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As the World Turns

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As the World Turns (ATWT) is the second longest-running American television soap opera, airing each weekday on CBS.

As the World Turns
File:Astheworldturns2004logo.jpg
Created byIrna Phillips
Production
Executive producerChristopher Goutman
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseApril 2, 1956

It debuted on Monday, April 2, 1956 at 1:30 in the afternoon. Before this show (and The Edge of Night, which premiered on the same day), all soaps were fifteen minutes in length; ATWT was the first half-hour serial.

At first, viewers did not respond to the new half-hour serial, but ratings picked up in its second year, eventually reaching the top spot in the daytime Nielsen Ratings by the fall of 1958. In 1959, the show started a streak of weekly ratings wins that would not be interrupted for over twelve years. In the year-to-date ratings, As the World Turns was the most-watched daytime drama from 1958 until 1978, with ten million viewers tuning in each day. At its height, core actors such as Helen Wagner, Don MacLaughlin, Don Hastings and Eileen Fulton became nationally known.

The show transitioned from black-and-white to color in the mid-1960s, with the final black-and-white episode airing on February 17, 1967. The show expanded from a half-hour in length to one hour starting on December 1, 1975. Also in 1975, it transitioned from being televised live to being taped in advance. (ATWT was among the last soaps to make this transition.)

The show has aired over 12,700 installments; the 10,000th episode aired on May 12, 1995. As the World Turns is notable for having been taped in New York City for all of its 50 years on television (43 years in Manhattan and seven in Brooklyn).

Premise

File:AstheWorldTurns1970s.jpg
The cast of As the World Turns, on a TV Guide cover dated August 7, 1971. Many long-time cast members are in this photograph: Eileen Fulton is in the second row, second from left; Helen Wagner is holding Don MacLaughlin's hand, second from left in the first row, and Larry Bryggman is second from right in the back row.

As the World Turns was the creation of Irna Phillips who, beginning in the 1930s, had been one of the foremost creators and writers of radio soap operas. As a writer, Phillips favored character development and psychological realism over melodrama, and her previous creations (which included The Guiding Light) were especially notable for placing professionals - doctors, lawyers, and clergypeople - at the center of their storylines.

And so it was with As the World Turns, with its slow-moving psychological character studies of families headed by legal and medical professionals. The personal and professional lives of doctors and lawyers would remain central to As The World Turns throughout its run, and would eventually become standard fare on all soap operas. Whereas the 15-minute radio soaps often focused on one central, heroic character (for example, Dr. Jim Brent in Phillips's Road of Life), the expanded 30-minute format of As The World Turns enabled Phillips to introduce a handful of professionals within the framework of a family saga.

One of Phillips' innovations was to introduce a sort of Greek chorus to the stories. The primary purpose of characters such as Nancy Hughes (played by Helen Wagner) was to comment on the crises faced and decisions made by the town's more dynamic residents. This technique contributed to the popularity of the show and continues to be widely used in other soap operas.

Phillips' style favored gradual evolution over radical change. Slow, conversational, and emotionally intense, the show moved at the pace of life itself - and sometimes even more slowly than that. Each new addition to the cast was done in a gradual manner, and was usually a key contact to one of the members of the Hughes family. As such, the show got a reputation as being quite conservative (though the show did showcase the first gay male character on American soap operas, in 1988). During the show's early decades, the content-related policies of its sponsor Procter & Gamble Productions may have contributed to the perception of conservatism. The soap manufacturing giant typically balked at storylines in which adultery and other immoral behavior would go unpunished, and as late as the 1980s characters from the primary families were still generally not allowed to go through with abortions.

History

Due to the 5-decade run of ATWT as well as the complexity of the storylines, the show's history has been split up into separate entries.

The 1950s
The 1960s
The 1970s
The 1980s
The 1990s
The 2000s

Title sequences

File:Atwt61.jpg
The original title design, first seen in black-and-white from 1956 to 1967.
File:Astheworldturns1981.jpg
As the World Turns moved to color in 1967, and there was only a very slight update in titles, which lasted until 1981.
File:Astheworldturns1987.jpg
This As the World Turns logo was seen from November 1981 until February 1993.
File:Astheworldturns93.jpg
This As the World Turns logo was seen from February 1993 until October 1999.
File:Astheworldturns2000.jpg
The "As the World Turns" logo that was seen from November 1999 through July 2002.

