Bridget ( Hursley; September 1, 1938 – January 3, 2024) and Jerome Dobson were an American husband-and-wife duo of television award-winning screenwriters and artists. Through their company Dobson Productions, they are notable for their work as the head writing team for several

soap operas A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originated from radio dramas original ...

, including ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

'', ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

'' and ''

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 so ...

'' and the creators and head writers of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

soap opera '' Santa Barbara''. Bridget Dobson was the daughter of

Frank and Doris Hursley Frank and Doris Hursley, were an American husband-and-wife television screenwriting duo, comprising Frank M. Hursley (November 21, 1902 – February 3, 1989) and Doris Hursley (September 29, 1898 – May 5, 1984) they were best known for their s ...

, television soap opera creators and screenwriters, best known for the series ''General Hospital''. Bridget and Jerome Dobson married in 1961.

Career

Bridget Hursley attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

and began writing scripts for ''General Hospital'' on February 10, 1969, 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 A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio ...

s for the long-running

CBS Daytime CBS Daytime is the division of the CBS television network that is responsible for the daytime television block programming on the network's late morning and early afternoon schedule. The block has historically encompassed soap operas and game sh ...

soap opera ''

''. They spent the rest of the 1970s at ''Guiding Light'' where they created alluring nurse Rita Stapleton (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. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/cons ...

soap opera, ''

'' where, among other stories, they created the infamous character of

James Stenbeck James Stenbeck is a fictional character on CBS's daytime drama ''As the World Turns'', portrayed by Anthony Herrera. Storylines Introduced in 1980 as a widower and controlling ex-lover of heroine Barbara Ryan (who was pregnant with his child), h ...

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 Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

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, 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 ...

. 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, New World Communications Group, Inc., and New World International) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia comp ...

. 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!" Ironically, Santa Barbara received its very first Emmy award for Outstanding Drama Series for material written by Bailey. By 1991 the case was settled out of court, and the Dobsons returned to the show they created. The show ended in 1993. In 1995, the Dobsons moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 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. Jerome Dobson (as Jerome John Dobson) published a novel in 2018. Bridget Dobson died on January 3, 2024, at the age of 85.

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 (NA ...

Nominations *(1976 & 1978; Best Writing; ''Guiding Light'') *(1987; Best Writing; ''Santa Barbara'')

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

Wins *(1980 season; ''Guiding Light'') *(1992 season; ''Santa Barbara'') Nominations *(1993 season; ''Santa Barbara'')

Positions held

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dobson, Bridget and Jerome American soap opera writers American television show creators Married couples Writers Guild of America Award winners