Dan Wakefield, Author Of ‘All Her Children: The Making of a Soap Opera,’ Died At 91

Dan Wakefield, the creator of the TV series James at 15 and author of Starting Over, which was made into a movie starring Burt Reynolds, Jill Clayburgh, and Candice Bergen, has died at the age of 91. The writer also had a tie to All My Children.

In Memoriam: Dan Wakefield

Wakefield’s connection to the soap opera world is the endearing book he published in 1975. The tome is titled All Her Children: The Real-life Story of America’s Favorite Soap Opera and is a deep dive into Agnes Nixon’s All My Children.

In the book’s introduction, Wakefield confessed to being a “closet soap opera addict.” Born May 21, 1932, in Indianapolis, he hurried home from grade school to listen to radio dramas including Our Gal Sunday, The Romance of Helen Trent, Stella Dallas, and Just Plain Bill. He later attended Columbia College in New York.

Wakefield says he became enamored of All My Children because of the show’s “small-town touches, the accurate rendering of contemporary styles, and feelings…” Wakefield, initially, set out to write a magazine article on the show but soon realized he had a book on his hands. Wakefield wrote a more detailed account of the show with Nixon’s blessing.

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He went on to create a TV series of his own, James at 15, which starred Lance Kerwin as James Hunter, a young man who adjusted to life in Boston after his family relocated there from Canada. The groundbreaking series, which addressed teenage sexuality, ran for two seasons. Wakefield quit the show after network executives pressured him to tone down a reference to birth control and have James express remorse after losing his virginity.

Wakefield was a writer for the ABC soap opera Loving in 1983. He moved to Miami after suffering a stroke in 2023 in order to be closer to his goddaughter, Karina Corrales.

Soap Hub sends sympathies to Wakefield’s family, friends, goddaughter, and admirers of his work.