Best Soap Writers of All-Time
They are bold, creative, and controversial in their approach to storytelling in the genre. Many who are on the list are no longer with us but they were able to pave the way for talent coming after them. This is pretty much a solid list, so I doubt I will be adding more. Enjoy the list.
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- Writer
- Producer
- Actress
Agnes Nixon was born on 10 December 1922 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for All My Children (1970), One Life to Live (1968) and Loving (1983). She was married to Robert Henry Adolphus Nixon. She died on 28 September 2016 in Pennsylvania, USA.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Claire Labine was born on 28 June 1934 in Jacksonville, Florida, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for Ryan's Hope (1975), General Hospital (1963) and Guiding Light (1952). She was married to Roland A. Labine Jr. She died on 11 November 2016 in Somers, Connecticut, USA.- Writer
- Actor
Douglas Marland was born on 5 May 1935 in West Sand Lake, New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Guiding Light (1952), As the World Turns (1956) and Another World (1964). He died on 8 March 1993 in New York City, New York, USA.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
William J. Bell was born on 6 March 1927 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for The Young and the Restless (1973), Days of Our Lives (1965) and The Bold and the Beautiful (1987). He was married to Lee Phillip Bell. He died on 29 April 2005 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Harding Lemay was born on 16 March 1922 in North Bangor, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Another World (1964), Guiding Light (1952) and The Doctors (1963). He was married to Dorothy LeMay. He died on 26 May 2018.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Irna Phillips was born on 1 July 1901 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was a writer and producer, known for Days of Our Lives (1965), The Brighter Day (1954) and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (1967). She died on 23 December 1973 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Robert Guza Jr. is known for General Hospital (1963), Santa Barbara (1984) and Melanie (1982). He was previously married to Meg Bennett.- Hogan Sheffer was born on 12 June 1958 in York, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a writer, known for As the World Turns (1956), The Young and the Restless (1973) and Days of Our Lives (1965). He died on 28 September 2019 in York, Pennsylvania, USA.
- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Sheri Anderson Thomas is known for Days of Our Lives (1965), Santa Barbara (1984) and General Hospital (1963).- Writer
- Producer
Ron Carlivati is known for Days of Our Lives (1965), One Life to Live (1968) and General Hospital (1963). He has been married to David Rogal since 2 August 2020.- Writer
- Actress
- Producer
Priscilla Kay Alden was born October 24, 1946 in Hutchinson, Kansas. She got her Bachelor in education in 1967 at Emporia State University in Kansas and a Master's degree in speech and theatre in 1969 from Missouri State University as Alden strived to be a teacher. Eventually becoming a multiple award winning writer for daytime dramas on CBS, it all started with Alden's Communication Arts dissertation for her Ph.D. at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Encouraged by her college advisers to write about dead people because their body of work is complete, Kay instead decided to write about her passion, soap operas, hooked on since age twelve. The dissertation title was "Daytime Serials as Mediators of Social Change" and as part of her research Alden took the bold step to contact - then on-the-rise writer - William J. Bell. Alden was invited to Bell's home on Chicago's Lake Shore Drive and a requested 45 minute interview turned into 2 1/2 hours. Bell took a liking on the student's sharp mind and asked her to turn in sample scripts for his new soap-opera The Young and the Restless (1973) for which he paid the student 50 Dollars. After months of type-writing at home and sending sample scripts back and forth, Bell officially hired Alden as a script-writer and her career started on May 13, 1974. When The Young and The Restless expanded to an hour length in 1980, Alden switched over to the newly created position of breakdown writer on the show, breaking up Bell's weekly and long-term story projections into daily story-arcs, and served as script editor from 1983-1985 and 1986-1987. As the writing staff expanded once again when William J. Bell launched sister-show The Bold and the Beautiful (1987) Alden became associate head writer in 1987. Long since considered Bill Bell's protégé and groomed by the now legendary master of daytime drama story-telling, Alden was officially named co-head writer in 1997 before Bell handed Y&R over to her entirely in summer of 1998. Alden's initial reign as head-writer was well-received by fans and critics alike, creating the extremely popular Glow by Jabot-Kids-storyline amongst many others. A staple of her writing were social impact storylines, e.g. about cancer and homelessness. Backstage struggles with long-time producer Edward Scott had little influence on Alden's work who remained in the position of head-writer (alone or with John F. Smith and Trent Jones respectively) until February 2006 when Lynn Marie Latham took over as Y&R's ratings (as well as all other soap operas and television in general) had suffered drastic declines in viewership for several years. Alden continued to remain onboard as co-head writer but eventually left Y&R after