As The World Turns
NPR: 'As the World' Stops Turning, Are Soaps Dead?' Segment
Photo Credit: JPI Studios
National Public Radio’s, All Things Considered this weekend had as it’s guest, former As the World Turns writer, Peter Brash, for a segment on: if the end is near for soap operas, and what has caused it’s decline. The audio interview was about 3 and half minutes, but on the NPR website, they also posted an accompanying story and excerpts from the interview including the following below!
“Hardly anyone these days admits to watching soap operas, but they once dominated the daytime TV schedules. Forty years ago, there were 18 soaps airing on the major networks; today, there are only six. Next month there will be one fewer when As the World Turns signs off after more than five decades on the air. Peter Brash, a staff writer for As the World Turns, tells NPR’s Audie Cornish that the soaps are really victims of their own success. “The serialized format has spread out just about everywhere you look,” he says. Four decades ago, most shows presented a self-contained story every week. But now, “it’s all branded to hook you in, to tune in tomorrow. “That means you can get your drama fix any time. You don’t have to sit at home all day and devote five hours a week to keeping up with all the illicit affairs, car wrecks, secret babies and evil twins with amnesia. Brash says the soaps were all about women — but hardly any women are watching anymore.
Reality television isn’t helping either, Brash says. “They’re soap operas in themselves They’re just — real. So the audience is savvy enough to know they’re watching one that’s real — ‘Oh, she’s really pulling her hair,’ and ‘Oh my god, she might hurt her” — and one that’s staged. So which one becomes more compelling?”
Brash has written some compelling story lines of his own in 30 years of writing for soaps. “Once, I was responsible for having two naked people fall from a meteor shower. They seemed to be from another planet, and they ran around naked one summer in Salem. I probably should have told the audience right away that the mad scientist in town had just put them up in a rocket ship and they really weren’t aliens. It’s always better if the audience is in on the joke in that way.”
Traditional soaps — naked mystery aliens and all — may be on the wane, but Brash says their influence is felt all over the television dial. “Soap operas are kind of lending their DNA to the rest of the entertainment media world, and that includes dramatic and reality [shows]. So I don’t think it’s a dead medium; it’s just morphing into different things.”
As The World Turns
Mark Rydell, Oscar-Nominated ‘On Golden Pond’ Director, Who Began Career on ‘As the World Turns,’ ‘The Edge of Night,’ Dies at 97
Mark Rydell, one of the most highly-lauded motion picture directors in Hollywood, and who got his start acting on the soaps, has died. He was 97.
The news of his passing came from Bette Midler, who starred in The Rose, which Rydell also directed. Midler took to her Instagram on Friday, August 14 and shared the news.
Bette expressed, “Mark Rydell, the director or my first film, The Rose, died this morning. He was an actor of note before he became a director, and I was so lucky to have met him when I did; he taught me so much on The Rose and later on For The Boys. Two Oscars nominations both because of him. He was the actor’s whisperer; just a few words was all it took to understand what was needed.”
Photo: JPI
As soap fans know, Rydell got his first big break playing Jeff Baker on As the World Turns. The popular character was involved on-screen with then star of the CBS soap opera, Rosemary Prinz (ex-Penny Hughes). He stayed in the role from 1956-1962. When the producers wanted him to re-up his contract, Rydell decided to leave, and so the writers killed-off the character of Jeff in a car crash. Before ATWT, Rydell played Walt Johnson on The Edge of Night.
MARK RYDELL DIRECTED SOME OF HOLLYWOOD’S BIGGEST STARS
After a busy career in primetime television roles, Mark began to direct in 1967 with the controversial feature, The Foxes. Because of his acting beginnings, Rydell was known as an actors director. Thus, began an enduring career in Hollywood directing films with some of movies biggest stars at the time including: Steve McQueen in 1969’s The Reivers, John Wayne in 1972’s The Cowboys, and James Caan and Marsha Mason in 1973’s Cinderella Liberty. In 1976, he also directed the pilot episode of the hit ABC domestic drama Family.
It was in 1979, that Rydell directed Bette Midler in her first feature film and lead role in The Rose, in which she was Oscar-nominated, and by 1981, the former soap star was directing the likes of Katherine Hepburn, Henry Fonda, and Jane Fonda in On Golden Pond, for which he received his only Academy Award nomination as a director. He followed with The River (1984), For the Boys (1991), and many more through the years.
