Cultural impact
Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth began to develop a romance outside of their characters' storyline. It was "at first publicized by the soapmill as 'just friends,' but slowly it developed into a full-scale love affair."Gilbert, Annie, ''All My Afternoons'', page 112, continued on page 116, published in 1978. On an October 1974 weekend, the two secretly married. Only a few friends of the couple knew about the event. When the press got knowledge of this, it "set off a commotion among fans, who wrote endless letters to the show asking that the couple also be allowed to get married in the story. If they could get married in real life, so the argument went, they certainly should be able to get together on screen." The writers of ''Days of our Lives'' refused popular demand, and prolonged the anticipation of the two marrying onscreen. In the book ''All My Afternoons'' by Annie Gilbert, the event is described:Nothing was ever such a guarantee of good ratings asIn the episode featuring Doug and Julie's honeymoon, Susan Seaforth managed to slip an ad libbed line past the censors that was - for US daytime television in the 1970s - provocative and risque. When Doug (Bill Hayes) asked her what she would like for breakfast, she mentioned items including juice, coffee and "big pink sausage". Doug and Julie are the only soap opera characters ever to grace the cover of ''star-crossed The terms "star-crossed" and "star-crossed lovers" refer to two people who are not able to be together for some reason. These terms also have other meanings, but originally mean that the pairing is being "thwarted by a malign star" or that th ...lovers everyone knew belonged together. But finally the producers set the date for the marriage and ''Days'' put on one of the most extravagant weddings imaginable on the screen. It was such a soap opera media event that the local L.A. press (''Days'', along with ''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 ...'' and ''The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wiscon ...'', which is produced inLos Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...) was invited to the studio to watch.
See also
*References
External links