a record 32 years of service in December 2006. Alden was hired by Brian Frons, then-president of ABC Daytime, to consult on its serials 'All My Children (1970)_ and _One Life to Live (1968)_. She left ABC Daytime after declining All My Children's head writer position in Spring 2007 (for undisclosed reasons), and returned to the Bell family fold to work on another CBS Daytime drama. She was hired by Bill Bell's son Bradley Bell in May 2007 to be an associate head writer for The Bold and the Beautiful. After undergoing financial core status during the writer's strike of 2008 - which caused her to lose her voting rights in the guild - she served as defacto head-writer and, after the strike was over, Alden was appointed co-head writer of B&B. A position which she held until October 2013. In the long course of her career, Alden has won 5 Daytime Emmy Awards (including 2 when she served as head writer) and 2 Writer's Guild Awards. Alden never really moved to the West Coast where her scripts were brought to life, although two of her three children had minor roles as child actors on Y&R. Alden has been married for decades to esteemed Chicagoan business man Vernon Nelson, her high school sweetheart whom she met again 15 years after their graduation. They share three adult children: Constance Conci Nelson, John Nelson-Alden and Noah Nelson.- Writer
- Producer
Donna Swajeski is known for Guiding Light (1952), All My Children (1970) and Another World (1964). She has been married to Michael Opelka since 29 February 1992.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Jerome Dobson is known for Santa Barbara (1984), Guiding Light (1952) and As the World Turns (1956). He was previously married to Bridget Dobson.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Bridget Dobson was born on 1 September 1938 in Thiensville, Wisconsin. She was a writer and producer, known for Santa Barbara (1984), Guiding Light (1952) and General Hospital (1963). She was married to Jerome Dobson. She died on 3 January 2024 in Georgia, USA.- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Michael Malone was born on 22 November 1942 in Durham, North Carolina, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for One Life to Live (1968), Another World (1964) and 13 Bourbon St. (1997). He was married to Maureen Quilligan. He died on 19 August 2022 in Clinton, Connecticut, USA.- Writer
- Additional Crew
Patricia Falken Smith was born on 21 January 1926 in Minnesota, USA. Patricia Falken was a writer, known for Days of Our Lives (1965), General Hospital (1963) and Where the Heart Is (1969). Patricia Falken was married to Jack Fleischman. Patricia Falken died on 19 May 2001 in Van Nuys, California, USA.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
James E. Reilly was born on 15 July 1948 in Bountiful, Utah, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Guiding Light (1952), Days of Our Lives (1965) and Passions (1999). He died on 12 October 2008 in New York City, New York, USA.- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
Born in Chicago on June 29, 1964, Bradley Phillip Bell is one of three children born to legendary television pioneers, Lee Phillip Bell, an Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist and talk show personality, and the late Emmy Award- winning William J. Bell who created of the most popular daytime dramas ever. After graduating from the Chicago Latin School, Bradley Bell attended the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and concluded his studies at UCLA, majoring in television production.
Beginning in 1984 Bradley Bell started his career in writing. Taught by his father and serving as an unofficial member of the writing staff of The Young and the Restless (1973) writing breakdowns and scripts, Bell was integral in the creation and launch of The Bold and the Beautiful (1987). After serving on the writing team since the first episode, Bell was promoted to associate producer in 1989 and again to supervising producer in 1992. He took the reins from his father and became head writer in 1993 - after an extended 6-month trial co-written by his dad in 1992 - and then executive producer in 1995. He has remained in those positions ever since - amassing to one of the longest tenures in television. It wasn't until 2000 that Bradley Bell received his first Daytime Emmy Award nomination. By 2015, he has been awarded with three Emmys (2010, 2013, 2015) for his writing amongst 11 nominations and took home three statues for helming the Best Drama Series in a record three consecutive years (2009, 2010, 2011) amongst 9 nominations in addition to two Emmy wins in other categories.
Under Bell's leadership, The Bold And The Beautiful vaulted from the sixth-rated daytime drama to the third-ranked series during the 1992-1993 season. Today, the show is firmly established as the second-highest-ranked daytime serial only behind its sister show The Young and the Restless in the United States amassing now-stable viewership numbers of around 4 million viewers every day. The show continues to be a worldwide phenomenon in such diverse markets as Italy, Australia or South Africa. Bell has continued with his father's tradition of story-telling whilst adding an edge and glamor to his show as writer and kept an extremely stable production and behind-the-scenes-staff resulting in a stunning 21st century look with regular locations shoots (around the globe) and permanent outdoors sets on the studio-lot on a very much stream-lined filming schedule. On January 14, 2015 CBS Television City, celebrating 7000 episodes of The Bold and The Beautiful, dedicated Studio 31 - home of the show since it's inception in 1987 - to Bell in honor of his work.
