The soap operas that still air on TV had their origins in Chicago, created by a woman named Irna Phillips who continued to write into the 1970s.
The script of NBC's"Today's Children" called for a scene in a day nursery. Being a stickler for realism, author Irna Phillips had microphones set up in a real nursery in Chicago, circa 1937. She's shown here talking over the situation with her stars for the day.
The show’s plot lines reflected an advertising executive’s understanding of women’s issues. “Painted Dreams” revolved around Mother Moynihan, a widow who dispenses old-fashioned wisdom to the two young women who live with her: “The critics say, ‘But why then do soap operas convey such a sense of overwhelming tragedy, of lives gone wrong?’ ” she wrote. “I can only point out that unrelenting bliss can be as tedious as unrelenting misery.”Like her character Irene, Phillips was raised by a widowed mother. Her writing career began, as it would end, on a melodramatic note.
She had long since sold a new soap opera to WGN’s rival, WMAQ. The show’s sponsor offered a guide to “Today’s Children.” Thousands of fans sent in a label from Pillsbury Flour to get one. “When I dictate, I in fact act out the entire episode,” Phillips recalled. “People who have watched me have commented that when dictating I change my voice to fit each character, that I use certain gestures when speaking the lines intended for this character or that.”
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