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Remembering One Life to Live On Its Original ABC Premiere Date 46 Years Ago Today!

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I have not given up HOPE. I am sure our Soaps ( One Life To Live and All My Children) will return again and permanently on ABC Daytime. And I will fight for its return till the end!
Let us pray!!!!!!!!
Sadly, the end for those two are here already!!!
That was fun! IMHO the second to last was the best. I see you intentionally left out that piece of crap opening from PP. If it was here, everyone would see just how awful PP’s version of OLTL really was. SD or SL really sucks, he helped kill it. I know people at ABC and they will never bring either soap back. It is not the direction the network is going. Network TV has changed and it’s not about soaps, it’s about how programming is produced. As a long time fan, I hope it does not return. So much time… Read more »
Well Mitch, I appreciate your opinion but I, like many others, am hopeful that the show can return. Yes, time has passed and fans would have to accept new characters and perhaps some new actors taking over roles for some performers who have moved on to other projects. I feel that a new inception of the show, perhaps combined with the remnants of ALL MY CHILDREN and presented in a thirty minute version, would work. I am however in complete agreement regarding the Prospect Park opening of One Life ~ it was pretty awful. The show itself, however, was slowly… Read more »
Miss OLTL so much! The cast and stories were so compelling and dynamic. There’s nothing like it on daytime TV today. So sad…
You are so right. I’ve always said OLTL has the strongest cast in daytime TV. The cancellation by the alphabet people is just shameful.
The more time that goes by, the more I miss this show. Im a middle aged male professional, and I was tearing up at the sequence of old openings (I started watching in its third year). I watched all my life. Few had such perfection in casting – Erica Slezak, Robin Strasser, Patricia Elliott, Phil Carey, Andrea Evans, Judith Light, Tommy Lee Jones, Ryan Phillipe, Tonja Walker, Shelley Burch, Josh Kelley, Kassie diPalva, Nathan Fillion – and the wonderful stories. Since Denis Frons’ decision to cancel the show, Im happy to say Ive not missed passing on anything ABC or… Read more »
ABC-TV made the WORST decision in television History
without a doubt by letting go of their two strong shows, both One Life to Live and All My Children. At the very least, they should have (and still should) combine the remnants of both shows.
Can we put a fork in OLTL & AMC, please? I supported the online reboot and never watched either on ABC. Let’s get behind the stories on air. And where the heck is Tainted Dreams?
Its time to put those two shows behind us…the cast and crew have moved on…i doubt there will be future attempts to revive them…hopeful primetime and cable will air one hour weekly new soaps…continuing daytime dramas are on their last leg and i doubt they’ll be around in the 2020s…i hope im wrong but i wont hold my breath…even the British superior more down to earth and realistic soaps are also predicted to be gone in ten years…sad!!!
ITA– So many great soaps have come and gone over the years — it was fifteen years ago last month Another World was laid to rest, and yet there was no walk down memory lane for that soap. Continuing dramas will always exist as a story telling format, heck most prime time shows are becoming like that where each episode depends on the last in telling a larger story over entire season,instead of the story that is self contained to one episode. But the classic daytime drama, is most likely on it’s way out, because conventional network television itself is… Read more »
Aw, the 4th, 5th, & 6th opening songs are mine!! I could sing them in my sleep! 😀 I still SO miss OLTL! Such a great show. I’d start watching it again if it returned to TV.
Thanks for sharing this Mr. Fairman!
Still hoping against hope that anyone can revive it without problems.
One Life To Live will never come back, too late now. I have moved on, and watching General Hospital, Days of our Lives and The Young and the Restless. I do have to say All my children deserved to be cancelled, the ratings were falling badly, and the storylines were awful. One Life to live was a huge mistake. Abc will never bring back One Life To Live back. They will never admit there mistake. Abc should have kept One Life To Live on there daytime line up.
Agree with you Kevin..All my Children ratings were bad and the show itself was bad for like 10 years before it got cancelled. OLTL deserved to be kept with its ratings surge and great storytelling but Brian Frans has a mission and there was only one soap that should remain and that will be GH, his ‘favorite” and the one with more of a household name/history, but the ratings were better and would have gotten better over @ OLTL, so that kind of stings. That said, SO happy that GH is on the air..Will continue watching and I see this… Read more »
Kassie DePaiva is on DAYS!
