All My Children
Soap Legend Agnes Nixon, Creator of All My Children & One Life to Life, Dies At 93
Courtesy/ABC
Heartbreaking news in the soap world on Wednesday. The iconic and legendary Agnes Nixon, the creator of All My Children and One Life to Live, has passed away at Age 93 from complications from Parkinson’s disease and pneumonia in Pennsylvania. Her death was confirmed by her ex son-in-law David Hiltbrand and by TMZ.com
Prior to her death last weekend, Agnes had completed her memoir, “My Life to Live”. Nixon broke ground on daytime soaps telling the social issues of our times throughout multiple decades.
Nixon attended Northwestern University before beginning her career in soaps working for another soap legend, Irna Phillips. It was writing for shows such as Guiding Light and Another World that began to foster what would become a incredible and successful and enduring career in daytime drama.
As soap fans know, it was Nixon who created the one and only Erica Kane of All My Children played to perfection by Susan Lucci. But before AMC made it to air in 1970, ABC executives had passed on the program and asked for something a bit more “contemporary” instead. The result was Nixon’s other beloved soap opera, One Life to Live a soap that was rich in social issues stories and multi-ethnic in its characters.
Agnes Nixon received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmys in 2010. On-Air On-Soaps will share social media reactions on the legend’s passing from Nixon’s AMC and OLTL cast in the hours ahead.
For now share your condolences and thoughts on the death of Agnes Nixon in the comment section below.
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My heart is saddened by the loss of the great Agnes Nixon. All My Children will never be duplicated. Rest peacefully with all the All My Children greats that went before you
I agree, so very sad to hear this….somewhere in my heart I was hoping for a melding of All My Children and One Life to Live as a new presentation – but as the months have turned into years I realize that dream most likely will not come to fruition.
R.I.P. dear lady you made many of us happy with your wonderful characters.
No one better at telling a story than Mrs. Nixon. And as she herself would most likely say, “the story never ends.”
R.I.P. Agnes. I watched OLTL & AMC since the beginning and still miss them. I hope ABC honors Agnes.
A true soap icon has gone to heaven. Thanks for all the great memories on AMC and OLTL. Rest in peace, Dear Aggie
God bless Agnes’ soul and spirit, she brought joy and wonderful drama to the lives of countless fans of AMC and OLTL for many years. I still miss both of those soaps; they will always be my two favorite. My condolences to Agnes’ family and friends. Blessings to all.
The last of daytime’s biggest legends from tv’s golden era in soaps-1950s to the 1970s…i know she worked beyond the 70s but the best in writing and storytelling came from those years…sure the 80s and up to now had great moments too but the soaps golden era is those years i mentioned when most soaps were hot and at their best!!!
The news of Agnes Nixon’s passing is indeed sad…
Jimh, I have to echo your remarks regarding the “golden era in soaps.”
Yes…most shows were well written and high rated back then…it kept us tuning in tomorrow!!!
RIP, Agnes such a classy lady. Love You ;(
Agnes Nixon was a very talented lady, may she rest in peace. She was a very sassy, classy lady.
Sad news. Her life was well lives and she left many legacies. She providedthousands of hours of quality soap opera. I just wish there was another generation to take her place but sadly, there isn’t.
That’s the sad part about daytime writing legends such as Agnes Nixon. There are no up and comers to fill her shoes.
We will always be your soap children sweet lady and through our own real life to live we give thanks to the Lord for his teachings and his bright and guiding light which has helped you transition into another world . You taught us more about life , living and loving that any books or any teachers ever could have have had .
The daytime TV world will forever miss the beautiful Agnes Nixon, who passed away on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 at the age of 88 years old. Ms. Nixon created the iconic daytime soap operas All My Children, Loving, and One Life To Live. She was a person who contributed greatly to daytime television, and she made sure that the world of daytime television soap operas would always be a permanent part of the world. The daytime soap opera characters that she created such as Erica Kane, Phoebe Tyler, Victoria Lord Buchanan, and Trisha McKenzie helped make the world a beautiful place to enjoy and live! Thank you, Agnes Nixon, for making daytime TV a part of life which is always enriching and magnificent! Agnes Nixon, you will forever be missed. RIP Agnes Nixon.
Death is one of the most mysterious and fascinating parts of the human adventure.
Agnes will be entering a great journey.
No one is actually dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away…
When writers die they become books, which is, after all, not too bad an incarnation.
“Oh no!”, that’s exactly what I said to myself when I read this! She will definitely be missed.