The show has only changed opening title sequences from the original format four times: in 1981, 1993, 1999, and 2002, with a slight modification of the 2002 visuals redone in 2003.

As a testament to the show's unwillingness to change in the early years, the show had the same theme song (an organ tune which transitioned into a pre-recorded version in 1973) and opening visual (a globe spinning in the distance, with the globe moving toward the center to spin stationary) from 1956 to 1981. The visual was not markedly altered when the show transitioned to color in 1967.

The minor changes to the color opening had the globe at the center of the screen and the title zoomed out from the middle of the globe. The organ version of the main theme (by Charles Paul) was used over the color visual until 1973. The color update of the black-and-white visual stayed until October 30, 1981.

The sponsor tags during the black and white and up to the 1981 title changes were hand drawn pictures of the product, or the name of the product superimposed over the globe. On a 1965 closing sequence, the sponsor tag was an actual photo card of the product. This may have been the practice used on credit days. On non-credit days, the superimposure was used. After the 1981 title change, the sponsor tags were actual photos of the products. This continues to this day. There have been occasions, where a sponsor was to be plugged, that it would not occur until after the title sequence. A CBS announcer would plug the product. EX: AS THE WORLD TURNS is brought to you by (product).

On November 2, 1981, a new synthesized theme song was first heard, with new computer-enhanced visuals. The globe had now been relegated to an O in the word WORLD, with three beams of light reflecting separate ways. The tune was modified in 1984 and again in 1988. The globe was on the center of the screen for the closing sequences.

On February 3, 1993, the theme song and opening visual was changed again. The theme song was composed by Barry DeVorzon, famous for composing the theme song of The Young and the Restless. This time the credits were done by computer specialist group Castle/Bryant/Johnsen. In the visuals, the letters of the title slowly passed by, with the seasons illustrated in picture form inside the letters themselves. When the visual finally got to the O in WORLD, a spinning globe fell into its place and the whole title was zoomed out of focus, to be seen by the audience. In 1995, the closing credits ran over original scenes related to events in that day's episode (for example, if a character was seen in an episode, the credits might show them cleaning a room or playing a piano—things too "boring" to be in the episode itself.) By 1997, however, the credits simply rolled over scenes from that day's episode. The globe was used for closing credits from 1993 until they changed to beauty shots. For a brief period, the globe was used to promote the viewer feedback line. Then they would use the beauty shots for the credit crawl.

The show changed its music and opening again on November 1, 1999. For the first time, cast shots (both solo and group) were seen, accompanied by music. At the end, the O in WORLD was shown to consist of different clips from the show's history, not unlike a process first seen in the movie The Truman Show. Internet fans complained that the sound effects in the theme song which accompanied these credits, which was written by David Nichtern and Kevin Bents, sounded too much like "toilet flushing noises."

A new sequence, featuring cast clips to a mellower music selection (written by Jamie Lawrence and, again, David Nichtern), debuted on July 8, 2002. The backdrop to complement the actor clips was colored in gold, and was changed to sky blue in November 2003. The music from 2002 remained intact. Several shorter versions of this intro are used from time to time, featuring different members of the cast in each.

History of show announcements

From the show's inception until October of 1981, the show's announcer (and the most remembered of all of ATWT's announcers) was Dan McCullough. His voice-overs were utilized as follows:

  • Opening titles--"And now, for the next 30 minutes (or full hour), As The World Turns, brought to you today by..." (the extra words presented live were added after "and now..." when the show went to the color standard in 1967)
  • Mid-program break--"The first part of this program has been brought to you today by..." (until at least the late 1960s); "This portion of As The World Turns has been brought to you today by..." (late 1960s until 1981), followed by "We'll continue with As The World Turns following station identification" (inception until at least the mid-1970s); "We'll continue with Part II of As The World Turns in just a moment" (mid-1970s until 1981)
  • Lead-in to second half--"And now the second half of As The World Turns..., followed by "...brought to you today by..." on days where the second half is officially sponsored.
  • Lead-in to next-to-last commercial break--"We'll continue with As The World Turns in just a moment."
  • Closing titles--"This portion of As The World Turns has been brought to you today by..." (on days where the second half is officially sponsored; on days that are not, there would be either no announcement at all or McCullough would invite viewers to "stay tuned" to the next program "on most of these CBS stations").

