Welcome
to the first day of May...or May Day, as some would like to call it.
As it so happens, May 1st happens to fall smack dab in the
middle of BEST FRIENDS WEEK.
Today's look back through time happens to be quite recent, but I
couldn't think of a better subject to focus on in regards to the
spirit of the day.
(No,
seriously, May 1st
may have had a lot of significant events associated with it, but only
one that I could find seemed to work with the theme of the day.)
We'll
get to that a little bit later, but right now, why don't we do a
little retrospective of some of the significant happenings of the
beginning of May, shall we?
305
– Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor
1707
– The Act of Union joins the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of
Scotland together to form the Kingdom of Great Britain
1751
– The first cricket match is played in America
1759
– Josiah Wedgwood founds Wedgwood Pottery Company
1786
– Opening night of opera “The Marriage of Figaro” by Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart in Vienna, Austria
1840
– The “Penny Black”, the first adhesive postage stamp created,
is issued in Great Britain
1844
– Asia's first modern police force is established in Hong Kong
1852
– Philippine peso is introduced as currency
1884
– Moses Fleetwood Walker becomes first black person to play in a
professional game of baseball in the United States
1900
– Scofield mining disaster; 200 men lose their lives in the fifth
worst mining disaster in United States history
1915
– RMS Lusitania departs New York City to set sail across the
Atlantic. Six days later, the ship would sink after being torpedoed
off the coast of Ireland, killing almost twelve hundred people
1930
– Pluto, a dwarf planet, was
officially named, only for it to lose its planetary status eight
decades later
1931
– The Empire State Building is officially dedicated
1940
– The 1940 Summer Olympics are cancelled due to World War II
1956
– Polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk becomes available to public
1971
– Amtrak takes over operation of U.S. Passenger rail service
1982
– 1982 World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee begins
1989
– Disney-MGM Studios opens at Walt Disney World
1991
– Two baseball records set on this date; Rickey Henderson steals
939th
base, and Nolan Ryan pitches his seventh career no-hitter
1994
– Three-time Formula One
racer Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident at the San Marino Grand
Prix
2003
– U.S. President George W. Bush declares “major combat operations
in Iraq have ended”
2011
– U.S. President Barack Obama announces the death of 9/11
mastermind Osama bin Laden (bin Laden was actually killed on May 2,
but due to the time difference, North America heard the news the
night of May 1)
So,
that's quite a lot of news happening on this day in history, but none
of it felt appropriate for Best Friends Week.
Looking
at the list of celebrity birthdays today, I didn't have much better
luck. But, a very happy birthday to the following famous people
today; Judy Collins, Rita Coolidge, John Woo, Paul Teutel Sr, Dann
Florek, Ray Parker Jr, Charlie Schlatter, Tim McGraw, Darius McCrary,
and Farah Fath.
So,
the only other possibility that I could think of was to see if
someone passed away on May 1st.
Someone who left behind a long-standing legacy in the world of pop
culture and entertainment. Someone who best fit the theme of BEST
FRIENDS WEEK.
And,
after doing some research (which included talking to my mother about
it, as today's feature happens to be based on the soap opera she
watched religiously for the show's entire run), I think I have come
up with a topic.
Today
we're going back just a couple of years to May 1, 2010.
On
May 1, 2010, the daytime community said farewell to a legend.
Many
of you reading this blog might not know the name Helen
Wagner, but she had a career
that most actresses only dream of. And perhaps the role that she was
most famous for was that of Nancy Hughes, matriarch of the Hughes
family on the long-running daytime drama “As The World Turns”.
Sadly,
neither Helen Wagner, nor the show that made her a star are with us
today. The show that Wagner starred in was cancelled just five
months after her passing, in September 2010. But, Helen Wagner's
contributions to the program were nothing short of extraordinary, and
when I was studying up on it, her time with the show was quite an
interesting piece of history that was begging to be explored more.
Helen
Wagner was born on September 3, 1918 in the community of Lubbock,
Texas. Although I couldn't find a whole lot on her early life before
she got the role of a lifetime, I did find out a few things. She
married her husband, Robert Willey, in 1954, and the marriage lasted
four decades before his death in 2004. And prior to joining “As
The World Turns”, Wagner had acted on several soap operas. She
played Trudy Bauer on the soap opera “Guiding Light” in 1952 (the
same year the show transitioned from radio to television). She also
had a role in the shorter-lived serial “Valiant Lady”, as well as
guest appearances in such programs as “The World Of Mr. Sweeney”,
“Mister Peepers”, and “Inner Sanctum”.
But
it wasn't until 1956 that Wagner would land the role that made her a
household name for fifty-four years. On April 2, 1956, two new
daytime serials debuted on CBS. One was “The Edge Of Night”.
The
other one was “As The World Turns”.
Helen
Wagner was cast as Nancy Hughes. She was 37 years old when she was
cast in the program. She also held a rather interesting claim to
fame when the show debuted. It was Nancy Hughes who spoke the first
line ever on “As The World Turns”.
TRIVIA:
That line was “Good morning, dear. What would you like for
breakfast?”
Who
knew that simple line would be the beginning of a record-breaking
career?
The
thing with Nancy Hughes was that her character was never really
involved in the more scandalous storylines that “As The World
Turns” was known for. In fact, Wagner herself admitted that Nancy
was more or less a “tentpole character”, who listened and
counselled other characters about how to handle their own conflicts,
rather than get involved in them herself. But, that was fine with
Wagner.
