History of As the World Turns (1966–1970)

This article is about the history of As the World Turns (ATWT), the longest-running American television soap opera.

Storylines

• Ellen Cole fires Franny Brennan. When she threatened to reveal all, Ellen Cole hit her over the head.

• In prison, Ellen Cole meets Sandy McGuire. Her husband, Roy McGuire, was a thief.

• Sandy McGuire gives birth to a boy and names him Jimmy McGuire.

• Bill Holmes tells his daughter, Amanda Holmes, her real mother is Sara Fuller.

• Donald Hughes and Sara Fuller get engaged.

• Pa Hughes is unhappy when Nancy offers to work in Sara Fuller's shop

• Michael Shea comes to town and becomes Doug Cassen's protege.

• Joan Rogers has a tumor and Doug Cassen tries to treat her, but she dies. Her husband, Ted Rogers, pushes Dr. Doug Cassen who dies after hitting his head.

• Neil Wade dies of an embolism.

• Ellen Cole is released from prison. She and David Stewart are married.

• If Sara Fuller didn't break off with Donald Hughes, Amanda Holmes was going to show him the letter of her paternity. Instead Sara Fuller fell down a flight of stairs and died.

• Chris Hughes believes that Sara's death was an accident; however, Nancy and Don believe was murdered by Amanda Homes, the child Sara gave up for adoption.

• Nancy stands as a witness for the prosecution against Amanda. Chris is Amanda's defense lawyer and grills Nancy.

• Nancy forces Chris to sleep on the couch, but Chris later proves that Sara's death was accidental.

• Amanda Holmes dates Donald Hughes for a while and later leaves town.

• Clarie Cassen starts to fall for the new doctor in town, Michael Shea.

• Ellen and David Stewart are expecting a child.

• Sandy McGuire and Bob Hughes begin a relationship.

• Nancy makes it clear that she thinks that Bob should remarry Lisa instead.

• While in Vermont, Sandy got burned and Bob Hughes placed her in a sanitarium.

• Penny Wade and Roy McGuire get married, but when Jimmy is returned to his mother, Sandy, they get an annulment and Penny leaves Oakdale.

• Ellen Stewart gives birth to Carol Ann Stewart.

• Dan Stewart comes back from medical school along with Susan Burke. They had been secretly married and were going to have a baby, but Susan miscarries their child.

• Michael Shea has an affair with Lisa Hughes.

• Lisa Hughes gets pregnant with Michael Shea's child and when she gives birth she names the baby Charles "Chuckie" Shea.

• Michael and Claire Cassen Shea divorce.

• Claire stabs Michael with a letter opener when she hears the only reason he'll re-marry her.

• Paul Stewart returns to town and falls for Elizabeth Talbot.

• Michael Shea tells Dan the truth about his paternity.

• Ellen and David Stewart have a second child, Dawn "Dee" Stewart.

• Sandy McGuire Hughes divorces Bob Hughes.

• Sandy Hughes launches a modeling career with the help of Peter Kane.

• A new doctor at Oakdale Memorial Hospital, John Dixon (and later Michael Shea's protege) comes in to treat Sandy McGuire's mother, Martha McGuire, for a heart condition.

• Tom Hughes leaves town for a while and finds Michael Shea writing a confession used to blackmail Lisa Hughes into marrying him.

• Michael Shea takes up with a new nurse, Karen Adams.

• Lisa and Michael get married.

• Chris Hughes helps Lisa by representing Michael Shea in court on a drunk driving claim; Chris gets Shea off with 6 months.

• When Chris discovers that his grandson Tom's grades are slipping in his school, he tries to persuade Tom not to join the army but he does anyway. Tom is sent to fight in Vietnam, but is sent back home. He returns with a drug habit.

• Michael Shea was planning to claim Lisa Shea was an unfit for a mother to Chuckie and he was going to blackmail her, but before he could he was shot and killed. Tom Hughes was put on trial for the crime and convicted, but it was actually Miss Thompson who killed Michael.

• Dan Stewart wants a divorce from Susan Stewart but she refused.

• Susan Stewart becomes pregnant, but when she and Dan Stewart had a fight, she fell and lost the baby.

• Elizabeth Talbot Stewart gives birth to a baby girl, Elizabeth "Betsy" Stewart.