Yes we know, you tell us on every single post, we know Kassie DePaiva is now on Days. Not quite sure what that has to do with looking back on
One Life to Live, but okay.
She has been terrific so far in the show..I hope she will have some scenes with the departed Allison Sweeney, even though their stories are not the same in the show..Imagine the fireworks if they get to share some scenes.
DAYS is lucky to have her and us fans too! Welcome back Ms DePaiva..Losing Ms Sweeney stings but having Kassie on helps big time with that loss.
Thanks for sharing this important date with OLTL’s fans. I first started watching sometime in the mid-70s. I was around 10 years old and became totally absorbed in the Brad Vernon/Jenny Wolek/Wil Vernon storyline (for whatever reason!) and Dorian was an instant favorite. My days (ok…my life) just isn’t the same without OLTL.
My favorite period were the S. Michael Schnessel years. His One Life To Live certainly could be outlandish (Eterna, anyone?), but they were by turns full of heart and fun – and always suspenseful. R.I.P. both of them.
Amen.
I never did get to see the full last season that PP put out – the network I watched it on in Canada pulled out.
I still miss OLTL….I think I always will…..such a shame.
I’d be happy with a hour night time version once a week for 52 weeks of the year.
Such great characters and stories. 🙂
1960s Peyton Place aired twice and then 3 times a week for 52 weeks in 30 min. installments and was on for five years without a repeat…wish the networks or cable would try that again with revived daytime serials or new ones in primetime…id watch!!!
In a sense, they DO air night time continuing dramas if you think about it – shows like SCANDAL and House of Cards and other shows are continuing storylines.
This is a sad anniversary for OLTL fans. I still miss the show very much. I don’t care for GH, and I have tried to watch Y & R, but it is boring. As noted in the above article, the ratings for OLTL were on the upswing when it was cancelled. They were better than GH which makes it hard to understand the cancellation decision. GH’s ratings rise seems to be the result of “gutting” OLTL. GH took OLTL’s EP, writers, directors, and 3 actors. Why didn’t ABC just keep OLTL? The last year of OLTL was terrific in my… Read more »
I really enjoyed OLTLs final year on ABC and it was far more realistic and entertaining than the soaps are now…Rama’s fake pregnancy was hiliarious especially when her water(balloon) broke…i recorded that final year and watched it over several times…imo it was OLTL best year…the online version wasnt so good but at least fans got to see it once again even if brief…not all fans of other cancelled soaps were as lucky!!!
I agree, the final year on ABC was really awesome and OLTL was really the best show at the time that final year..In fact it was really great and entertaining, the best soap in daytime, for like 4 to 6 years before its end run @ ABC.
I give props to PP, they had the balls and they tried..We got to see our cancelled soaps for a short time revived..My beloved Guiding Light never got that chance.
Lisa Z, all I can say about the OLTL EP, writers, directors and 3 actors is please take them back.
GH had been ABC top soap for many years, i’m sure when they decided they were going to cancel two soaps they picked the two lowest rated at the time of their decidsion. remember OLTL only beat GH in the ratings for the 2011 2012 season, prior to that the only two other season OLTL accomplish that was in the mid 70’s even AMC beat GH as the networks top dog like 4 season back in the 90’s stll more often then not GH was the networks golden child, especially with its many Emmy wins as top show. i’m sure… Read more »
Lots of nostalgia there Michael Fairman. Fun! But juxtaposing the “new” OLTL with the original just solidified for me how “out of character” (pun intended) the reboot was. I almost think I would have liked it if it was SUPPOSED to be a brand new soap. I wouldn’t have had expectations or looked for my ol’ soap within its context.
I still think, as some have suggested, that OLTL might be a successful one night a week show.
MICHAEL, YOU KNOW I STILL MISS OLTL, ESPECIALLY ERIKA SLEZAK. I HAVE WATCHED OLTL SINCE JOE WAS DYING. THESE ACTORS ARE PART OF OUR FAMILIES. OLTL FANS WILL NEVER GIVE UP. I DON’T CARE HOW MANY E-MAILS, LETTERS. TWEETS OR PHONE CALLS I HAVE TO MAKE. OLTL IS ALIVE AS LONG AS THE FANS REMEMBER. I WATCH OLTL EVERY DAY ON YOUTUBE OR MY TAPES. I HAVE MANY OLTL TAPES. I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE. THERE ARE MILLIONS OF OLTL FANS WHO STILL WATCH. THANK MICHAEL THANK YOU FOR THIS HONOR OF OLTL.
