Irna Phillips

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Irna Phillips: the woman behind TV's longest running soap opera

Gwen

Creating a wildly popular soap opera full of sensational family drama might be the last thing we’d expect of a nice Jewish woman in 1950’s America, but Irna Phillips proved us wrong! Fifty-eight years ago today, her soap opera Guiding Light first went on the air. The show had already been a successful radio drama since 1937, and it would run until 2009, making it the longest running TV drama in history.

Topics: Television

Irna Phillips produces "The Guiding Light" on TV

June 30, 1952

The Guiding Light debuted on CBS television on June 30, 1952.

Irna Phillips

Irna Phillips created hugely popular soap operas for radio and television and introduced plotlines that shaped the format of many soaps that followed.

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