• Paul Stewart brings Elizabeth Talbot Stewart's brother, Ronnie Talbot, to Oakdale.

• John Dixon proposes to Sandy McGuire Hughes but she wants to marry Peter Kane instead.

• A mysterious woman, Meredith Harcourt, comes to Oakdale.

Characters

The Hughes Family

Will "Pa" Hughes

m.Ma Hughes

c.Edith Hughes Frey

m.George Frey

a.Jim Lowell (RIP)

c.John Hughes

m.Marion

c.Christopher Hughes

m.Nancy Hughes

c.Donald Hughes

m.Janice Turner Whipple Hughes(RIP)

c.Penny Hughes Baker Wade McGuire

m.Jeff Baker

m.Neil Wade

m.Roy McGuire

c.Bob Hughes

m.Lisa Miller Hughes

c.Thomas Christopher Hughes

c.Susan Hughes (RIP)

The Lowell Family

James T. Lowell

m.Alice Lowell (RIP)

c.Jim Lowell (RIP)

m.Claire Lowell Cassen

m.Doug Cassen (RIP)

a.Edith Hughes

c.Ellen Lowell Cole

m.Tim Cole

c.James "Jimmy" Cole

m.David Stewart

c.Dawn Stewart

Turner Family

Thelma Turner

c.Janice Turner Whipple Hughes (RIP)

m.Carl Whipple

c.Alice Whipple

c.Debbie Whipple

m.Donald Hughes

The Meadows Family

Joe Meadows

m.Anne Meadows

The Miller Family

Henry Miller

m.Alma Miller

c.Lisa Miller Hughes Eldridge

m.Bob Hughes

c.Thomas Christopher Hughes

a.Bruce Elliot

m.John Eldridge

a.Michael Shea

c.Charles "Chuckie" Shea

The Stewart Family

David Stewart

m.Betty Stewart

c.Paul Stewart

m.Elizabeth Talbot

c.Betsy Stewart

c.Dan Stewart (adopted) {Birth Name: James "Jimmy" Cole}

m.Susan Burke Stewart

m.Ellen Lowell Cole Stewart

c.Carol Ann Stewart

c.Dawn Stewart

The Wade Family

Judith Wade Stevens

m.Frank Wade

m.Jerry Stevens

a.Doug Cassen (RIP)

c.Neil Wade

m.Penny Hughes Baker Wade

The Suker Family

Al Suker

m.Martha Suker

m.Sylvia Hill Suker

c.Helen Suker

The Holmes Family

Bill Holmes

m.Ann Holmes

a.Sara Fuller (RIP)

c.Amanda Holmes {AKA: Jennifer Roberts}

The Elliot Family

Bruce Elliot

c.Lisa Miller Hughes

Linda Elliot

The Wilson/McGuire Family

Carl Wilson

m.Martha Wilson

c.Sandy Wilson McGuire

m.Roy McGuire

m.Penny Hughes Baker Wade McGuire

c. Jimmy McGuire

The Rogers Family

Ted Rogers

m.Joan Rogers (RIP)

The Martin Family

Otto Martin

c.Dick Martin

The Burke Family

Fred Burke

c.Susan Burke Stewart

m.Dan Stewart

The Steiner Family

Mother Steiner

c.Mr. Steiner

m.Diane Steiner

The Talbot Family

Elizabeth Talbot

m.Paul Stewart

c.Betsy Stewart

Ronnie Talbot

Other People

• Tom Pope, Penny's love interest
• Mitchell Dru, an attorney
• Greg Williams, a reporter who ask Penny Hughes on a date
• Julie Spencer, an attorney who was Mitchell Dru's ward
• Meg Blaine,
• Bill Abbott, Claire's lover
• Jim Norman, Ellen's fiance
• Chuck Ryan, doctor who was with Mary Mitchell
• Mary Mitchell,Sylvia's closet friend
• Franny Brennan, the Stewart's housekeeper
• Dr. Bellows, prison physician
• Hank Barton, Tom's college roommate.
• Peter Kane, modeling agency owner
• John Dixon, a physician
• Carol Deming,
• Miss Thompson,
• Meredith Harcourt, Paul Stewart's mysterious patient