Thank you so much Michael for remembering this important date in daytime history. I watched the first day and came back for more until the end of the network and the online run. Yes, I’m seasoned and have followed many daytime dramas throughout my life. I am definitely an experienced viewer. OLTL is the very BEST!!!!!!! If the powers that be had a brain in their heads, it would have never been cancelled. Now, they can right a terrible wrong and bring our beloved OLTL back to us. I would not object to a combined OLTL and AMC. Both are… Read more »
Yes Llanviewer717 I agree that they should combine the remaining cast members of ONE LIFE TO LIVE with AMC – call it All My Life to Live, call it One Life in Pine Valley call it Apples on a Tree but they should do it. It’s a shame that a little over a year ago we were all so happy to see re-boots of both AMC and OLTL hit on-line ~ and not flourish – and so few statements and comments were offered to the fans by representatives of Prospect Park. Although I watched On-line, for the most part I… Read more »
As this is OLTL’s anniversary, it should be rightly celebrated. But, there is NO logical reason why BOTH shows shouldn’t be on the air. This whole mess was handled badly by EVERYONE involved. The PP/ABC issues should be resolved so that either both shows can continue, or have a final, dignified ending
i saw an advertisement on ABC last night for GH – funny they never did that for OLTL.
I miss it very much, so much that watching the openings made me cry.
Have you seen Kassie DePaiva as Eve on DAYS?
Yes, we all have seen her on Days, thank you for
reminder #457 that Kassie is now on Days.
I love Kassie, but I don’t want to try to get into a new soap.
For all the fans of One Life to Live-
It will never die, it remains alive in its fans..
Soaps are like Rock & Roll, they will never die !!
Wonder if they could do a bizarre GH episode where classic One Life actors play GH characters in someone’s dream…don’t mean it to sound like a nightmare, promise!
I really liked Prospect Park’s One Life to Live. It got better and better, and felt like it was really going to take off. I still hope it comes back. I have watched the shows on hulu numerous times.
Thanks again to Brian “Frowns” (former ABC) and Barbara “Bloomless” (former CBS) for screwing up the daytime canvas by cancelling 4 great daytime dramas. GL will always be my favorite (miss Kim Zimmer) but I also watched AMC, ATWT, and OLTL after its cancellation. There was no reason to cancel OLTL as it was drawing nearly 3 million viewers. We can always hope that smarter heads of daytime will prevail and that soaps will return strong once again. How much trash “Talk” and “Chewing” can we endure? Cut the fat and cancel that cheap mess now. Michael — thanks for… Read more »
agree – give us something to actually watch and become engaged with, not some clowns sitting around passing the time and stuffing food down everyones throat (really what has the chew contributed?) I have an idea – how about watching paint dry? The networks would be real cutting edge with that show.
Considering there is no room in the ABC daytime lineup for it, it won’t be coming back. Even if ABC were considering adding another soap back to daytime my guess is they would produce a brand new show before putting OLTL or AMC back on the air
I think – at the very least, that they could put on a half hour production of All My Children combined with One Life to Live as a lead-in to General Hospital.
However, I would be SHOCKED to see a brand new untried Soap introduced on daytime TV – but, if one believes in far-fetched miracles, I suppose stranger things have happened.
I never said they were putting a new soap on the air I said if they were to. The only one believing in mriacles are the people for almost 4 years now who have insisted that ABC will put OLTL and AMC back ont the air in half hour time slows. Talk about far fetched miracles!
Although highly unlikely in the immediate future, it is not impossible that ABC-TV could re-evaluate the combination of AMC with One Life and do a compressed half hour presentation. No one ever thought that either One Life to live nor ALL MY CHILDREN would see new beginnings as On-line presentations and yet they did, albeit the whole situation was bombarded with roadblocks along the way.
So, despite what non-miracle believers state, impossible things are
happening every day.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it David.
And look at quickly the on line versions of those shows failed. If room opens up in the scheudle ABC will not replace it with any soap opera. Hold on to all the hope you want but I prefer to deal with reality that these shows are not coming back. Why people cannot move on and accept that is beyond me. A ll TV shows come to an end even popular ones. Move on and accept the fact that they are gone.
