Impressed with the ratings success of NBC's Another World, ABC sought out Another World writer Agnes Nixon to create a serial for them. Nixon, "tired of the restraints imposed by the WASPy, noncontroversial nature of daytime drama, presented the network with a startingly original premise and cast of characters. Although the show was built along the classic soap formula of a rich family and a poor family, One Life to Live emphasized the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the people of Llanview, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia."[1] Nixon would go on to create All My Children in 1970 and Loving in 1983.
The title of OLTL was originally going to be Between Heaven and Hell, but sponsors hoped for a change to something less controversial. Though the title change was made, the first opening titles (closeup footage of flames in a fireplace) seemed to suggest a symbolic hellfire.
OLTL's first sponsors were the Colgate-Palmolive company, who also sponsored The Doctors. ABC bought the show from Agnes Nixon in December 1974 when they purchased all stock to her Creative Horizons Inc. The show was originally a half-hour serial until it was expanded to 45 minutes in 1976 and to one hour in 1978.
History
One Life to Live is set in the fictional city of Llanview, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania modeled after the Chestnut Hill section of the city. The show originally concentrated on the wealthy Lord family, the less wealthy Siegels (the first attempt to showcase a Jewish family on daytime television until the short-lived 1974 daytime serial, How to Survive a Marriage) and the middle-class Rileys and Woleks. OLTL has been called "the most peculiarly American of soap operas: the first serial to present a vast array of ethnic types, broad comic situations, a constant emphasis on social issues, and strong male characters." [2]
Since its inception, OLTL has centered on the character of Victoria "Viki" Lord (originated by actress/writer Gillian Spencer), who has been portrayed by Erika Slezak since March1971. Long-suffering heroine Viki has weathered love and loss, widowhood, rape, divorce, stroke and breast cancer, and has been memorably plagued by dissociative identity disorder (or DID, once known as multiple personality disorder) on and off for decades. Viki's romance with Clint Buchanan and rivalry with Dorian Cramer brought the Buchanan and Cramer families to the prominence they hold in current storylines.
An arsonist has targeted Llanview and has destroyed numerous properties, including land owned by Antonio Vega, Vincent Jones, and Nora Hanen. Talia Sahid has come into contact with the arsonist, but wasn't able to find the courage to capture the culprit of the arson attacks. During one incident, she suffered a head injury in a struggle with the arsonist.
David Vickers returned to Llanview after confessing to killing his brother Spencer Truman. Asa Buchanan paid Vickers $10 million to kill Spencer, with David being promised a minimum sentence. However, David found Spencer dead before he got the chance to commit the murder himself. When Nigel Bartholomew-Smythe asks Asa if Vickers is a Buchanan, Asa doesn't deny it.
Nora and her son Matthew moved into Asa's mansion after their house was burned down. Nora discovered that her insurance wouldn't cover the damage and Matthew had a hard time getting over the experience, as items given to him by Jen and Sam Rappaport were destroyed. Lindsay Rappaport decided to give Matthew some of Jen's movies she transferred to DVD, as well as giving Nora pictures of Sam.
Jessica Buchanan fell in love with Nash Brennan, the lover of her alter Tess Buchanan. Married to Antonio Vega, Jessica is having difficulties getting over her temptation for Nash. Under the advisement of Marty Saybrooke, Jessica wrote the name of the person she wanted to be with in an envelope. Jessica broke the news to Nash that she decided to stay with Antonio, but it's growing harder for her everyday.
After recovering from a car accident, John McBain dove himself into the Spencer Truman murder mystery and it caused a strain in his relationship with Natalie Buchanan. After John learned that Natalie took evidence from the crime scene, that would of implicated John in Spencer's murder, their relationship took a turn for the worse, and they are having difficulties staying together. John is also unhappy that Natalie is going to mobster Vincent Jones for advice.
Rex Balsom discovered that Tommy McBain was the son of Todd Manning. Being the godfather of Tommy, Rex told Adriana Cramer and Michael McBain about Tommy's paternity. The three of them decided to keep the secret between them, and Rex provided Todd with a death certificate that proved his son was deceased. The secret Michael holds caused strain in his marriage with Marcie.
Adriana Cramer and Layla Williamson teamed up together to create their own clothes line. When former MLB player Tate Harmon moved into town, Adriana was able to convince him to model for their company. Layla hired Cristian Vega to serve as the photographer, but both Rex and Cristian were forced to stand in as back-up models when a storm caused delays.
