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The Guiding Light premiered on NBC Radio on January 25, 1937. Pictured above, the cast in 1937 at the NBC studio in Chicago."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1937: Irna Phillips' The Guiding Light premiered on NBC Radio. The show ran on radio (NBC then CBS) until 1956. In 1952, the series transitioned to CBS-tv, airing both on TV and radio until 1956. The show ran on TV until September 18, 2009, making it the longest running scripted series in broadcast history.

1953: On The Guiding Light, Bert Bauer (Charita Bauer) complained to Papa Bauer...

The Guiding Light premiered on NBC radio on January 25, 1937.

The show ended its run on CBS TV on September 18, 2009."Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results."

― Machiavelli

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1937: Irna Phillips' The Guiding Light premiered on NBC Radio. The show ran on radio (NBC then CBS) until 1956. In 1952, the series transitioned to CBS-tv, airing both on TV and radio until...

Struggling soap opera actor Nick Santino committed suicide this week after he euthanized his beloved dog. Friends of Santino revealed that he was under extreme pressure from his Upper West Side condo residence in New York to remove his dog from the premises, according to New York Post. The actor euthanized his four-legged best friend Rocco, on Santino's 47th birthday, Tuesday. He showed his guilt through a saddening suicide note, as relayed by his friend,...

All My Children actor Nick Santino has died after committing suicide on Wednesday.

The soap star reportedly phoned an ex-girlfriend in the early hours of the morning, before police officers discovered his body later in the day.

Santino's death came just hours after he was forced to put his beloved pet dog down on Tuesday - the day of the star's 47th birthday.

The Gossip Girl actor was reportedly put under pressure to put pit bull Rocco down by the building manager where he lives after tenants complained about his barking.

And Santino was so distraught over the pooch's death, he took his own life the following day, reports the New York Post.

Leaving behind a suicide note, Santino wrote, "Today I betrayed my best friend and put down my best friend. Rocco trusted me and I failed him. He didn't deserve this."

The dog was cremated and the actor's pal, Stuart Sarnoff, reveals Santino's remains will be too: "One way or another, their ashes will be together forever."

Police officials suspect he died of a drug overdose.

An actor who appeared on Us soaps All My Children and Guiding Light has apparently committed suicide after putting his beloved pet dog to sleep. Nick Santino was found dead from an alleged pill overdose at his New York home on Wednesday (January 25). He arranged to have his pit bull Rocco euthanised 24 hours prior on his 47th birthday. According to The New York Post, Santino made a phone call to an ex-girlfriend before apparently taking his own life and was discovered with a suicide note in which he spoke about having "betrayed" his animal companion. "Today I betrayed my best friend and put down my best friend," he wrote. "Rocco trusted me and I failed him. He didn't deserve this." Santino is believed to have fallen (more)...

An actor who appeared on Us soaps All My Children and Guilding Light has apparently committed suicide after putting his beloved pet dog to sleep. Nick Santino was found dead from an alleged pill overdose at his New York home on Wednesday (January 25). He arranged to have his pit bull Rocco euthanised 24 hours prior on his 47th birthday. According to The New York Post, Santino made a phone call to an ex-girlfriend before apparently taking his own life and was discovered with a suicide note in which he spoke about having "betrayed" his animal companion. "Today I betrayed my best friend and put down my best friend," he wrote. "Rocco trusted me and I failed him. He didn't deserve this." Santino is believed to have fallen (more)...

Nick Santino committed suicide after making the heartbreaking decision to euthanize his pit-bull Rocco. But now the condo board that he said pressured him to do it is dodging any blame. Nick Santino shocked friends and family after he committed suicide on Jan. 24. It was revealed that he felt he couldn't live after euthanizing his pit-bull Rocco. According to Nick, the management of his Upper West Side condo building banned pit-bulls and started to harass him about his dog, which drove him to put his pet down and take his own life on the same day. Now the condo board in question is scrambling to distance his suicide from their actions! Marilyn Fireman, who is on the board, says the condo's policies cannot be thought to have been a direct influence on 47-year-old Nick's suicide, the New York Post reports. "You just assumed that [his suicide] was a result of a board’s decision,...

Actor Nick Santino committed suicide in the wake of putting his healthy pit bull mix down after intense pressure to get ride of the dog from his Upper West Side condo association. Grief and despair overcame Santino, a cast member on "Al My Children" and "Guiding Light" as he euthanized his dog, Rocco, on his 47th birthday. .Today I betrayed my best friend and put down my best friend,. Santino wrote in a suicide note, said close friend Stuart Sarnoff to the New York Post. Santino had rescued Rocco from a shelter several years ago. The Post reports that Santono, who was raised in an orphanage and foster homes, soon began to write about his pet on Facebook,...

A struggling soap opera actor took his own life last week after he euthanized his dog allegedly due to pressure from his condo association, according to the New York Post. Nick Santino, who appeared on All My Children and Guiding Light was found dead in his New York residence just a day after he put down his beloved pit bull, Rocco, on his 47th birthday Tuesday. "Today I betrayed my best friend and put down my best friend," Santino wrote in a suicide note. "Rocco trusted me and I failed him. He didn't deserve this." Santino, who was raised in an orphanage and foster homes, adopted Rocco from a shelter several years ago, and wrote fondly of his dog on his Facebook page, saying "I did...

A member of the condo board that Nick Santino said pressured him to euthanize his pit-bull -- a decision that drove him to suicide -- says the condo board is Not responsible for his death. Board member Marilyn Fireman says she is sorry that Santino is dead, but says it has nothing to do with the building's no-pet policy. She tells the NY Post, "You just assumed that [his suicide] was a result of a board’s decision.

A soap actor killed himself this week on his 47th birthday ... hours after he was forced to put his beloved dog to sleep under pressure from his Manhattan condo.According to the NY Post the building had a ban on pit-bulls, but Nick Santino's dog had been grandfathered in ... which didn't sit well with some of the neighbors. Some claimed the dog was loud and aggressive, but others said building management was just harassing...