Guiding Light

For other uses, see Guiding Light (song).

Guiding Light
File:GuidingLight2008logo.jpg GL final title card on CBS, 2008–2009
Genre	Soap opera
Created by	Irna Phillips
Written by	Carolyn Culliton (2002–2003) Christopher Dunn (2008–2009) Lloyd Gold (2002–2009) Jill Lorie Hurst (2008–2009) David Kreizman (2004–2009) Ellen Weston (2003–2004)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	CBS: 15,762
Production
Executive producers	Paul Rauch (1996–2003) John Conboy (2003–2004) Ellen Wheeler (2004–2009)
Running time	15 minutes (Radio: 1937–1956) 15 minutes (CBS: 1952–1968) 30 minutes (CBS: 1968–1977) 60 minutes (CBS: 1977–2009)
Production companies	Procter & Gamble Productions (1986–2008) TeleNext Media for P&G Prod. (CBS: 2008–2009)
Original release
Network	NBC radio (1937–1946) CBS Radio (1947–1956) CBS television (1952–2009)
Release	NBC Radio: January 25, 1937 – November 29, 1946 CBS Radio: June 2, 1947 – June 29, 1956 CBS Television: June 30, 1952 – September 18, 2009

Guiding Light (known as The Guiding Light before 1975, or simply GL) is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009. At the time of its cancellation in 2009, it was the longest-running soap opera in production. It is also among the longest running broadcast programs in history of any kind, across radio media for 15 years, and then television media for 57 years, being first broadcast five days after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's second inauguration. It aired on radio from January 25, 1937, to June 29, 1956, and debuted on CBS Television on June 30, 1952 running for 57 years. The series was expanded from 15 minutes to a half hour in 1968, and then to a full hour on November 7, 1977.

Guiding Light was created by Irna Phillips, and began as an NBC Radio serial on January 25, 1937. In 1947 the show moved to CBS radio, before starting on television on June 30, 1952, on CBS television. The show's title refers to a lamp in the study of Reverend Dr. John Ruthledge, a major character when The Guiding Light debuted in 1937, that family and residents could see as a sign for them to find help when needed.

CBS announced on April 1, 2009, that the series was being canceled because of low ratings. The show taped its final scenes on August 11, 2009, and its final episode aired on CBS on September 18, 2009. On October 5, 2009, CBS replaced Guiding Light with an hour-long revival of Let's Make a Deal, hosted by Wayne Brady.; the interim two weeks had Guiding Light's slot filled with reruns of The Price Is Right.

Production and locales

Guiding Light was broadcast from three locations: Chicago (where creator Irna Phillips resided), from 1937 until 1946; Hollywood, from 1947 until 1949; and New York City since 1949. It was moved from Chicago to Hollywood (despite objections of both Phillips and Arthur Peterson) to take advantage of the talent pool. Production was subsequently moved to New York City, where the majority of soap operas broadcast from during the 1950s, 1960s and much of the 1970s; it remained based in New York City until the show's conclusion. Its final taping location was the CBS studios in midtown Manhattan. From the 1970s to the 1990s it was filmed at the Chelsea Studios. From shortly before February 29, 2008, outdoor scenes were shot on location in Peapack, New Jersey. The location filming coincided with another significant production change, as the series became the first American weekday soap opera to be recorded digitally. The production team chose to shoot with Canon XH-G1 HDV camcorders. Unlike the old production model with pedestal-style cameras and traditional three-sided sets, handheld cameras allowed producers to choose as many locations as they wish.

Final seasons

In the daytime drama's 71st overall season and 57th season on CBS, the show had changed its look to a more "realistic" experience. On February 29, 2008 a new show opening replaced the anniversary opening. The new look of Guiding Light included free-hand camera work and less action shown on traditional studio sets. Producer Ellen Wheeler introduced a "shaky-cam" style, present in a number of films, featuring extreme-closeups and frequent cuts, including those that "broke the axis" (which proved disorienting to viewers accustomed to shows with the traditional "soap opera look"). Also new was the shooting of outdoor scenes that took place in actual outdoor settings. Even many indoor scenes had more of an "on location" feel, utilizing repurposing real locations, such as GL's production offices, to be motel rooms, nail salons, quick-mart and other businesses or locations. Thereby, the show had numerous sets without the cost of numerous separate locations.

