Helen Wagner (Nancy) reminisces about the golden age of television
When AS THE WORLD TURNS debuted in 1956, Helen Wagner delivered the very first line of dialogue as Nancy Hughes said to husband Chris, “Good morning, dear.” And back then, the world of daytime TV was very different. Televisions were black and white, soaps were only 15 minutes long, and they were broadcast live every single day. “There are things about the live days that were just wonderful,” Wagner recalls fondly, smiling at the memories as they come flooding back.
“I’d Rather Do It Live”
The veteran of stage and screen likens ATWT’s live episodes to the thrilling immediacy of performing on stage. “You have to make it work,” she explains proudly, “because if it doesn’t work, you can’t say ‘cut’ and start over again. It’s a real challenge.”
However, she’s not sure that some of the current cast of the daytime soap could handle even a single live episode, let alone one every day of the week! “The only people who could do it are the people who have done stage,” Wagner theorizes. “And a lot of these kids haven’t done anything but this show and television. It’s the beginning of a lot of careers.”
“They Didn’t Write About Teenagers”
But while ATWT has launched the career of many young stars such as Jordana Brewster (ex-Nikki) and Marisa Tomei (ex-Marcy), Wagner remembers the earliest days as being much less youthful. “Back in those days,” she says, “people didn’t write about teenagers. The whole entertainment world was mature.”
Then the actress laughs as she recalls another way that television has changed. “When we went on the air, Nancy and Chris couldn’t sleep in the same bed,” she smiles. “And when we finally got a double bed, one of us had to be in the bed and the other one had to have his feet out on the floor so there was no hanky-panky going on. That’s literally true.”
“They’ve Let Me Grow”
All television, not just soap operas, has reflected the times in which it was produced, and Wagner also believes that ATWT has kept up over the years. “I think it’s grown along with the way people have changed,” she reflects. “We grew with the times, and I think we’ve stayed pretty au courant.”
It’s also one of the reasons she’s never grown tired of playing Oakdale’s “mother superior,” even after four-and-a-half decades. “I’ve been allowed to grow old and a little wiser, and a little less know-it-all,” she says. Then she laughs and adds slyly, “Because Nancy did know it all — and told the children as much!” — Chris Eades
Helen Wagner