Rydell was previously married from 1962 to 1973 to Joanne Linville who had appeared on Guiding Light, The Goddess, and 1976’s film version of a A Star Is Born. The couple had two children, Amy and Christopher. Later, a second marriage to Esther Rydell produced his son, Alexander, before ending in divorce.
Survivors include Rydell’s three children, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Sad to hear of the news of the passing of one of the great directors of our time, Mark Rydell? Do you remember him as Jeff Baker on As the World Turns? Let us know via the comment section.
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As The World Turns
Scott Bryce ‘Celebration of Life’ to be Livestreamed for Family, Friends, Near and Far
Scott Bryce’s beloved wife Jodi Stevens Bryce announced on Instagram that a memorial service for her husband will take place this coming weekend and will be able to viewed via livestream for family members, friends and fans who loved the actor, personally and professionally.
As first reported by Michael Fairman TV, Scott passed away on Sunday evening, July 13 at the age of 68. His son, Jackson Bryce took to Instagram to make an official announcement of his father’s passing sharing, “What began as stage three esophageal cancer eventually spread and became brain tumors that took his life away from him.”
As the World Turns fans know that Bryce was smash hit in the role of Craig Montgomery, a part he played for several runs on the CBS soap opera from 1982–1991, 1993–1994, and 2007–2008. Along the way, Bryce earned two Lead Actor Daytime Emmy nominations in 1986 and 1987.
Previously, Scott had been diagnosed diagnosed with Stage 3 esophageal and stomach cancer back in October of 2024. He had credited early detection as a vital part of his journey during a conversation on The Locher Room in July of 2025. At that time, Scott had shared he had undergone medical treatment and had since reported being “on the mend.”
Jodi Stevens Bryce’s message for those who want to view Scott’s ‘Celebration of Life” shares, “To our dear family and friends, both near and far, thank you for surrounding our family with so much love, kindness, and prayer. If you’d like to join us in celebrating Scott’s beautiful life, his memorial service will be livestreamed on Saturday, July 25 10am ET.” She signed the message, “With love, Jodi and Jackson.”
Photo: JPI
AS THE WORLD TURNS CAST SHARES REMEMBRANCES OF SCOTT BRYCE
Over the last few weeks heartfelt condolences on the loss of Scott have poured including from: Finn Carter (ex-Sierra, ATWT), Martha Byrne (ex-Lily, ATWT), Melanie Smith (ex-Emily, ATWT) and many more.
In fact, Bryne made note to TV Insider following the loss of As the World Turns co-star, of just how memorable Bryce’s work with the late Elizabeth Hubbard’s work as Lucinda was, and their unforgettable pairing; “The energy between them, their dynamic, all the play, fun, and the intensity just jumped through the screen. Most actors wouldn’t go down to set just to watch other performers. They’d stay in their rooms. I would go and just watch them work.”
The livestream will be broadcast courtesy of the The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Westport, Connecticut.
We all loved Scott Bryce and his powerful performances as Craig on As the World Turns and his body of work in primetime television as well. Now, it’s time to say our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to his family and loved ones. Comment below.
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UPDATED: Heartbreaking news to report this Sunday evening, July 13. Two-time Daytime Emmy nominee and beloved soap veteran and television actor Scott Bryce (ex-Craig Montgomery, As the World Turns) has died at the age of 68.
Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill, Bryce’s longtime friend and former co-star announced his death via her Facebook under an hour ago (in a post that has now been deleted, but see below). Arnaz expressed, “a wonderful actor, a beautiful man and a terrific husband and father, Scott Bryce, passed tonight. I am going to miss his eyes, his smile, his wit, his brain, his intelligence, his talent, his bravery, his laugh and his hugs. Dearest Jodi, dear Jackson, he’s watching over you now from a place of pure joy and will always be your guide. But, I hate these goodbyes. Rest in peace you marvelous, magnificent man”.
Previously, Bryce was diagnosed with Stage 3 esophageal and stomach cancer back in October of 2024. He had credited early detection as a vital part of his journey. He had underwent medical treatment and had since reported being “on the mend.”
Photo: JPI
SCOTT BRYCE’S RUN AS CRAIG MONTGOMERY WAS MEMORABLE
However, Lucie Arnaz shared on her Facebook post in the comment thread section when asked, that Scott’s cancer had returned. She has appeared in two projects with Bryce, the Indie film, The Pack and the TV series, Sons and Daughters.