CBS and the show's producers had hoped that the new look would help reinvent the show and raise ratings, making the longest-running program in daytime history a model for the future of daytime, but the plan was ultimately unsuccessful. The new production style was partly adopted by at least two other CBS soaps. Both The Bold and the Beautiful (for example, Bikini Beach and areas around the Forrester Creations building) and As the World Turns (for example the Snyder farm, the lake, and numerous other scenes featuring the teenage characters) have notably increased their use of this style in their daily production, where before those types of shoots were limited to special trips taken by the characters.

Production summary

Production summary

Start date	End date	Time slot (Eastern)	Run time (minutes)	Network	Filming location	Notes
January 25, 1937	December 26, 1941	—	15	NBC Radio	Chicago	Canceled by Procter & Gamble, resulting in 75,000 protest letters.
March 16, 1942	November 29, 1946	—				Canceled by General Mills.
June 2, 1947	June 27, 1952	—		CBS Radio	Hollywood	—
June 30, 1952	June 29, 1956	12:45 pm		CBS	New York City	Radio & TV concurrently
July 2, 1956	September 6, 1968			CBS Television		—
September 9, 1968	November 28, 1975	2:30 pm	30			—
December 1, 1975	November 4, 1977	2:00 pm				—
November 7, 1977	February 1, 1980	2:30 pm	60			—
February 4, 1980	September 18, 2009	3:00 pm				As early as 1993, some affiliates began airing the show at 9 AM, 10 AM, or noon local time.

The action has also been set in three different locales – it was based in the fictional towns of Five Points and Selby Flats before its current day locale of Springfield.

Origins, plot development, and cast

Guiding Light has had a number of plot sequences over the show's long history, on both radio and television. These plot sequences include complex storylines, and different writers and casting.

1930s and 1940s

Main article: Guiding Light (1937–1949)

The series was created by Irna Phillips, who based it on personal experiences. After giving birth to a still-born baby at age 19, she found spiritual comfort listening to the on-air sermons of Preston Bradley, a famous Chicago preacher and founder of the Peoples Church, a church which promoted the brotherhood of man. It was these sermons that formed the nucleus of the creation of The Guiding Light, which began as a radio show. The original radio show began airing 15 minute episodes on January 25, 1937, on NBC Radio. The show moved to CBS Radio in 1947.

1950s

Main article: Guiding Light (1950–1959)

The Guiding Light began airing on CBS television on June 30, 1952. These episodes were also 15 minutes long. During the period from 1952 to 1956, The Guiding Light existed as both a radio and television serial, with actors recording their performances twice each day the shows aired. The radio broadcast of The Guiding Light ceased production in 1956, ending this overlap.

After Irna Phillips moved to As the World Turns in 1958, her protege Agnes Nixon became Head Writer of The Guiding Light.

With the transition to television the main characters became the Bauers, a lower-middle class German immigrant family.

1960s

Main article: Guiding Light (1960–1969)

Agnes Nixon relinquished her role as head writer in 1966. On September 11, 1967, the show was first broadcast in color. A year later, the show expanded from 15 to 30 minutes.

The 1960s saw the introduction of African-American characters, and the main focus of the show shifted to Bill and Bert's children, Mike and Ed.

A number of new characters were introduced during the mid- to late-60s, perhaps most notably Dr. Sara McIntyre, who would remain a central character through the early 1980s.

1970s

Main article: Guiding Light (1970–1979)

Feeling pressure from newer, more youth-oriented soap operas such as All My Children, Procter & Gamble hired head writers Bridget and Jerome Dobson in 1975. The Dobsons introduced a more nuanced, psychologically layered writing style, and included timely storylines, including a complex love/hate relationship between estranged spouses/step-siblings Roger and Holly. They also created a number of well-remembered characters, including Rita Stapleton, whose complex relationships with Roger and Ed would propel much of the story for the remainder of the decade, and Alan Spaulding and Ross Marler, who would both remain central characters into the 2000s.

The decision was made in 1977 to re-introduce the thought-dead character of Bill Bauer. Everyone thought that he had died in an airplane crash in 1969, but he was said to actually be alive. Hillary Kincaid (Bauer), Bill's daughter (and thus Ed and Mike's half-sister) was also introduced during this period, and she would become a major character who would remain into the mid-1980s.

Shocking to most viewers, Jerome and Bridget Dobson killed the show's young heroine, Leslie Jackson Bauer. She was killed by a drunken driver, and many viewers stopped watching the show because of this death.