Why don’t YOU move on, David? Everyone is entitled to their opinion but all you ever do is spew negativity at the mere hope that the show (or shows) may possibly continue – everyone agrees for the most part that it is highly unlikely that ABC Daytime will do a new soap or a re-vamped combination of All My Children and One Life to Live ~ but every post you do is filled to the brim with your usual skepticism and pessimism. Review your posts, David. Every single post is “they won’t be back” “they can’t come back” “it will… Read more »
I am far from being negative I am just being real. They won’t be back and its sad that people like you Sharon and others after years don’t realize that. ABC dropped them and has no intention of returning them to the airwaves. Sorry if you don’t like what I have to say. Just like you can post what you want I can post what I want. If you don’t like what I have to say its simple don’t read it. Sorry you cannot accept that AMC and OLTL will not be coming back to ABC. Move on already!
Miss miss miss the show so stinking much. Could never get into GH, so have wandered over to DOOL, where Kassie DePaiva is burning down the house !
Yes, Thank you, Tali / Allison! Evil Eve is in the hands of Kerosene Kassie!!! These are DePaiva’s DAYS!!!!!
Watched One Life to Live from beginning to end (including the reboot) and still miss it not being there. Throughout the years it had its high points and certainly its lows but it always had a strong cast and wonderful characters. Sadly, for me, none of the remaining shows come close to what I enjoyed about One Life to Live. I am very disappointed in RC & FV not being able to replicate all the strengths One life has on General Hospital. I think RC had great talent and somehow either ran dry or became lazy because the writing on… Read more »
I miss OLTL so damn much!
With the thousands of hours of tape, seems like they’d make the library of OLTL shows available somehow., either online(paid service) or repeats on cable somewhere.
BTW, I’ll never give up hope for OlTL’s return. It’s been off air a year now, when do the rights revert back to ABC, who I believe will lease it to another company, which is what they tried to do which led to the whole PP mess.
The first video made me tear up. For those of us who loved our OLTL, it really is like mourning a loved one!! Thank goodness for YouTube. But I will miss all the new stories, and always wonder what could have been…
Don’t completely give up hope – it is not an impossible dream that One Life to Live and/or ALL MY CHILDREN may be combined in a new inception. It’s not terribly probable at the moment but one never knows what the Future may bring, so let’s hope that someday we may see our friends from both Landview and nearby Pine Valley in the not-too-distant roads ahead.
I wish it were still on for the fans, and the actor who need work. Oh and if OLTL was still on, GH wouldnt have to stomach Koko, FREAKO, or Sinus!
bring it back please
Some shows come and go, but OLTL will live forever! What wonderful way to spend a lazy summer afternoon, a sick day from school, crowding around the tv in college with my friends, listening on radio(yes i could pick up the frequency) as I drove from job to job, holding my babies in my arms as they settled in for naps, watching from home (when my job allowed) and finally making my own time to watch it over and over again on hulu-plus. These memories will never be forgotten, and neither will the characters and storytellers. Long Live the best… Read more »
A Llanview lioness has laid claim in Salem…DePaiva’s DAYS are here!!!
Thank you for reminder #489 that Miss DePaiva is now on Days of
Our Lives.
Thank you Michael for remembering our beloved SOAP’s anniversary. Have been watching soaps for 31 years and OLTL will always be my favorite. Keep trying to watch GH but there is no comparison. It’s lacking Heroes to root for. OLTL had them in Spades – Vicki, Bo, John and Natalie, Christian, Michael McBain and Clint played by Clint Richie. Frank and Ron, you need GH heroes back – Robert, Laura, more air time for Felecia and Mac and Jason Quartermaine. All you have is dysfunctional characters. Michael Easton as Silas Clay is a joke. He was born to play John… Read more »
Gentry,
I so wish we still had OLTL to watch. I wholeheartedly agree that we need John and Natalie. What a damn shame their story did not get resolved. We know that reuniting Melissa Archer and Michael Easton would be epic! One can always hope……love that pairing.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see our beloved characters. I agree with the prior posters that the OLTL characters had more depth and more believability. I miss the show and especially my favorites of John and Natalie. They were great and would love to see the actors together again.
That would truly be great.
Didn’t love John and Natalie all that much. Liked him with Kellly (Gina Tognoni) and Evangeline (Renee Goldsberry). I do like him with Sam…I think they’re very real together.