Bell has been married to fellow Chicagoan Colleen Bell since October 1991, and is the proud father of Bradley Chasen, Caroline Catherine, Charlotte Cordelia and Oliver Phillip.- Writer
- Actress
- Producer
Pamela K. Long is a multiple Emmy Award winning writer, Executive Producer, and former Miss Alabama. Born in Shreveport Louisiana and raised in Huntsville Alabama, Pamela got her start as an actress on the NBC soap "Texas" where she starred as Ashley Linden. NBC quickly recognized Pam's talent for writing and in an unprecedented move, offered Pamela the Headwriting job, making Pamela the youngest Headwriter in Daytime history. The youngest Headwriter made her mark however with the oldest show in network history, "Guiding Light" for CBS, creating such memorable and lasting characters as the Lewis family and "Reva Shayne", (played by 5 time Emmy winner, Kim Zimmer) taking the venerable soap to #1 in the ratings in the heyday of 40 share Daytime dominance. Pamela's talents were quickly recognized in Prime Time Network television and she moved on to produce and write the highly regarded "Christy" for CBS, winning the Templeton Prize for her writing of "The Hunt" with star, Tyne Daly winning her second Emmy for the same script. Partnered with Brandon Tartikoff, Pam got her own Prime Time show with "Second Noah" airing on ABC for two seasons and was the Creator and sole Executive Producer. Pamela went on to Executive Produce and write MTV's hit scripted drama, "Undressed" and was the lead consultant on all MTV's scripted shows. Pam wrote and Executive Produced the action film "The Last Patrol" for Artisan and the television movie, "Her Hidden Truth" for NBC. Pamela also wrote and Executive Produced "Twice In a Lifetime" for Pax Network. Pamela has recently returned to television with the smash hit, "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors" for NBC serving as writer and Executive Producer.- Writer
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Sally Sussman is known for The Young and the Restless (1973), Midnight Return: The Story of Billy Hayes and Turkey (2016) and Days of Our Lives (1965).- Writer
- Script and Continuity Department
- Additional Crew
Lorraine Broderick is known for All My Children (1970), Days of Our Lives (1965) and Guiding Light (1952). She is married to Ronald Delehanty.- Christopher Whitesell is known for As the World Turns (1956), Days of Our Lives (1965) and One Life to Live (1968).
- Writer
- Producer
Melissa Salmons is known for Guiding Light (1952), As the World Turns (1956) and Days of Our Lives (1965).- Leah Laiman is known for As the World Turns (1956), Days of Our Lives (1965) and General Hospital (1963).
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Michael Minnis is known for The Young and the Restless (1973) and The Bold and the Beautiful (1987).- Stephen Demorest is known for Guiding Light (1952), As the World Turns (1956) and General Hospital (1963). He is married to Nancy Curlee. They have three children.
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Gary Tomlin was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. He is known for Search for Tomorrow (1951), One Life to Live (1968) and General Hospital (1963).- Richard Culliton is known for Days of Our Lives (1965), As the World Turns (1956) and Guiding Light (1952). He is married to Carolyn Culliton.
- Writer
- Actress
Betty Louise Foss was born during the final days of World War I in Alameda, California as the country plagued by a flu epidemic. Within six weeks, her mother died, her father had a nervous breakdown, and relatives passed her care around. As babies were thought to draw the deadly flu, Betty was eventually placed in a San Francisco orphanage where she was later adopted by Scottish immigrants William and Jessie Harrower and raised in Berkeley and Los Angeles. During the Great Depression her adoptive father's salary was cut in half and her adoptive mother decided to take Betty out of school and off to Hollywood to begin an acting career. After trying out several alter egos in the hopes of making an impression on someone in the industry, Betty Foss eventually settled on the identity of Elizabeth Harrower. Elizabeth Harrower appeared in Becky Sharp (1935), the first feature-length color film in 1935. She would continue to appear in hundreds of radio, television, film and stage productions over the next decades, most notably True Grit (1969). In 1942, Harrower married Harry Seabold, an Air Force cadet she had met in fifth grade. Their daughter, actress Susan Seaforth Hayes, was born in 1943. Her husband was called into war even before that and the marriage subsequently did not last. By the 1970s Elizabeth Harrower had met soap opera scribe William J. Bell and she would eventually start her writing career and became head writer of Days of Our Lives (1965) from 1979-1980. She went on to write for Bell's The Young and the Restless (1973) in the 1980s. Her last writing stint was on the short-lived soap opera Generations (1989) in 1991. In 2003, already while taking chemotherapy she had a prominent limited run as Charlotte Ramsey on The Young and the Restless (1973). She died shortly thereafter at age 85.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Sri Rao is a writer, director, and producer in New York City. He is an established television screenwriter in a first-look deal (September 2022) with Netflix where his company is developing a slate of shows across genres. His global hit series The Fame Game, starring Bollywood superstar Madhuri Dixit, debuted on Netflix in 2022 among the Top 10 most-watched shows in twenty countries around the world. Sri served as creator, showrunner, writer, and lead director of The Fame Game. Sri is also the author of Bollywood Kitchen: Home-Cooked Indian Meals Paired With Unforgettable Bollywood Films (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), and starred in The Geffen Playhouse adaptation of the book.