s See Also: Guiding Light (2000-2009) The 2000s began with the splitting of the show into two locales: Springfield and the island nation of San Cristobel. In Springfield, the Santos mob dynasty created much of the drama. Meanwhile, the royal Winslow family had their own series of intrigues to deal with. In 2002, however, San Cristobel was written off the show and the mob's influence in the story was subsequently diminished and, with the departure of character Danny Santos in 2005, eliminated althogether. In 2005, former director and actress Ellen Wheeler (Emmy Award winner as an actress for '' 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 dropped, mainly due to budget cuts. Due to the lack of veteran influence, Wheeler has refocused the show on the youth of Springfield, centering on the controversial pairing of cousins Jonathan and Tammy. The show marked its seventieth broadcast anniversary in 2007. The show marked the anniversary with the launch of website FindYourLight.com and a program of outreach, reflecting Irna Phillips' original message. There was also a special episode in January 2007 , with current cast members portraying Phillips and some of the earlier cast members. Despite low ratings, the show won 2007 Daytime Emmy Awards for Best Writing and Best Show (sharing Best Show with'' The Young And The Restless ''). CAST ''Please see the articles by decade for cast. The current cast is in the article Guiding Light (2000-2009) '' RATINGS & SCHEDULING HISTORY Unlike most attempts made by popular radio serials to convert to a television version, ''Guiding Light'' never had any difficulty holding onto its old listening audience and making new viewers simultaneously. This was made easy by the fact that neither .'' ''GL'' handled the competition breezily, even legendary shows such as '' Queen For A Day '' on ABC (briefly in 1960) and NBC's '' Truth Or Consequences .'' Usually, ''GL'' ranked second in the Nielsen Ratings behind another P&G serial, '' As The World Turns .'' By 1968, though, changing viewership trends prompted CBS to expand its last two 15-minute daytime dramas, disrupting long-standing viewing habits. ''Search'' took over the entire 12:30-1/11:30-Noon period, with ''GL'' returning to its first timeslot, 2:30/1:30, albeit in the now-standard half-hour format, on September 9 . This also caused the dislocation of '' The Secret Storm '' and the beloved '' Art Linkletter's House Party ,'' as well as the cancellation of the daytime '' To Tell The Truth .'' It would not be the last time, though, as the next 12 years would bring several shifts around CBS' lineup. The 1970s saw ''GL's'' popularity dip somewhat, largely from the competition posed by younger-leaning serials such as ''.'' To complicate the picture further, ABC opted to make its first expansions, that of '' One Life To Live '' and '' General Hospital ,'' in July 1976, each occupying one-half of a 90-minute block. With this in mind, CBS acted to give its veteran serial a contending chance by expanding it to an hour in length on November 7 , 1977 , strategically keeping its start time put in order to dissuade viewers from turning to the other networks. This gained particular importance when ABC finally added 15 minutes to both ''OLTL'' and ''GH'' by January 1978, so that ''GL'' straddled those two programs, as well as the first half of sister P&G show '' Another World '' on NBC. Despite ''GH'' surprising all observers by skyrocketing from near-cancellation to the top place in the ratings with the "Luke and Laura" storyline, ''GL,'' holding its own while in direct competition with ''GH,'' still hit an upswing as the decade ended. On February 4 , 1980 , CBS bumped ''GL'' down again, to 3/2, in the midst of a major scheduling shuffle intended to give '' Young And The Restless '' a shot at beating ABC's '' All My Children .'' It has remained in this timeslot since, facing ''GH'' and NBC entries such as '' Texas ,'' '' The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour '' and '' Santa Barbara .'' none of which made significant impacts upon ''GL.'' Furthermore, ''GH'' eventually petered out by the mid-1980s as well. 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, for a brief period, it even managed to dethrone then-powerhouse General Hospital from the #1 ratings spot. As the decade progressed, however, the ratings slipped a bit, although it was still performing solidly. In 1993 , ''GL'' began with one of the eight CBS-owned stations airing it at 10 a.m. Eastern time, New York City 's WCBS-TV . Solid performance remained the case until the mid-1990s, when the show's ratings sunk as low as eighth out of 11. However, during the controversial clone storyline in 1998 , ratings experienced a brief resurgence. Still, as of 2006 , the lack of significant improvement in the ratings (coupled with massive budget cuts) has intensified speculation about the show's long-term future. As of January 2007, stations in a number of markets air ''GL'' in the morning either at 9 or 10 a.m. Eastern: Miami , Chicago , Baltimore , Boston , Detroit , New York City , Philadelphia , Pittsburgh , Orlando , Fort Wayne, Ind. , South Bend, Ind. , Portland, Me. , Albany, N.Y. , and Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Pa. Surprisingly, the first eight of these fourteen stations tape-delaying ''GL'' are actually CBS-owned. This represents a radical departure from past practices, when network owned-and-operated stations were almost never allowed to postpone airing a program from the live feed. KGMB-TV of Honolulu, Hawaii currently airs ''GL'' at 12 Noon local time. Only two CBS affiliates do not air ''GL'' at all. One is KOVR-TV in Sacramento, California , even though it is now a network-owned-and-operated station. KOVR had been acquired by CBS in the early Summer of 2005 but was a CBS affiliate since 1995. It never aired ''Guiding Light'' as a CBS affiliate on a regular basis. Before CBS affiliated with KOVR it had been affiliated with KXTV . Back in 1992, KXTV Channel 10 as a CBS affiliate dropped ''Guiding Light''. When KOVR became the CBS affiliate, KXTV became the ABC affiliate. ''Guiding Light'' has not therefore aired in the Sacramento market since 1992. WNEM-TV in Flint / Saginaw / Bay City, Michigan also does not air ''Guiding Light''. They had also become a CBS affiliate in the mid 1990's. Initially they ran the soap but dropped it in 1996 due to underperforming ratings. In the Fall of 2006 WNEM began running Guiding Light on its digital channel, "My 5", which is a My Network TV Affiliate. Internationally, ''Guiding Light'' will start airing September 3rd 2007 in the UK on Zone Romantica . Daytime History: Highest rated week (November 16-20, 1981) (Household Ratings- Nielsen Media Research )''' 1980-1989 Ratings 1979-1980 Season
1981-1982 Season
1982-1983 Season
1983-1984 Season
1984-1985 Season
1985-1986 Season
1986-1987 Season
1987-1988 Season
1988-1989 Season HH Ratings
Number 1 in the 1980s: General Hospital; #2:The Young And The Restless; #3: All My Children 1990-1999 Household Ratings 1989-1990 Season (1 HH rating = 921,000 Homes)
1991-1992 Season
1992-1993 Season
1993-1994 Season (1 HH rating = 942,000 Homes)
1994-1995 Season
1995-1996 Season
1996-1997 Season
1997-1998 Season
1998-1999 Season HH Ratings
2000 To Current Household Ratings 1999-2000 Season
2000-2001 Season
AWARDS Daytime Emmy Awards Show
Individuals
Other awards
HEAD WRITERS AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS TRIVIA
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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