In 1981, after 25 years with ATWT, McCullough retired from the program and was replaced by a much younger announcer, Dan Region. His announcements were as follows:

  • Opening titles--"As The World Turns. This portion brought to you today by..." (although beginning in the 1990s, Procter & Gamble began to decrease their sponsorship of the program for some days of the week, even though they themselves were the producers. So, on such days, Region would only announce the title of the program right before the first commercial break.)
  • Mid-program break: "This portion of As The World Turns has been brought to you today by (name and description of sponsor). We'll continue with Part II of As The World Turns in just a moment."
  • Lead-in to second half--either "And now Part II of As The World Turns!", or "And now we continue with Part II of As The World Turns!" (the second half from 1981 forward was, for the most part, not officially sponsored)
  • Lead-in to next-to-last commercial break--"We'll continue with As The World Turns in just a moment!"
  • Closing credits--"Stay tuned for Capitol (1982 to 1987, or) Guiding Light (1987 to 1999) next on most of these CBS stations."

After the titles were changed again in 1999, for the first time in the series history (for the most part), ATWT had no official announcer or show announcements, however Martin Bookspan (who had taken over as announcer of Guiding Light) still had to announce the sponsor tags on days where the show was sponsored.

Cast

Current cast members

Recurring cast members

  • Giovanni Antonio Cimmino as Parker Munson
  • Kevin Csolak as Daniel Hughes
  • Dylan Denton as J.J. Larrabee
  • Colleen Feehan as Sage Snyder
  • Karl Girolamo as Kevin Davis
  • Alexis Girosmiovich as Natalie Snyder
  • Traci Godfrey as Dr. Schiller
  • Cassidy Hinkle as Faith Snyder
  • Marie Masters as Dr. Susan Stewart
  • Daniel Menake as Johnny Donovan
  • Peter Parros as Dr. Ben Harris
  • Stephen Schnetzer as Cass Winthrop
  • Courtney Sherman as Dr. Lynn Michaels
  • Kathleen Widdoes as Emma Snyder

Coming and going cast members

  • Alex Charak (Elwood Hoffman) (Debuts September 26th)
  • Jeffrey Meek (Craig Montgomery) (Debuts October 2nd)

Deceased cast members

  • Benjamin Hendrickson (Hal Munson) (August 26, 1950—July 3, 2006) (On the show from 1985—2006)
  • Don MacLaughlin (Chris Hughes) (November 24, 1907—May 28, 1986) (On the show from 1956—1986)

This list is incomplete. You can help by expanding it.

Famous stars

The actors, musicians, and directors who have gotten their start or became better known because of their work on As the World Turns include:

Ratings History

As The World Turns is best known for its virtually uninterrupted reign as the highest-rated soap from 1958 to 1978, twice tying for first place with NBC's Another World (1973-74 and 1977-78).

In season 1978-79 it lost its ratings crown and even its position as CBS' highest-rated soap, but still rated strongly. The Douglas Marland era of 1985-1993 saw a resurgence in ratings and by 1991 it was back in its once habitual top 4 placing.

In the years since 1993, the show's ratings declined markedly. It has generally remained around the middle of the ratings chart, but in 2005 managed to claim third place behind fellow CBS soaps Young and the Restless and Bold and the Beautiful for a good part of the year, taking advantage of the ratings freefall experienced by ABC and NBC soaps during the year. As of 2006, the show has hit an all-time low in household ratings.

Because the show airs at 2 p.m. Eastern Time/12 p.m. Mountain Time, some CBS affiliates in the Mountain time zone air the show on delay; one example is KRQE Albuquerque, New Mexico, which airs the show a day behind at 10 a.m. (Mountain).

