THE GUIDING LIGHT SOAP OPERA
Originally aired on NPR’s 1A on February 20, 2021. Featuring original interviews with Frances Myers, Murray Horwitz, and Elana Levine.
The Guiding Light was originally created as a daily radio serial program in 1937. The 15-minute episodes aired during the day, sponsored by advertisers who targeted homemakers with commercials for soap and cleaning products. The Guiding Light transitioned to television in 1952 and remained on the air until 2009, becoming America’s longest running soap opera.
The Guiding Light was just one of the many soaps created by Irna Phillips. She is credited with inventing the soap opera, due to her prolific writing of the serial dramas.
This installment of The Sounds of America profiles Ms. Phillips and The Guiding Light. Frances Myers, who today is a script editor at Days of Our Lives, remembers acting on The Guiding Light as a teenager. Murray Horwitz relives the drama of directing episodes of the show, and author Elana Levine describes the history and impact of the show and its creator, Irna Phillips.
Every year, the U.S. Library of Congress selects 25 recordings to preserve for all time in the National Recording Registry. These recordings include music, speeches, public events, native languages, historical moments, sporting events… audio that’s important to our American culture and heritage.