It’s sad what was done to AMC in it’s final years and they kept her out of it until it was cancelled. ABC still hasn’t recovered from losing AMC and OLTL. I have a feeling she might still be alive if she didn’t lose her love AMC and the joy from working on it.
Such sad news. She had such a big impact as a writer. A lot of her writing was brilliant and she will be missed.
Heartbreaking. May she rest in peace.
Its not exactly heartbreaking. She was an 88 year old woman. That is a long full life. She left a great legacy of entertainment and education. It just bothers me when people go on about an old person dying as a tragedy…heartbreaking…unexpected….devastating…it is none of those things. It is sad when anyone dies, but it is not tragic or shocking.
While it’s not the same as a child or younger adult passing..it’s still the end of life. I don’t think ANYONE is ready to stop living unless they’re suffering. And it’s heartbreaking to one’s children…to anyone who lost the person..loved the person. Loss is heartbreaking…at any age.
It’s still sad, Dylan for goodness sake! Yes, she was elderly, but George Burns lived to be 100 – losing someone is always sad, but of course I understand it doesn’t match the enormity of losing a child or a considerably younger person.
Rest in peace, Ms. Nixon.
im heart is sad. ms nixon will be greatly missed. may she now RIP!!!! my thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends and all of her soap families!!!!!!
I am very sorry to hear this news. Agnes Nixon was a true gem and pioneer. She changed the face of daytime drama with our beloved One Life to Live and All My Children. Both programs featured characters and told stories relevant to the times while maintaining the romance and family ties traditions of the soap opera genre. We viewer are eternally grateful for her vision.
Thank you Mrs. Nixon for 40+ years of pure magic. May you rest in peace.
Very sad news I hope that one day her beloved soaps will return
Rest in Peace.
The best, the absolute best. She gave us all literally decades of great storytelling.
I miss her shows, miss her brilliance.
Rest in peace. Agnes was so talented and amazing. I grew up watching both one life to live and all my children, those two soaps became a part of my life! She will greatly missed!!! She bought so much joy, drama, sadness, and everything else into our homes for two hours five days a week.
I read somewhere that she wrote Another World and actually created the iconic Rachel Davis character in the 1960’s (?). I’m thinking she was credited with creating the Rachel-Steven-Alice triangle and Rachel was played by Robin Strasser, if I’m recalling the article correctly. The article went on to say that Nixon’s writing proved so sky-high ratings popular for NBC that later on in 1970 (?) ABC gave her free license to create a new soap which turned out to be All My Childten and the Erica character thereto has been said to bear a striking resemblance to Another World’s Rachel.
Thats all true…but Erica was the inspiration for Rachel…she had written a story bible for AMC but at the time ABC passed but did agree to OLTL,…anyway, while writing for AW on NBC, Agnes created Rachel using ideas from the story bible’s Erica!!! When Another World ratings risen dramatically, ABC had Agnes to create a soap for them but instead of AMC they had her create another soap and OLTL was born…with that success then came AMC!!!
Not quite. It was P and G who passed on AMC. When AW sky rocketed ABC asked her to create a soap. Assuming AMC was no good she created One Life. When ABC asked for another one her husband said she should submit the AMC bible.
Well, Eric..ABC passed on it due to contract issues due to some sponsor of a show AMC would replace…later AbC wanted her to create a soap with a more contemporary tone and that was OLTL…with that shows success AbC gave the go ahead for AMC…so im correct!!!..
ok, i just googled Agnes and it verifies that it was ABC and not P&G…
The chronology I’ve read is that PG backed Agnes and AMC as early as 66, but both CBS and NBC turned them down, so she set that aside to start work on OLTL-while finishing up as AW’s head writer. She shopped OLTL on her own, but ABC and Colgate-Palmolive were looking for a soap, so they took a flier on OLTL. Once OLTL proved to be a hit, ABC asked her to create another one. Ironically, she was having writers’ block until her husband reminded her that she had AMC locked and ready to rock, so she presented AMC to them. And the rest is history…
By the way, Rachel Davis was the rough draft for Erica Kane, Agnes stated this many times…
At any rate, a great lady was lost. RIP Agnes, we tried to get em back for you, we really did
A true talent and icon…. RIP Agnes.
Quite simply the greatest of all time. RIP Ms. Nixon.
Goodbye to one of the best soap creators in America! God bless her soul!
R.I.P. Agnes Nixon
RIP. One of a kind. Thank you for all your wonderful stories. I watched All My Children off and on, but One Life to Live from beginning to end. We have lost a great one.
