Last year on October 24, 2020, Luke and Laura celebrated their 40th Anniversary on General Hospital. What? you say. You thought their wedding anniversary was…
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Leona G. Barad
Leona G. Barad grew up watching soaps at her mother’s knee in the 1970s. By the time she graduated with a B.A. in Communications, Leona was a soap opera historian and dedicated collector.
Leona’s first foray into the soap opera industry was as an intern at General Hospital. Soon after, she became the Historian/Researcher for CBS TV’s 50 Years of Soaps: An All-Star Celebration, which aired in 1994. Leona also began writing freelance articles for Soap Opera Magazine and SoapCity.com and she contributed to a book of humorous soap opera lines called Soap Dish.
Leona spent over a decade working in research and production for numerous television specials about the history of the medium, including Inside TV Land, Behind The Laughs, TV’s Greatest Performances, TV Laughs at Life, and Before They Were Stars. She also spent a few years working as a researcher for the Daytime Emmys and Soap Opera Awards. Later, Leona worked in the research department of Entertainment Tonight and The Insider. She now joins Soap Hub as a Contributing Writer, specializing in the history of soaps.
Read moreSpecial Report: Insiders Share How and Why Soaps Evolved Over Time Part 2
In the first installment about how soaps evolved, the standard length of soaps was discussed as was its migration from radio to TV. In this…
General Hospital 41 Years Ago: Luke and Laura at Wyndhams
What were you doing 41 years ago? If you were like millions of soap opera fans, you were glued to General Hospital. Read on to…
Guiding Light Moments in History: The Fantasies of Nola Reardon
Nola Reardon was a devious, conniving, nasty girl. However, she was played by a talented actress, Lisa Brown, whom Guiding Light wasn’t about to let…
Exclusive Interview: Catching Up With Another World’s Anna Holbrook
Anna Holbrook caught the attention of Another World fans when she began playing the role of Sharlene Frame in 1988. Although the actress didn’t create…
Exclusive Interview: The Young and the Restless Alum Julianna McCarthy
When The Young and the Restless debuted in 1973, it was the wealthy Brooks and blue-collar Foster families that drove the storylines. Newmans and Abbotts…
Soap Opera Families We Miss: Ryan’s Hope’s Ryan Family
All one needed to do was look at the title of this soap opera to find what was at its core – family; the Ryan…
One Life To Live Creator Wanted Viewers To Examine Their Prejudices
In 1968, One Life to Live forced its viewers to examine their prejudices by presenting a daring and revolutionary story. Carla Benari, a white woman…
The History of Procter & Gamble’s Soap Opera Involvement: Part Two
The story of soap opera, from its beginnings on radio through the success of television, is very closely associated with the Procter & Gamble name. It’s…
The History of Procter & Gamble’s Soap Opera Involvement: Part One
The story of soap opera, from its beginnings on radio through the success of television, is very closely associated with the Procter & Gamble name.…
Special Report: The Evolution of the Soap Opera Press and A Look To The Future
Soap operas had been around for nearly 40 years before anyone started seriously writing about them. There would be an article here or there or…
General Hospital Remembered As Cultural Phenomenon By Those Who Were There
The culmination of General Hospital’s incredible success occurred on November 16 and 17, 1981, when Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis) were married. No…
A Buying Guide for Your Soap Opera Book Collection
There was a time when soap operas were not considered a topic worthy of serious discussion, let alone a book. There might be an article…
One Life To Live Moments In History: Karen Wolek On The Witness Stand
The best soap opera storylines contain moments that fans remember forever. When One Life to Live killed off villain Marco Dane (Gerald Anthony) in 1978,…
Soap Opera Families We Miss: Days of our Lives’ Anderson Family
The Hortons have always been Days of our Lives’ first family. But long before the Bradys, the DiMeras, or the Kiriakis clans became regular Salemites,…
Soap Opera Families We Miss: As The World Turns’ Hughes Family
From the very beginning, when Chris and Nancy Hughes wished each other “good morning,” soap opera viewers knew that the Hughes family was the heart…
Liederkranz Hall: The Studio Address of Many Legendary Soap Operas
Warner Brothers. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Paramount Pictures. 20th Century Fox. Liederkranz Hall. The first four are well-known studios that brought some of the most famous moving pictures…
Harding Lemay: The Education of A Writer Into A Soap Opera Legend
Harding Lemay is regarded as one of soap opera’s greatest writers, and his work on Another World in the 1970s is arguably some of daytime’s…
Exclusive: Catching Up With Daytime Emmy Winner, Soap Vet Gregg Marx
Gregg Marx’s first foray into the soap world was as a member of the Horton family on Days of our Lives. He took over the…
The History of Procter & Gamble’s Soap Opera Involvement: Part Three
The story of soap opera, from its beginnings on radio through the success of television, is very closely associated with the Procter & Gamble name. But…
Soap Opera Families We Miss: Santa Barbara’s Powerful Capwell Family
When Santa Barbara premiered in 1984, it was a different kind of soap opera. Sure, it had all the features of a typical soap: personal…
Soap Families We Miss: The Young and the Restless’ Brooks Family
The Young and the Restless premiered in 1973 and featured families and characters that today’s viewers might not know. The first family of YR was…
Exclusive Interview: The Edge of Night’s Raven — Sharon Rose Gabet
Sharon Rose Gabet took over the part of Raven Alexander on The Edge of Night in 1977 and made the role her own. She wound…
Special Report: Insiders Share How and Why Soaps Evolved Over Time Part 1
The first soap operas on radio were 15 minutes long. That was the standard length of soaps, even when they transferred to television. Irna Phillips,…
Catching Up With Michael O’Leary — Dr. Rick Bauer from Guiding Light
Michael O’Leary took over the role of Frederick “Rick” Bauer on Guiding Light in 1983 and turned him into a beloved character that became indelibly…
The Young and the Restless: The Singing Soap
In the heat of a dramatic moment, the male lead breaks out into song. His female companion joins him in a duet. This may sound…
Catching Up With Former Wanda From One Life To Live — Marilyn Chris
Fans of One Life To Live fell in love with Marilyn Chris when she introduced the lovable character of Wanda Webb to Llanview back in…
Another World Scandal: George Reinholt and Jacqueline Courtney Fired
One of daytime’s biggest scandals occurred on Another World in 1975 when actors George Reinholt and Jacqueline Courtney were unceremoniously fired from the show they…
Irna Phillips: Actors and Co-Workers Give Insight Into The Mother of Soap Opera
When Irna Phillips was at the height of her career, she controlled an empire that would be considered astonishing today. But what makes her story…