Originated:  7/97

Updated:  1/21/03

Last Posted:  1/21/03
 

Name of the Show:

Originally the show was to be entitled "Between Heaven and Hell."  Prior to its premiere, the name was changed to One Life to Live.

Creation Date:    1967
     First Air Date:    July 15, 1968 (30 minutes in length)
     Other noteworthy dates:   July 26, 1976 (45 minutes in length); January 16, 1978 (1 hour in length)

Actors who have been with the show the longest:
     (Note:  None of the original cast members remain with the show.)

Recurring:  Michael Storm (Larry Wolek), 1969; replacing his brother James
Contract:
Erika Slezak (Viki Carpenter), 1971
Philip Carey (Asa Buchanan), 1979 (1980)
Robert S. Woods (Bo Buchanan), 1979-1985, 1988     

Original Families:  (No ethnic stereotyping intended)

The Lord Family:  Upper crust (Victor, Meredith, and Viki)
The Wolek Family:  Polish American, struggling (Anna, Vincent, Larry)
The Riley Family:  Irish American, Middle-Class (Eileen, Joe)

  The Siegels, The Craigs, Carla (Clara) and Sadie Gray, Ed Hall

Clint Buchanan arrived first.  He was hired by Joe Riley who had just learned he had an
inoperable brain tumor. Clint was hired to take over from Joe as editor.  Asa soon arrived hoping to reconcile with his son and moved his business affairs to Llanview.  Bo quickly followed.
     One additional note:  Rafe Garrettson was a nephew of Asa's who watched Asa's wife,
Olympia.  Confusion exists here because some available history books list Rafe as a cousin.
Thanks to Ann for questioning this.   (More about the wives of Asa in FAQ 7.)

Foreign Lands Visited by the Show:

Countries Where Actual Location Shots Were Filmed:   Buenos Aires, Argentina; Vienna, Austria; Paris, France; Jamaica; Venice, Italy

Show Soundstage Countries: Inishcrag, Ireland; Spain; England; Brazil; Caribbean; Japan; Rio de Janiero; St. Martin

Made-up Locales: Jabba City, Mendorra, Badderly, San Carlos, Malakeva, Devil's Claw, St. Blaze

College Used for Llanview University during "Fraternity Row" Years:

Duke University (Old Campus and Wallace Wade Stadium), Durham, NC (same area used in 2001-2003 seasons of Dawson's Creek)

Special Celebrations with Key Storylines:

July 1993:  25th Anniversary Shows which featured two "key" stories:  CJ and Al trapped  underground; Viki and Dorian trapped in the "secret" room at Llanview.

June 25, 1998:  first night broadcast of OLTL.

Viki's Trip to Heaven, 1987
Clint's Trip Back to the Wild West (1888), 1988
Eterna or "The Lost City," 1989
Max Meets Death, 1992
Luna Haunted by Her Past, Bobby Evers, 1993
Dorian meets the Devil, 1998
Todd suffers DID (1999?)
"Trading Places" (July 4, 2001)
"Babes Behind Bars" (July 4, 2002)
Live Week (May, 2002)

     . . .    *"first to explore issues of race, illicit drugs, and sexual freedom not only in a dramatic context but also in a socially relevant one."
     . . .   first to have an ethnic and social diverse cast.
     . . .   first to use African-American actors as "front burner" characters. with a life that reflected the African-American experience
     . . .   first to have religious differences and intermarriages.
     . . .   first to do a "passing" story of an African-American woman pretending to be white.
     . . .   first to use real-life drug users from Odyssey House, New York, in a teen drug storyline.
     . . .   use of real life issues from newspaper headlines as storylines (like mercy killing).
     . . .   dealt realistically with post-partum depression and birth and death of a child (Meredith Lord Wolek).  Dr. Joyce Brothers appeared as her therapist.
     . . .   had an embryo transplant between a dying Samantha Vernon Garretson and Delilah Ralston Buchanan. (And this was before artificial insemination and surrogacy.)
     . . .   first to use the Names Project AIDS Quilt in a storyline (August 28 and 31, 1992).
     . . .   to look at homophobia from a teenage boy's (Billy Douglas's) point of view.
     . . .   to give an truer portrayal of inner-city gangs (Angel Square).
     . . .   to deal with DIDs (Viki's) caused by an abusive childhood.
     . . .   accurate portrayal of illiteracy (Jason and LeeAnn).
     . . .   to show the terror of a woman suffering from an abusive home life.
     . . .   to not just discuss but show a main character (Nora) going through the stages and diagnosis of perimenopause.
     . . .   to have a character who really is a cross-dresser as a semi-regular character. (Wendy is no longer featured as Club Indigo has closed.)
     . . .   to have a character suffering from and diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (David Renaldi).
     . . .   to use different styles of music and movie techniques to accentuate the action.

Biracree, Tom.  Soap Opera Mania:  Love, Lust and Lies from Your Favorite Daytime Dramas.  New York:  Prentice Hall.

Copeland, Mary Ann.  Soap Opera History.  Publications International, Ltd., 1991.

Matelski, Marilyn J.  The Soap Opera Evolution:  America's Enduring Romance with Daytime Drama.  Jefferson, NC:   McFarland & Company, 1988.

Schemering, Christopher.  The Soap Opera Encyclopedia.  New York:   Ballantine Books, 1988.

Waggett, Gerard J.  The Soap Opera Encyclopedia.  New York: HarperPaperbooks, 1997.

Warner, Gary.  One Life to Live: 30 Years of Memories.  New York: ABC Daytime Press, Hyperion, 1998.

Warner, Gary.  "101 Fabulous Facts About One Life to Live." Episodes (January/February, 1992), P. 24-30.

Worlds Without End:  The Art and History of the Soap Opera.  Harry N. Abrams, Inc.  The Museum of Television and Radio, 1997.   (Quote from page 147).

Compiled by Linda Martindale (martinda@elon.edu) with the help of Tina Wood, Tante Joan Roseman,
David W. B. Llewellyn, Ann Tontodonta, and Jamie at jamers@primenet.com. If you have any suggestions, please respond via email to martinda@elon.edu and not post to the newsgroup or discussion group.