In the fall of 1975, the name was changed in show's opening and closing visuals from The Guiding Light to Guiding Light. On November 7, 1977, the show expanded to a full hour and aired from 2:30–3:30 p. m. daily.

The show in the 1970s focused on the Bauers and the Spauldings. Several notable characters were introduced.

1980s

Main article: Guiding Light (1980–1989)

In 1980, the Dobsons began writing As the World Turns, and were replaced by writer and former actor Douglas Marland. He created some new characters like vixen Nola Reardon. In May 1980, Guiding Light won its first Daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Achievement in a Daytime Drama.

During the early '80s, the show began to focus more on younger characters, in an attempt to compete with the younger-skewing ABC soaps. A number of longtime characters were written out during this time, including Ben and Eve McFarren, Diane Ballard, Sara McIntyre, Adam Thorpe, Barbara Norris Thorpe, Justin Marler and Steve Jackson; actress Lenore Kasdorf left the show in 1981, and producers decided not to recast the role of Rita Stapleton Bauer, given how popular Kasdorf had been; and Bauer family matriarch Bertha "Bert" Bauer died, after Charita Bauer's death in 1985. (The character was initially said to be visiting Meta Bauer for several months, until a tribute episode could be constructed where the characters could mourn Bert's passing onscreen.)

An ever more complicated storyline focused on the Bauers, Spauldings, Reardons, and Raines families. Pam Long became head writer in 1983 and refocused the show on Freddy Bauer (now called "Rick"), Phillip Spaulding, Mindy Lewis, and Beth Raines. She also introduced characters Alexandra Spaulding and Reva Shayne. Long would return for a second stint from 1987 to 1990.

Holly Norris and Roger Thorpe returned to the show in 1988 and 1989, respectively. (Both characters had been written out since 1980.)

1990s

Main article: Guiding Light (1990–1999)

With the new decade, the show's storytelling transitioned from Long's homespun, earthy style to a more realistic style with a new group of head writers. The Bauers, Spauldings, Lewises, and the Coopers had been established as core families, and most major plot developments circled around them.

The show suffered major character losses mid-decade, including the car accident death of Maureen Bauer and the exit of Alexandra Spaulding from the story. As the decade progressed, the show began a series of outlandish plot twists seemingly to compete with the serial Days of our Lives, including a highly controversial story on cloning.

In an attempt to revive the show, the character Reva Shayne was brought back to Springfield in April 1995. She'd been presumed dead for the previous five years, after having driven her car off of a bridge and into the water off the Florida Keys.

In January 1996, soap veteran Mary Stuart joined the cast as Meta Bauer (though referred to many times over the years, the long-running character originally played by Ellen Demming had not been seen onscreen since 1974); the character would remain on the show until Stuart's death in 2002.

2000s

Main article: Guiding Light (2000–2009)

The 2000s began with the splitting of the show into two locales: Springfield and the island nation of San Cristobel. In Springfield, the Santos mob dynasty created much of the drama. Meanwhile, the royal Winslow family had their own series of intrigues to deal with. In 2002, however, San Cristobel was written off the show and the mob's influence in the story was subsequently diminished and, with the departure of character Danny Santos in 2005, eliminated altogether. Also, Guiding Light celebrated its 50th Anniversary as a TV show on June 30, 2002.

In 2004, former director and actress Ellen Wheeler (Emmy Award winner as an actress for All My Children and Another World) took over as executive producer of Guiding Light. She and writer David Kreizman made numerous changes to the sets, stories, and the cast. Several veteran actors were dropped, mainly because of budget cuts. Because of the lack of veteran influence, Wheeler refocused the show on the youth of Springfield, centering on the controversial pairing of cousins Jonathan and Tammy.

In 2006, an episode featured character Harley Cooper gaining heroic abilities. The episode was semi-continued in an 8 page story in select Marvel Comics productions.

The show marked its 70th broadcast anniversary in 2007. The anniversary was commemorated with the launch of website FindYourLight.net and a program of outreach, reflecting Irna Phillips' original message. There was also a special episode in January 2007, with current cast members portraying Phillips and some of the earlier cast members. The show also introduced special anniversary opening credits.

Despite low ratings, the show won 2007 Daytime Emmy Awards for Best Writing and Best Show (sharing Best Show with The Young and the Restless).

The end

On April 1, 2009, CBS announced that it would not renew the show and the last broadcast date would be September 18, 2009. Procter & Gamble initially announced that they would attempt to find another outlet to distribute the show, but later admitted that they had been unsuccessful in doing so, and that on September 18, after 57 years on television (preceded by 15 years on radio for a total broadcast history of 72 years), Guiding Light would end its broadcast run on CBS.