Me too Barb T. I watched our beloved One Life to Live from the very first episode until the last online episode. And I still miss the wonderful citizens of Llanview, PA to this day.
Rest in Peace, you will be missed and your legacy will live forever with your fans.
“The Great and the Least,
The Rich and the Poor,
The Weak and the Strong,
In Sickness and in Health,
In Joy and Sorrow,
In Tragedy and Triumph,
You are ALL MY CHILDREN.”
Rest In Peace, dear Agnes.
”’The Rich and the Poor”’
Did AMC have ”poor” people?
No soap has poor people ..
This was the saying Agnes used at the beginning of All My Children.
There were people on soaps that werent rich
OLTL had Carla Vega who owned the diner. She was not quite middle class…I think at some point Dorian either gave her a job or money. On AMC I think Erica Kane’s mom, Mona was working class…don’t remember. But, not everyone was from a wealthy family.
I don’t know what to say, rest in peace is hardly enough for someone who inspired me, didn’t just write soaps but MADE them, and groundbreaking storylines, unforgettable characters, and moments that will stay with me forever. She inspires me to get to my full potential, whatever it is, thank you Agnes:)
Another legend in the entertainment field gone…the end of an era. Ms. Nixon will be remembered and credited for posterity in the pages of television history for her amazing contribution and vision for daytime. Sad news…
This is terrible news for daytime. Her passing reminds me of what is wrong with the genre today. It lacks new blood and that is a death nail to Its survival.
Rip Agnes I saw this sad news before bed by chance watching my local abc news. How ironic is that I see this news after this morning making up a story in my mind on my way to see the first lady Michelle Obama about Agnes talking with the public on today’s current state of affairs and how she would have such material for a new update on one life to live and the everyday lives on those colourfull people in Llanville pa. Indeed the story never ends and I will never let it end aswell and as long as we all keep the genre of story telling alive with diversity in day time for all walks of live. That is what a learned first and foremost from Agnes…RIP
*life *I
This is indeed sad news. But on the bright side, she has left us all with a rich legacy that despite the network’s decision to no longer air her shows, will never die in our hearts. Rest in Peace, Agnes. Thank you for these wonderful worlds you’ve created for us to visit.
Very sad to hear this!
RIP Agnes
so very sad -this women is iconic -graceful and dignified -All My Children will forever be one of my all time favorite things to have watched on TV -RIP Dear lady Thank you for the years of entertainment -and for the one and only Erica.
Thanks for sharing your creativity with all the world.
Your flair for story telling was unsurpassed in our lifetime.
It is true we only have One Life To Live, and you lived it well.
RIP
thanks for the memories, Agnes. God bless.
Rest in peace Agnes. No doubt you are enjoying your reunion with Francis Heflin (Mona Kane), Ruth Warrick (Phoebe Tyler Wallingford), James Mitchell (Palmer Cortland), David Canary (Adam/Stuart Chandler), Eileen Herlie (Myrtle Fargate), Larkin Malloy (Travis Montgomery), and Matthew Cowles (Billy) who have gone before you to the after liife.
She was a beautiful woman who brought a lot of happiness to many people, including some of my relatives.
R.I.P., Agnes Nixon.
There was, quite simply, no woman in the television writing world like Agnes.
The majority of those writing specifically for soaps in this century can only hope to come close to the quality and quantity of Ms Nixon’s stories. There are so few real surprises in soaps’ stories nowadays, likely because Agnes Nixon and Bill Bell had already written the originals. We mourn the loss of these supremely creative people, then for Mr. Bell, and now for Ms Nixon. May they both rest in peace, hopefully with the knowledge that their stories entertained millions over the decades. We’ll always miss them.
I’m 18 years old now and remember my years as a child watching One Life To live with my mother. Still my favorite show ever til this date. The show gave me lots of time to think and be entertained by amazing stories. The characters were like family and the show gave me time to spend with my own mother and father in real life. One Life To Live taught me many valuable lessons and the show will forever be in my heart. I hope to be able to show old episodes of it to my own children. For all of this I am truly saddened to hear of Mrs. Nixon’s passing. But I truly from the bottom of my heart thank her for her contributions to the world she made through her story telling. Agnes Nixon was truly a credit to the human race. God bless her and her family <3
What a loss to the soap world. Agnes Nixon had her hand in so many soaps, As The World Turns, Guiding Light, Another World, One Life To Live, All My Cildren, And Loving. She single handedly changed soaps, by integrating them, creating soaps that reflected the world we live in. She will be missed.
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