WTVF-TV Nashville, which has aired the show at 3 pm Central Time since the mid-1980s due to a conflict with its local program Talk of the Town, is now airing As The World Turns at 1 p.m. (Central). Talk Of The Town has been cut from an hour-long show at 12:30 to a half-hour show at 11 a.m. (Bold and the Beautiful has also moved, from 1:30 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. Central.)

Inturn

In 2006, CBS launched a reality TV show called Inturn on their broadband channel innertube, the winner of which would go on to receive a 13-week acting contract on As The World Turns.

The eventual winner of Inturn was Alex Charak, an 18 year-old "Student/Pizza Transportation Artist" from New York [1].

Charak will make his debut as the character Elwood Hoffman on September 26th, 2006.

Awards

Daytime Emmy Awards

Show

  • 2005 "Outstanding Writing Team"
  • 2005 "Outsanding Achievement in Casting for a Drama Series"
  • 2004 "Outstanding Writing Team"
  • 2003 "Outstanding Drama Series"
  • 2002 "Outstanding Writing Team"
  • 2001 "Outstanding Writing Team"
  • 2001 "Outstanding Drama Series"
  • 1999 "Outstanding Original Song" TIED with General Hospital
  • 1993 "Outstanding Directing Team"
  • 1991 "Outstanding Drama Series"
  • 1987 "Outstanding Drama Series"

Individuals

  • 2006 "Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series" Jennifer Landon (Gwen Norbeck Munson)
  • 2004 "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" Cady McClain (Rosanna Cabot Montgomery)
  • 2003 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" Benjamin Hendrickson (Hal Munson)
  • 2001 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Martha Byrne (Lily Walsh Snyder/Rose D'Angelo)
  • 2001 "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" Lesli Kay (Molly Conlan McKinnon)
  • 1990 "Outstanding Juvenile Male in a Drama Series" Andrew Kavovit (Paul Ryan)
  • 1988 "Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series" Julianne Moore (Frannie Hughes/Sabrina Hughes)
  • 1987 "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" Larry Bryggman (Dr. John Dixon)
  • 1987 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" Gregg Marx (Tom Hughes)
  • 1987 "Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series" Martha Byrne (Lily Walsh)
  • 1986 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" John Wesley Shipp (Doug Cummings)
  • 1985 "Outstanding Juvenile Male in a Drama Series" Brian Bloom (Dusty Donovan)
  • 1984 "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" Larry Bryggman (Dr. John Dixon)
  • 1984 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" Justin Deas (Tom Hughes)

Trivia

On November 22, 1963, the live CBS broadcast of As The World Turns was interrupted for the first bulletins (audio only with a "CBS News Bulletin" slide) by Walter Cronkite about the shooting of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Shortly thereafter, CBS switched to uninterrupted news coverage of this historic and tragic event. As NBC and ABC, the other two major U.S. TV networks, were not programming at the time (that time period belonging to their local affiliates), As The World Turns has the distinction of being the last regular U.S. network program broadcast for the next 4 days as the assassination of JFK and the transition of power to Vice-President Lyndon Johnson took center stage.

April 2, 2006 was the 50th anniversary of the soap opera on CBS. The special included tributes to the many actors on the show, favorite moments and episodes, bloopers, memories, and more.

At 87 years old, Helen Wagner is tied with Mike Wallace as the second oldest personality on television (they both rank behind Days of our Lives star Frances Reid). She also holds the world record for appearing the longest amount of time on one television show as the same character, playing the role of Nancy Hughes since the show went on the air on April 2, 1956. She was 37 years old when the show started.[1]

Holden Snyder and Lily Walsh Snyder are fictional characters and a supercouple on the program. Holden is played by Jon Hensley and Lily is played by Martha Byrne.

A spin on this title is common when soap operas are spoofed (As the Apple Turns, As The Stomach Turns).

In 1988, "As The World Turns" made daytime television history by introducing daytime television's first gay male character, Hank Elliot (actor Brian Starcher). In May 2006, the character of Luke Snyder (Lily and Holden's son) came out of the closet. Actors Van Hansis (Luke) and Martha Byrne (Lily) appeared in a PSA urging the soap's audience to stand up against homophobia and discrimination and to "Be an Ally and a Friend," a public service campaign from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). [2]

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  1. ^ CNN.com: Fifty years on 'As the World Turns', 30 March 2006
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