During the final weeks on the air, numerous characters from the show's past pass through Springfield one last time, culminating with Ed and Holly, who impulsively embark on an unspecified journey together. Alan Spaulding suffers a fatal heart attack during the final week, but not before burying the hatchet with many former adversaries, including Jonthan. Alan's death brings nearly the entire town together, in a way that could not have happened while he was still alive. Alexandra takes Alan's death particularly hard, but is pleased when Fletcher Reade shows up at the Spaulding Mansion after Alan's service, and convinces her to accompany him to Europe. Beth and Phillip have grown closer and decide to remarry; Mindy Lewis returns to Springfield for good, and she and Rick also grow closer. Reva and Josh have a discussion, and agree that they each have their respective issues that they need to work through. Josh tells Reva that he is leaving Springfield for a job for the next year, but proposes that he will return one year from that date, and if by that time, she wants to reunite with him, she should meet him at the lighthouse, and if she is not there, he will assume she has moved on without him.

The final episode has an upbeat tone, featuring many of the characters gathering in the park for a large picnic. Toward the end of the episode, it jumps forward one year, by which time, Phillip and Beth have reunited, as have Rick and Mindy. Olivia and Natalia, happy with their new baby, pick Rafael up, as he returns from the Army. The episode concludes with Josh arriving at the lighthouse, as promised, and finding Reva there. They declaring their undying love. Josh asks if Reva is packed, to go on an adventure. The two grab the luggage, and with Reva's young son, they climb into Josh's pick-up truck. Josh says to Reva, "You ready?" She replies "Always." As the truck drives away with the lighthouse in the background, "The End" appears on the screen before a final fadeout. The song heard playing in the background during the final scene is "Together" by Michelle Branch.

The final episode also included the original tag line, with some revision, printed on the screen with the words "There is a destiny that makes us FAMILY" (replacing the word 'brothers'), as well as quick clips of each of the show's title cards and announcers over the six decades it was on television, leading to the show's former long-time opening announcement: "And now, The Guiding Light".

Cast and characters

• List of Guiding Light cast members
• Children of Guiding Light

Broadcast history

Main article: List of US daytime soap opera ratings

Unlike most attempts made by popular radio serials to convert to a television version, Guiding Light never had any difficulty holding onto its old listening audience and making new viewers simultaneously. This was made easy by the fact that neither ABC nor NBC broadcast programs on their respective networks at 2:30 p.m. Eastern/1:30 Central, where CBS first placed GL. Six months into the run, however, the network moved the serial to a timeslot that gave it great popularity with its housewife audience, 12:45 p.m./11:45 a.m., where it ran for the next 15 years and eight months, sharing the half hour with its sister Procter & Gamble-packaged soap, Search for Tomorrow. GL handled the competition breezily, even legendary shows such as Queen for a Day on ABC (briefly in 1960) and NBC's Truth or Consequences. Usually, GL ranked second in the Nielsen ratings behind another P&G serial, As the World Turns.

By 1968, however, changing viewership trends prompted CBS to expand its last two 15-minute daytime dramas, disrupting long-standing viewing habits. Search For Tomorrow took over the entire 12:30–1/11:30–Noon period, with GL returning to its first timeslot, 2:30/1:30, albeit in the now-standard half-hour format, on September 9. This also caused the dislocation of The Secret Storm and the beloved Art Linkletter's House Party, as well as the cancellation of the daytime To Tell the Truth. It would not be the last time, though, as the next 12 years would bring several shifts around CBS' lineup.

The 1970s saw GL's popularity dip somewhat, largely from the competition posed by younger-leaning serials such as The Doctors on NBC, but it still garnered decent ratings. After four years, CBS bumped its timeslot up by a half-hour to accommodate P&G's demand that Edge of Night move to 2:30/1:30, a move that led to the end of that show on CBS three years later. In the meantime, GL stayed steadily on course against NBC's Days of our Lives, another soap favored by younger women, and ABC's The Newlywed Game. In late 1974, ABC replaced Newlywed with The $10,000 Pyramid, which went on to garner strong ratings, but not greatly at GL's expense. Meanwhile, by fall 1975 (at this point, the show had officially dropped the word "The" from its title. although it was still referred to as The Guiding Light on air for several years after), the impending departure of Edge and CBS' planned expansion of ATWT affected GL by pushing it back to 2:30/1:30 in December, where NBC still ran The Doctors and ABC had a short-lived hit the next year with an updated Break the Bank. To complicate the picture further, ABC opted to make its first show expansions, that of One Life to Live and General Hospital, in July 1976, each occupying one-half of a 90-minute block.