Lindsay Rappaport and Dorian Lord teamed up to win Bo and Clint Buchanan from Paige Miller and Victoria Davidson. When Lindsay learned that Viki's daughter Megan died from Lupus, the two of them bonded over their daughter's deaths. Dorian was furious that Lindsay revealed their plan to Viki, and she in turn told Paige about their plan.
Clint Buchanan is trying to fight his temptation to be with both Viki and Dorian. Clint was in love with Viki for several years and they raised their kids together, while Clint is attracted to Dorian's ability to surprise him. He ends up going on dates with both of them, creating a bigger feud between Dorian and Viki.
Bo Buchanan is disappointed when he learned that his niece Natalie stole evidence from the Spencer Truman murder crime scene. He told Natalie and John that they would both have to face legal problems if the case is never solved. Bo's son Matthew is also going through a difficult time, as an arson fire at his house destroyed a lot of personal possessions that meant a lot to him.
Starr Manning and Cole Thornhart are falling in love with each other, but their parents are making it a primary objective to keep them to apart. The two of them sneak around town trying to meet with each other, and Starr's friend Langston Wilde helps them deceive their parents. When Britney Jennings, who once schemed to destroy Starr's life, starts to be friendly with Starr, Cole, and Langston, they become suspicious.
When Blair Cramer fell off a roof when trying to save Todd from the know deceased Spencer Truman, she lost her baby and turned down a marriage proposal from Todd. Despite trying to win Todd's affection for months, Blair realized that the two of them could never be together and she is starting to move on. However, Blair becomes jealous whenever he sees Todd with another woman.
When Todd Manning learned from Rex Balsom that his son was deceased, he found comfort in the arms of Evangeline Williamson. The two of them shared a kiss, which caused Cristian Vega to end his relationship with Evangeline. Despite being in love with Cristian, Evangeline began to realize she has some feelings for Todd Manning.
After breaking up with Evangeline, Cristian starts to live his life without her. Cristian begans to bond with Layla, who hires Cristian to serve as a photographer for her and Adriana Cramer's clothing line. Cristian also sleeps with Blair Cramer, to get revenge at Evangeline for being with Todd.
Miles Laurence came to Llanview when Spencer Truman left him everything in his will. After discovering that he had a niece in town, he decided to move to Llanview. Miles began to bond with Marty Saybrooke, both as a friend and patient of hers. Miles also starts a good friendship with Blair Cramer, much to the dismay of Blair's ex-husband Todd.
The original One Life to Live title opening used from its 1968 premiere to 1975. Featuring a roaring fireplace with the words One Life To Live faintly appearing and growing larger as the sequence concluded. The flames were supposed to be symbolic of a hellfire, as the show's title was supposed to be "Between Heaven and Hell," but was changed at the last minute as ABC did not feel Mylanta, a major sponsor, would be pleased with any comparison between "hell" and stomach discomfort, which the product assuages.
The fireplace opening was replaced in 1975 with a visual of an emerging orange and yellow mountain sunrise, concluding with the show title underneath it.
In 1980, the sunrise opening was altered with a gray background and enhanced with a longer sequence which showed not just a mountain sunrise, but also shots of birds and a close up of the sun, and eventually the title superimposed over a shot of a blue sky with clouds. The theme music was rearranged as well.
On December 17, 1984, a new sequence designed by Wayne Fitzgerald debuted. It featured a new theme by Dave Grusin, with translucent headshots of the cast superimposed over Llanview locations, ending with the title superimposed on a tableau of cast photos. In 1987, lyrics performed by Peabo Bryson in 1985 were added to the previously instrumental theme.
On January 2, 1992, a new title sequence emphasizing the romantic angle of the show debuted, designed by the television computer artistry group of Greenberg and Schluter. In a condensed form, it featured a love story—using the elements of a heroine, Mr. Wrong/Mr. Right, love making, implied betrayal, a champagne bottle corked, and a newborn baby. It concluded with swirling, windswept satin sheets displaying the show title. Accompanied by theme music by Lee Holdridge, in a New Age-influenced arrangement.
