DIAMOND STATUS

GH Marks Its Milestone 60th Anniversary

- Mara Levinsky

On April 1, 1963, two new soap operas made their debuts: ABC's GENERAL HOSPITAL and NBC's THE DOCTORS. While THE DOCTORS has been defunct since 1982, GH is still going strong at 60. Here's a look back at its evolution.

THE 1960s GH was the brainchild of real-life spouses Frank and Doris Hursley, who cut their teeth as writers in the TV business on series like LASSIE and HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL before being appointed co-head writers of SEARCH FOR TOMORROW in 1960.

Hoping that the success of prime-time medical dramas BEN CASEY and DR. KILDARE would translate to daytime, ABC, which had yet to make any serious foray into scripted serials, bought the Hursleys’ concept for GH — a continuing medical drama set at a hospital in what was then an unnamed city, which focused on the intertwined personal and professional lives of characters like Steve Hardy, the workaholic chief of staff, played by John Beradino, unhappily married nurse Jessie Brewer, played by Emily McLaughlin, and her philandering husband, Phil Brewer, played by Roy Thinnes. Medical consultant Dr. Franz Bauer was a key player behind the scenes, ensuring verisimilitude in the hospital-based stories.

The show — which was initially penned by another set of spouses, Theodore and Mathilde Ferro, before the Hursleys assumed head-writing reins — was low-budget and broadcast live, leading to no shortage of stress on set. Executive produced first by Selig Seligman, then by James Young (who also directed), ABC’s lone soap ended its first season in the 9th slot in the ratings (out of 13 serials then on the air).