Jackson Bryce, Scott’s beloved son, shared a beautiful tribute to his father after his passing on his Instagram where he shared that, “What began as stage three esophageal cancer eventually spread and became brain tumors that took his life away from him.”
Scott was the son of actor Ed Bryce, who was best-known for his role on the soaps as Bill Bauer on Guiding Light from 1959 to 1983. On As the World Turns, Scott had a significant run as Craig Montgomery, and at one point was initially paired on-screen with Meg Ryan (ex-Betsy Stewart). Bryce had appeared on the CBS soap opera from 1982–1991, 1993–1994, and 2007–2008.
AS THE WORLD TURNS CO-STAR PAYS TRIBUTE
On As the Word Turns, Scott’s on-screen romance was with Finn Carter, who played Sierra Esteban was a fan favorite for longtime viewers.
Carter expressed her grief on Instagram following the news of Bryce’s passing sharing, “My sadness knows no bounds. My gratitude for Scott knows even fewer. Scott was the best husband a woman could ask for. As an actor he was fearless, kind, generous and forever looking for ways to grow. And what a sense of humor! It is so difficult to write this as I can not stop crying . Scott , you were a gift that I did not deserve and one the world was freely given . All of my love to you – ah, just can’t stop crying. See you soon ( not too soon) and look forward to recalling our days on As The World Turns . You patiently taught me so much . XO”
It was during his initial run that Scott received two Daytime Emmy nominations for his performances as the manipulative Craig Montgomery. Bryce was nominated in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in both 1986 and 1987.
Bryce exited ATWT in February of 2008 and by December of that year, Jon Lindstrom, (Beyond the Gates, General Hospital) was brought in as the final Craig from 2008-2010 as the soap went off the air. Over the years, Hunt Block and Jeffrey Meek also played the role of Craig.
FROM OAKDALE TO PRIMETIME
In addition, Scott appeared in numerous episodic comedy and drama series throughout his career with roles in: Murphy Brown, The Facts of Life, ER, Law & Order, Reba and Sex and the City and Blue Bloods, The Blacklist, Homeland, 30 Rock to name but a few. On the soaps, Bryce also appeared on One Life to Live in the role of a psychiatrist, Dr. Ed Crosby, from 2006-2007.
Scott is survived by his wife Jodi Stevens and their son, Jackson.
Michael Fairman TV will bring you further updates on this developing story.
Share your remembrances and condolences for Scott Bryce via the comment section below. But first check out these scenes featuring Scott in moments from As the World Turns with Cady McClain and Marie Wilson.
Photo: LArnaz Facebook
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Sadly, I think daytime soaps are dead or at least will be completely in the next 3-5 years, because they have refused to evolve and change. The dialog is weak, the storylines are often confusing, repetitive, and sadly bad. But, most critically, daytime soaps have committed the ultimate sin. They’ve becoming boring.
Their storytelling has not really evolved since the 80’s. And with the current crop of continually recycled headwriters (I mean typically when a person gets fired from the top post at a job, they are lucky if they get another shot at a similar job, they don’t tend to get job after job after job), soaps will never evolve. There will never be another Gloria Monty/Douglas Marland, who can see daytime soaps for more than what they are now, to see what they can be. And as a result, they will die. It’s very sad.
The main problem with the decline of soap operas is that the writers can’t or won’t come up with new stories. They keep recycling the same old stories that were on 30 years ago.
Times have changed & the stories should change too. If the soaps that are still on the air after ATWT goes off on Sept. 17th want to stay on the air they need to take a good long look at what stories they are writing. People get tired of the ridiculous find out you have a twin 20 years later, or didn’t remember giving birth only to have your child show up, or sleep with every member of the same family.
They should also go all out on any story they write. If they’re going to write a gay or lesbian couple into the show, they should treat them the same way they treat a heterosexual couple, if they’re not, then don’t write them in. The same way with a minority couple, either go the whole way with a story or don’t write it at all.
That’s the main problem we had with ATWT. They wrote first Luke/Noah & threw stupid stories to break them up & get them back together with little sex, then when they finally brought on someone worthy of Luke, they did the same thing. They threw stupid plot devices to keep them from having sex or even have a long term relationship because they can’t have a gay couple happy.
This is my newspaper column in our hometown this week … I thought I would share it with you guys.
Elegy for the End of the “World”
“Good morning, dear.”
