For soap fans, was there ever a character's death that was upsetting to you or even shocking? It could be either daytime or nighttime soaps.

Most of the deaths that occurred from the 80's on in the night time soaps were kind of telegraphed by TV Guide or other media. And a LOT of them were negated when the character later showed up alive somehow, lol.

I think that Sid Fairgate's on Knots Landing death was shocking; I liked the character and somehow the show managed to keep it a secret (though it was 1981, so the media wasn't as good at spoiling things back then). Likewise the death of Joshua Rush in 1984 on the same show shocked me, though in that case the character had become a real rat and deserved to die.

In the 70's the death of Dan Stewart on ATWT was shocking and heart rending. He had a fatal disease and there was no last minute cure; he just passed away.

I'm sure there are others but those are the ones that come immediately to mind.

Mine is that of Joe Perkins, an original character, on Santa Barbara. The first actor to play the role, Dane Witherspoon, was so upset about the fact that his character was going to be killed off that he wound up being fired by the show's creators, Bridget and Jerome Dobson, in October 1984. They had to scramble to recast the character to play out the rest of the story and hired Mark Arnold, who was already known to soap audiences from The Edge of Night.

Under Arnold's watch, Joe Perkins lasted another 4 or so months before getting killed. I can't envy the actor the circumstances he walked into. Mark Arnold was an 11th hour recast and so had to memorize much more dialogue than usual coming in. He was taking over a role that Witherspoon had originated just three months earlier, and he was going to be doing love scenes with Witherspoon's off-screen girlfriend, Robin Wright (Kelly Capwell). Joe and Kelly were the star-crossed lovers at the outset, before Marcy Walker and A Martinez as Eden and Cruz became the show's supercouple.

If Witherspoon had stayed on, I wonder if his subsequent marriage to Wright would have lasted longer than 2 years (they met in 1984 while auditioning for SB, wed in 1986 and divorced in 1988). I wonder if Eden and Cruz would've been as huge because the Wright/Witherspoon chemistry was off the charts (not to take anything away from the Walker/Martinez dynamic, which was also incredible).

In any case, I think the Dobsons made a major gaffe in firing Witherspoon - one of the few major mistakes they made in their soap career. He had kind of an Everyman, hard-working quality to him. People could root for him. These days, Dane Witherspoon isn't even in show biz anymore, and hasn't been for years. Last I heard, he was an independent businessman based in Denver. Robin Wright, of course, hit big with The Princess Bride and has never looked back.

Here are Wright/Witherspoon in character (and don't let the subtitles throw you - these clips are spoken in English):

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Kimberly - Melrose Place

Sydney - Melrose Place

Baby Grace and Little Zak on Days of our Lives

Maureen-'Guiding Light'

Bobby-'Dallas' (although it was only a dream)

Ironically, after Maureen Bauer was killed off, Ellen Parker won the 1993 Best Supporting Actress Emmy!! :cool:

I totally remembered when Maureen did. I had no idea that GL had fired her (big mistake). I remember that day my grandma told me to be sure to watch GL that day. It was quite a shock to say the least.

Killing Maureen on GL was a big mistake. Killing off Nadine a few years later was stupid too.

I remember being shocked that Jenny Gardner was killed on All MY Children back in the 80s! I don't think anyone saw it coming--no message boards back then to get the spoilers from. I think all we had was the soap magazines and they weren't going to say too much

Killing Maureen on GL was a big mistake. Killing off Nadine a few years later was stupid too.

Nadine died, huh? Damn, I AM behind! :crazy:

Nadine died, huh? Damn, I AM behind! :crazy:
Yea she was murdered by that psycho Brent Lawrence. He's the one that dressed up as a woman to stalk Lucy Cooper. I enjoyed his performance, But killing off one of GL's best characters was a mistake.

Yea she was murdered by that psycho Brent Lawrence. He's the one that dressed up as a woman to stalk Lucy Cooper. I enjoyed his performance, But killing off one of GL's best characters was a mistake.

Thanks. I vaguely remember that character. Always liked Lucy, too. I know she was intended to be a "Harley substitute" but I always found her spunky and vulnerable, and cute, to be honest, lol. Hated it when they paired her up with that rat, Alan Michael.