Nancy
spent most of her time in the fictional Oakdale, Illinois as a
housewife, married to her husband Christopher, and raising their
children together. In her later years, she worked as a volunteer at
the hospital where her son, Dr. Bob Hughes, worked at the chief of
staff.
Certainly,
Nancy's impact on the citizens of Oakdale was immense, and a lot of
it was due to the actress portraying her. But, would you believe
that she was almost fired six months into her stint on “As The
World Turns”?
It
seems hard to believe, especially since the reason appears to be so
petty now, but show creator Irna Phillips was not pleased with the
performance of Wagner, and sacked her on the spot.
The
reason? Phillips didn't like the way that Wagner was pouring the
coffee.
Now,
I suppose this might have been a great reason to fire someone if they
worked at a Starbucks or Tim Hortons...but on a soap opera set? It
seems ridiculous, right? But Phillips insisted that Wagner be
released, because of it. Her argument was that Wagner wasn't
bringing enough believability to the role, and she said that it was
an important task for a character who provided a sympathetic ear and
a shoulder on which to cry on.
Are
you buying this? I certainly don't. And thankfully for Wagner, fans
didn't buy the explanation either, and she was subsequently rehired
shortly after.
A
few years later, Helen Wagner found herself on the backburner again
when she and Don McLaughlin (who played Nancy's first husband,
Christopher Hughes until his death in 1986) were let go from the show
in the early 1980s by a producer who wanted to focus on the younger
cast. Once again, Wagner voiced her displeasure, stating that she
had only been given one line in a three-month period.
It
wasn't because of health reasons either. Many sources state that
Nancy Wagner was in peak physical condition for most of the time she
appeared on “As The World Turns”. It all basically came down to
storylines...or lack there of.
Despite
this though, Nancy did end up having a few big storylines of her own,
and she was brought back to the show in spurts over the next few
decades. Losing her first husband was a devastating blow for her,
but she knocked her scenes out of the park. Then when her second
husband, Dan McClosky, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in late
1993, Wagner showcased just what talent she had as an actress in
scenes that I've pointed out below this paragraph.
Even
as late as 2006, Nancy Hughes found herself caught in the middle of a
mystery after a novel entitled “Oakdale Confidential” surfaced in
stores, which spilled secrets about some long-standing characters of
the show.
TRIVIA:
That book was actually printed and sold in bookstores all across the
United States right around the time the storyline was airing.
Now,
I bet you're asking yourselves. What does this have to do with the
subject of friendship? It's quite simple, really.
Although
I can't really relate to this, I imagine that some of you might be
able to. How many times have you dropped by someone's house for a
cup of coffee and a chat about various subjects?
Well,
for the citizens of Oakdale, Nancy Hughes was that friend.
Nancy
Hughes would always be available for anyone. She gave out some great
advice over the years, whether it be about taking a new job, helping
someone who was having marital problems, or in the case of this
Thanksgiving themed clip, helping someone get over losing a loved
one.
Even
on Helen Wagner's final appearance on “As The World Turns” (which
aired exactly one month after her passing), she was doling out advice
to the characters of Allison, Casey, and Katie. You can watch her
final scenes below.
I
think that's why so many people loved Nancy Hughes. She was always
there to lend a helping hand no matter who they were, or how big the
problem was. And that was to the credit of the actress playing her.
Many
critics at the peak of Wagner's fame in playing the role of Nancy
Hughes praised her portrayal. In 1984, Melinda Henneberger, of the
New York Times described Nancy Hughes (and Helen Wagner) as an “icon
for a generation of women”, and that she was “Donna Reed with
real problems in the days before soap characters traveling through
time, engaged in espionage, or almost routinely were reunited with
evil twins.”
Jason
Bonderoff, managing editor of Soap Opera Digest, agreed, stating that
Wagner was “daytime's answer to Angela Lansbury”. And after
Wagner's death, New York Times reporter Dennis Hevesi stated that
“Ms. Wagner's Nancy lasted (as long as she did) precisely because
she remained solid; she wouldn't join the country club because she
considered it elitist, and insisted on cleaning her house because she
felt uncomfortable being bossy.”
Now,
to some of you reading this, these might seem like negative
qualities, but I don't see it as such. Nancy was happy just being
herself. She was happy to do what she wanted to do because it
brought her joy. It was also a testament to Nancy's character as
well.
After
all, Helen Wagner said it best when describing Nancy in an interview.
“The show today may be very au courant, but Nancy isn't, which is
a good thing – her values are still about honesty, integrity, and
courtesy.”
The
very qualities that make up a long-lasting, fulfilling friendship,
might I add.
It's
been almost two years since “As The World Turns” ended, and
exactly two years since we lost Helen Wagner to cancer at the age of
91. But, Wagner's legacy lives on. Her role on “As The World
Turns” earned her a record in the Guinness Book of World Records
for being the longest serving character played by one actress on
television, appearing in some 19,700 scenes between April 1956 and
June 2010. And, in 2004, Helen Wagner was rewarded for all her hard
work with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Daytime Emmy Awards.
Just
before the show ended, “As The World Turns” dedicated two
episodes of the program to Helen Wagner, as the character of Nancy
Hughes passed away on the show. You should look up both of these
episodes on YouTube and watch them because I think the show did a
great job in honouring both Nancy and Helen Wagner.
One
bittersweet moment as we close this look back on May 1, 2010. The
show's cancellation was announced in April 2010, and writers and
producers had always intended for Nancy to have the final line in the
series (since she had spoken the first), but she passed away before
that was to happen. So, when the series finally ended on September
17, 2010, it was Bob Hughes who uttered the final words of the
series. Those words?
“Good
night.”
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