On November 20, 1995, a new title sequence which featured posterized video headshots of each contract player and tinted action clips from the show superimposed over shots of landmarks and city scenes (reminiscent to the 1984-91 opening) made its debut, with Lee Holdridge and David Nichtern under the direction of then music supervisor Jamie Howarth, providing a new upbeat theme song to accompany it.
In June2004 (all ABC Daytime soaps revamped their titles this year), the latest opening premiered; it consists of live shots of cast members (which had been previously used during bumper sequences) over a black background, ending with the title superimposed over the abbreviation OLTL. It is accompanied by an uptempo remix of the previous theme song.
As with many other television series, One Life to Live has had a number of crossovers with other programs, both daytime and primetime.
Michael Storm appeared as Dr. Larry Wolek on All My Children, shortly after its premiere in 1970, in an attempt to get fans of OLTL to watch ABC's new show.
Lillian Hayman appeared as Sadie Gray on All My Children in the late 1970s. She sang at the wedding of Dr. Frank Grant and Caroline Dixon, R.N.
William Mooney, All My Children’s lawyer Paul Martin, appeared on One Life to Live in 1979 to defend Victoria Lord, who was on trial for the murder of Marco Dane.
Shelley Burch appeared on All My Children as Delilah Ralston when Erica Kane had ordered a dress from her company.
Michael E. Knight appeared on OLTL in his All My Children character, Tad Martin, in 1996, when Hank, Nora, and Rachel were paneled guests on his talk show, The Cutting Edge.
Linda Dano'sGretel Rae Cummings made sporadic appearances on all four of ABC's daytime soaps in 1999, 2000, and 2001 in a search for her long lost daughter. Rae's daughter turned out to be former All My Children vixen Skye Chandler. Robin Christopher had reprised the role of Skye on One Life to Live in 1999, and the character was transplanted to General Hospital in 2001.
The shows, as well as many of its actors and crew, have been nominated for dozens of awards, winning on many occasions. The Daytime Emmy Award and Soap Opera Digest Award wins of the 2000s are noted below.
Daytime Emmy Awards
Show
2005 "Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series (tied with All My Children)
2005 "Outstanding Achievement in Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video Control for a Drama Series
2002 "Outstanding Drama Series"
2001 "Outstanding Achievement in Live & Direct to Tape Sound Mixing for a Drama Series"
2001 "Outstanding Achievement in Technical Direction/Electronic Camera/Video Control for a Drama Series"
2000 "Outstanding Original Song"
2000 "Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design for a Drama Series"
2000 "Outstanding Achievement in Live & Direct to Tape Sound Mixing for a Drama Series"
2000 "Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series"
1993 "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series" (Michael Malone and Josh Griffith, head-writers)
1986 "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series" (Peggy O'Shea, headwriter)
1982 "Outstanding Direction in a Drama Series"
1983 "Outstanding Direction in a Drama Series"
Individuals
2005 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Erika Slezak (Victoria "Viki" Lord Davidson)
1996 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Erika Slezak (Victoria "Viki" Lord Carpenter)
1995 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Erika Slezak (Victoria "Viki" Lord Carpenter)
1994 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Hillary B. Smith (Nora Hanen Gannon)
1994 "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" Susan Haskell (Marty Saybrooke)
1994 "Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series" Roger Howarth (Todd Manning)
1992 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Erika Slezak (Victoria "Viki" Lord Buchanan)
1992 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" Thom Christopher (Carlo Hesser)
1986 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Erika Slezak (Victoria "Viki" Lord Buchanan)
1984 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Erika Slezak (Victoria "Viki" Lord Buchanan)
1983 "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" Robert S. Woods (Bo Buchanan)
1982 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Robin Strasser (Dorian Cramer Callison)
1981 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Judith Light (Karen Wolek)
1980 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Judith Light (Karen Wolek)
1979 "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" Al Freeman, Jr. (Ed Hall)
Directors Guild of America Awards
In the 1990s, the DGA began to recognize outstanding work in Daytime Television. The Directors Guild of America Award is presented for a single episode to the director, stage managers, associate directors and production managers. These are the years the award has been presented to OLTL:
One Life To Live enjoyed fair-to-middling ratings in the 1970s, but rose rapidly as the decade ended along with the rest of ABC's daytime lineup. The 1980s saw the show reach the height of its popularity, occupying a top 4 place for almost all of the decade. Since then, it has returned to the middle of the pack but its numbers have declined in common with all other soaps.