Do characters who die, (because they're axed from the show), but sometime later some how come back to life (when the actor returns to the show) count? Because that's often the case. :lol: (i.e. Bobby from Dallas)

Do characters who die, (because they're axed from the show), but sometime later some how come back to life (when the actor returns to the show) count? Because that's often the case. :lol: (i.e. Bobby from Dallas)


Sure!

I was shocked when they killed off Roman Brady back in the mid 80's. He was stabbed by Stefano and then fell off a cliff and yet.....still returned from the dead somehow.

I started watching Days after Marlena ended up on that island, that was a parallel universe to Salem. I know she was buried in a coffin but not sure if she actually died.

Since I've watched the show:

I guess I was saddened when "Grandpa" Shawn Brady died; John Black died once, that was emotional; as I said above, it was really sad when the two young children, Zak and Grace died. And of course when the matriarch of the whole show, Frances Ried, passed away, and so many former castmembers from over the years, some who I got to know for the first time, well that was the most moving "passing" for me, as far as soaps go!

Maggie Horton's "death" on DAYS---even though she ended up alive, it was extremely creepy and disturbing to watch. The first part of that whole Salem Stalker storyline about scared me to death.

Look at GL, they brought back Roger Thorpe from the dead a few times. After his "last" death in 1980 when he fell from that cliff, everyone assumed he was dead for good this time. Lo and behold 9 years later (about 15 years soap time), he resurfaced again. I thought that was the best "return from the dead", that soaps pulled off. Mainly it worked because it was so long before GL brought Michael Zaslow back.

What's really interesting is that when Michael Zaslow was approached to return to GL, he was asked to take over the role of Alan Spaulding (Chris Bernau, who had originated the role of Alan Spaulding, was terminally ill and died in 1989). Zas knew how closely indentified he was to the role of Roger Thorpe, and suggested bringing Roger back from the the presumed dead - so what's they did. I read that in various soap publications over the years.

Speaking of Michael Zaslow, here is one of his most memorable moments, not to mention one of the most memorable scenes in GL history...Roger chasing pregnant Rita (Lenore Kasdorf) through the House of Mirrors. Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer's "Enough Is Enough (No More Tears)", which was a huge hit at the time, provided the PERFECT background music. Enjoy!!!!

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Maggie Horton's "death" on DAYS---even though she ended up alive, it was extremely creepy and disturbing to watch. The first part of that whole Salem Stalker storyline about scared me to death.
^^^ Another one on DOOL with the Salem Stalker storyline that was eerie was when Marlena killed old Alice Horton with one of her donuts. But when they all ended up on that dumb island, the story became so outrageous.

Look at GL, they brought back Roger Thorpe from the dead a few times. After his "last" death in 1980 when he fell from that cliff, everyone assumed he was dead for good this time. Lo and behold 9 years later (about 15 years soap time), he resurfaced again. I thought that was the best "return from the dead", that soaps pulled off. Mainly it worked because it was so long before GL brought Michael Zaslow back.

Roger Thorpe is one of my all time favorite soap opera villians. He was three dimensional-rotten through and through to his enemies, but loyal to the people he cared about. And Roger and Holly had a fabulous love/hate relationship.

Another sad death was Laura Avery on 'Knots Landing'.

Roger Thorpe is one of my all time favorite soap opera villians. He was three dimensional-rotten through and through to his enemies, but loyal to the people he cared about. And Roger and Holly had a fabulous love/hate relationship.

Another sad death was Laura Avery on 'Knots Landing'.

Totally agree on all counts, o.g. Roger was made into a real human being, through the great writing of the staff and the incredible acting of Zaslow.

Laura's funeral is one of the saddest episodes of KL, or any show, I've ever seen. When Greg finally views her message to him and breaks down., well let's just say he's not the only one who loses it.

Leo and his mom Vanessa (AMC) shocked me because i didn't visit boards or buy magazines in the early 2000'S. It was also sad because both characters were only on for a short time, Leo died trying to save Greenlee and they had just gotten married that July. It was also sad to lose the heart of the family, so many wasted story options with them gone from the canvas.

Dixie (AMC) by poison pancakes. The show never recovered from this.

Laura (Knots) the most complex out of the bunch. The show lost real class for me after her death.

Frankie (Aw) the way her death was done is what shocked me since she was my favorite.