I miss OLTL and started watching GH when the Mannings became part of the show. I can watch the older OLTL shows on Youtube as I have done before. I am glad that many of their best actors have found other work.
I can still remember watching as a little girl at my grandma s house. First we watched dark shadows. It began a lifelong love of soaps. With cbs app and hulu i watch b& b y&r and gh .my kids grew up watching amc . Soaps are best entertainment ever.
I was never a huge fan of One Life To Live; but, I’ve watched the courtroom scenes with Judith Light on YouTube (since it was before my time) and those were astonishing! I also thought the gang-rape of Marty by Todd and the others was a believable storyline and brought some light to such a devastating topic. The writers somehow were able to redeem Todd Manning, as well-which was remarkable.
Still love and miss you OLTL. You will always be my favorite soap <3
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Mr. Fairman. Hearing the OLTL themesong is sweet music to my ears.
Resolve the darn lawsuit and if OLTL is not returning bring Melissa Archer to GH to reunite her with Michael Easton please! I watching GH I think I am in the Twilight Zone. Need them together.
I agree with you Melissa. Easton and Archer are magic. Easton and Monaco are snooze worthy and deserving of the name Sambien. The OLTL characters were believable and you connected with them. The storytelling was great. Michael Easton as Silas Clay is a dud. All he does is walk around in street clothes following Sam . I AM SO READY TO SEE MELISSA ARCHER AND MICHAEL EASTON AGAIN. HOPING……
Agreed. Easton and Archer can definitely bring it! He and Monaco could as well but that has played out in my mind. Not feeling the connection with Stafford at all. If OLTL is truly done then incorporate some of our beloved actors into the GH canvas. First and foremost a fiery redhead comes to mind!
Hell yes !
I have to agree with the other fans here…there is no other soap like One Life to Live! I watched from day one and watch every day even if I had to record it. My children hated it when I came home from work because they knew I would be watching it every day. One of the highlights of my day. Loved all the storylines, no matter how wild they were…Eterna, Old West and DID. The characters were like family members. My mom and I always reviewed the week over coffee on Saturday mornings. We would laugh when my dad… Read more »
I forgot to thank you Michael for the glimpses of our OLTL.
I still miss OLTL. I just couldn’t get into the new one online. It just wasn’t OLTL to me 🙁 I grew up watching it with my Gran so when it went off the air it was awful. I still really hope that one day it’ll be back on TV
The reboot was finally getting good int he finally few weeks. The mistake was putting too many characters we hated in final yrs of OLTL. Natalie, Cutter, Jack, Dani, Matthew, etc. I loved corbin blue’s character and Viki and Dorian Rule. The Victor story was a downer.
As a long time fan of.Oltl I am very sad it is been put on hold. I won’t say canceled because there is hope and still so much going on behind the scenes. I feel when the time is right Frank and Ron will be able to use something from oltl on gh once again. This is the first anniversary of the show in which it is not live on air. But luckily we have you tube hulu and other fan media that is out there on the web for us to enjoy this great soap that actually has not… Read more »
so glad I’ve kept all the tapes I recorded over the years. (and a couple of VCRs! ha!) And I bought all the new OLTL shows from iTunes. When I miss the people of Llanview, I can visit them whenever I want. Guess until or IF the shows ever return to us, we’ll have to write our own stories.
I wish I too had kept those tapes.
Proud to share the same 7/15 birthday as One Life to Live. I really miss this show. My Mom and I would talk about the show all the time. She really loved Dorean’s sense of style. My Mom passed a couple of months before the show ended. It was very hard watching the last episodes with out her. I am glad some of the actors are on GH. They do a great job. I wish Kassie De Pavia landed a permanent job on GH. She is wonderful and a reason to watch Days. Loving GH but miss OLTL.
I would even accept a show like this in the meantime. A look back at all our favorite moments and stories over the years! Go to: “An Afternoon Affair – Episode 1 Pt.1 of 4 – One Life To Live – The Golden Era” on You Tube.
I AM NOT GOING TO HELP GET OLTL BACK ON TV! BUT I HATE THAT CLINT RICHIE & PHIL CAREY BOTH DIED! THEY WERE GREAT ACTORS & WILL BE MISSED!
I can’t say how much I miss oltl and amc , I hope each day that they are brought back even in its original 30 min format.
I feel like a part of my days are missing. Bring our soaps back.
I miss OLTL SO MUCH!
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