Bridget and Jerome Dobson are American writers and artists. Together, they are notable for their work as the head writing team for several

soap operas A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, and the creators and head writers of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

soap opera '' Santa Barbara''.

Career

Bridget Dobson is the daughter of ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the longest-running American soap opera in production, and the second in American history after '' ...

'' creators

Frank and Doris Hursley Frank M. Hursley (November 21, 1902 – February 3, 1989) and Doris Hursley (September 29, 1898 – May 5, 1984) were an American husband-and-wife team of screenwriters, best known for their serials, especially the medical drama ''General Hospi ...

. Bridget and Jerome Dobson married in 1961. Bridget began writing scripts for ''General Hospital'' in the early 1970s, and Jerome joined her soon after. In 1975, the Dobsons were hired as the

head writer A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits. In fictional comedy o ...

s for the long-running

CBS Daytime CBS Daytime is a division within CBS that is responsible for the daytime television block programming on the CBS' late morning and early afternoon schedule. The block has historically encompassed soap operas and game shows. Schedule NOTE: All tim ...

soap opera ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

''. They spent the rest of the 1970s at ''Guiding Light'' where they created alluring nurse

Rita Stapleton Rita Stapleton Bauer is a fictional character from the CBS soap opera ''Guiding Light.'' The character was played by Lenore Kasdorf, and created by Bridget and Jerome Dobson, shortly after they became ''Guiding Light's'' head writers in 1975. R ...

(who became the show's heroine for the remainder of the 1970s), the rich, upper class Spaulding family in 1977 (who would remain one of the show's core families until the show's cancellation in 2009), and wrote the infamous storyline of Holly Norris Bauer's rape by her own husband Roger Thorpe in 1979. The Dobsons were hired by another

Procter and Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

soap opera, ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...

'' where, among other stories, they created the infamous character of James Stenbeck and also paired the characters of Tom and Margo.

''Santa Barbara''

In 1984, ''Santa Barbara'', the show created by the Dobsons for

, premiered. After years of working with both the network and the sponsor (Procter & Gamble) at earlier shows, the Dobsons had creative control of the show. The Dobsons attempted to create a richer canvas of character, including a Hispanic family and a romance between Latino Cruz Castillo and WASPy Eden Capwell. They also infused many stories and scripts with humor. In

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, a long running dispute between the Dobsons and NBC offices came to a head after the Dobsons tried several times to fire head writer,

Anne Howard Bailey Anne Howard Bailey (July 26, 1924 – November 23, 2006) was an American writer known particularly for her work as a screenwriter and opera librettist. Life and career Born and raised in Memphis, Bailey attended Rhodes College, where she g ...

. Unbeknownst to the Dobsons, Bailey's contract contained a provision that only NBC could terminate her employment; when the Dobsons challenged that, NBC and New World Television, the production company, locked them out of their studio. The Dobsons responded by filing a $53 million lawsuit against NBC and

New World Television New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 19 ...

. That same year, when claiming Santa Barbara's Outstanding Daytime Drama Emmy, a bittersweet Bridget Dobson - who made it to the winners' podium first - taunted, "Though New World Television locked me out of the studio, they couldn't lock me out of the Emmys!" By 1991 the case was settled out of court, and the Dobsons returned to the show they created. The show ended in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

. In 1995, the Dobsons moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

, where Bridget transitioned into a career in painting. More than sixty of her paintings were featured in a solo traveling museum tour. Bridget Dobson's series of fine china, crystal, and giftware—sold by the company Bridget Dobson Studios—was unveiled in 2006 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Jerome Dobson (as Jerome John Dobson) published a novel in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...

Awards and nominations

Daytime Emmy Awards The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (N ...

NOMINATIONS *(1976 & 1978; Best Writing; ''Guiding Light'') *(1987; Best Writing; ''Santa Barbara'') Writers Guild of America Award WINS *(1980 season; ''Guiding Light'') *(1992 season; ''Santa Barbara'') NOMINATIONS *(1993 season; ''Santa Barbara'')

Positions held

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Bridget And Jerome Living people American soap opera writers Married couples Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Writers Guild of America Award winners