Those were the first words spoken by actress Helen Wagner, who portrayed matriarch Nancy Hughes until her death earlier this summer, on the afternoon of April 2, 1956 as CBS-TV premiered the first 30-minute daytime drama live from New York City – AS THE WORLD TURNS.
A production of Cincinnati soap and cleaning products giant Procter and Gamble – the company that gave this genre its nickname – ATWT was a creation of Irna Phillips, who had written and created the most successful soap operas of the radio era, such as THE GUIDING LIGHT.
The residents of fictional Oakdale, Illinois, were live on November 22, 1963, when Walter Cronkite broke into a scene between Nancy and Grandpa Hughes to announce that President John F. Kennedy had been shot in Dallas. And until the late 1970s, ATWT was still performing each episode live. It ends its life next week, with the final episode taped at Brooklyn’s JC Studios.
ATWT was the number-one soap opera on television its first two decades, and was the first soap featured on TV GUIDE’s cover in 1971; original daytime vixen, Lisa, portrayed by Eileen Fulton, starred in her own prime-time spinoff series, OUR PRIVATE WORLD, in 1965; comedienne Carol Burnett even parodied the program on her variety show with “As the Stomach Turns”. The tragedies and triumphs of the Hughes and Stewart families carried the first quarter-century of ATWT, and if CBS wanted to be known as Tiffany network, then AS THE WORLD TURNS was among its crown jewels.
The few crazy years of competition with rival ABC’s youth-oriented “run-and-gun” soaps are not the most notable in show history, although these years did produce memorable storylines that featured future megastars like Meg Ryan, Marisa Tomei, and Julianne Moore.
For many viewers, however, the program’s golden age began in 1985 with the appointment of actor-turned-writer Douglas Marland to the post of Head Writer. Marland re-established the supremacy of the Hughes and Stewart families while adding the Snyder family as a representation of his own life growing up on a Midwestern farm. He refused to let plot devices drive storylines; rather, with actor and audience input, allowed stories to develop from character.
Saying goodbye to an extended Oakdale family that I’ve been watching for virtually my entire life is proving difficult in these last days. I have been there for all the kidnappings, evil twins, back-from-the-dead spouses, and baby switches all these years. I also learned a lot about Alzheimer’s disease, rape, HIV/AIDS, discrimination, and alcoholism along the way. ATWT was an escape, but it was also an education.
I have also witnessed some powerhouse acting – Larry Bryggman as John Dixon, Elizabeth Hubbard as Lucinda Walsh, Don Hastings as Bob Hughes, Colleen Zenk as Barbara Ryan, Maura West as Carly Tenney, Kathryn Hays as Kim Hughes, Michael Park as Jack Snyder, and many, many more who made my daily trip to Oakdale such a worthwhile visit.
I could boycott Bounty, stop doing dishes with Dawn, or never pop a Pringles can again, but how will holding a grudge against P&G products bring back my beloved show? It can’t, and it won’t.
As the last day draws ever closer, it marks not only the demise of my soap opera habit but of the true soap opera era. Procter & Gamble, the inventor of the soap opera, is giving them up permanently. Love and family in the heart of America, as one reviewer called ATWT, is passing us by.
Irna Phillips should be recognized as a legend for her creation, a uniquely American institution that defined the genre and provided 13,858 episodes of quality drama to an audience of millions. We will never see these episodes on DVD sets; books will not be written about these characters. What has happened these past 54 years in Oakdale will fade into the mists of television memory.
Perhaps Irna Phillips had it right when she wrote the epigram for the series in 1956: “as the world turns, we know the bleakness of winter, the promise of spring, the fullness of summer and the harvest of autumn – the cycle of life is complete. What is true of the world, nature, is also true of man – he too has his cycle.”
Michael Bird is a band director for Tallassee City Schools in Tallassee, Alabama. The final episode of “As the World Turns” will air Friday, September 17th at 1:00 p.m.
OK, I’m being biased here. My favorite soaps are One Life to Live and General Hospital. Following the thrilling GH episode of “the Balkin” situation, GH seems to have temporarily gone downhill, but OLTL is still kicking high, in my opinion !! On All My Children, I admire Susan Lucci for her longtime commitment , but I eventually grew tired of her main character not holding on to at least ONE husband, plus many of the storylines just centered around her. I’m glad ABC at least decided to not cancel OLTL until January 2012. Better yet, I hope they will be pressured to change their mind. The replacement shows don’t seem exciting at all!