With this in mind, CBS acted to give its veteran serial a contending chance by expanding it to an hour in length on November 7, 1977, strategically keeping its start time the same in order to dissuade viewers from turning to the other networks. This gained particular importance when ABC finally added 15 minutes to both OLTL and GH by January 1978, so that GL straddled those two programs, as well as the first half of sister P&G show Another World on NBC. Despite GH surprising all observers by skyrocketing from near-cancellation to the top place in the ratings with the "Luke and Laura" storyline, GL, holding its own while in direct competition with GH, still hit an upswing as the decade ended.

On February 4, 1980, CBS bumped GL down again, to 3pm/2c, in the midst of a major scheduling shuffle intended to give The Young and the Restless (itself now expanding to an hour length) a shot at beating ABC's All My Children. It remained in this timeslot for the rest of its run, facing GH (General Hospital) and NBC entries such as Texas, The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour and Santa Barbara. none of which made significant impacts upon GL. Furthermore, GH eventually petered out by the mid-1980s as well.

Overall, the first half of the 1980s saw a revival in Guiding Light’s popularity, with a top-five placing achieved in most years, and, for a brief period, it even managed to dethrone then-powerhouse General Hospital from the #1 ratings spot for three consecutive weeks. As the decade progressed, however, the ratings slipped a bit, although it was still performing solidly. In 1993, beginning with CBS New York City's flagship station WCBS-TV, GL began airing at 10 a.m. Eastern time in several markets. The show's solid performance began to crumble by the mid-1990s, when the show's ratings sunk as low as eighth place out of eleven. However, during the controversial clone storyline in 1998, the ratings experienced a brief resurgence. Nielsen reported GL had 5 million viewers in 1999, but that declined to 2.7 million in its final season. In March 2008, CBS renewed Guiding Light through September 18, 2009.

Up until its finale in 2009, stations in a number of markets aired GL in the morning either at 9 or 10 a.m. local time: Miami, Chicago, Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Orlando, Fort Wayne, Ind., South Bend, Ind., Portland, Me., Albany, N.Y., and Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Pa.. GL aired at 12 noon local time in Honolulu, Hawaii. In Savannah, GA, it aired at 4:00pm local time.

Up until 2004, stations that aired GL in the morning were always one episode behind stations that aired the program at the official timeslot of 3:00pm (ET). This changed in March 2004, during the first day of the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament, in which stations that aired GL at 10:00am were able catch up with stations that aired GL at 3:00pm. Starting in 2006, stations that aired GL at 9:00am were also offered a same-day feed to catch up with the rest of the network. As a result of this, daily episodes for the remaining years of GL were the same on all stations regardless of timeslot.

In fact, Guiding Light maintained strong ratings in Pittsburgh, despite being moved to 10:00 AM in 2006. According to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Dr. Phil hasn't been able to pull in the same numbers that GL did in that time slot a year prior, while GL maintained its audience share.

Two CBS affiliates did not air GL. One was KOVR-TV in Sacramento, California. KOVR had became a CBS affiliate in 1995. Despite its affiliate status, KOVR did not air Guiding Light. Before CBS affiliated with KOVR, it had been affiliated in Sacramento with KXTV. KXTV had dropped Guiding Light from its schedule in 1992 and never aired it again. As such, Guiding Light has been preempted on the Sacramento area since 1992. WNEM-TV in Flint/Saginaw/Bay City, Michigan also did not air Guiding Light. They initially ran the soap before they dropped it in 1996 because of disappointing ratings. In the fall of 2006, WNEM began running Guiding Light on its digital channel My 5.

In Canada, Guiding Light was available directly through CBS from the 1960s until the show's CBS cancellation in 2009. However, GL also made it on several Canadian television stations. Atlantic Satellite Network (ASN), as a supplementary service to its ATV system of CTV affiliates exclusively for Atlantic Canada, aired Guiding Light simultaneously with the CBS feed from 1983 to 1984 then, the broadcast was moved at 12 noon until 1985. In 1984, TVA a privately owned French language television network headquartered in Montreal, Quebec rebroadcast in translation episodes 12 months behind. In the early 1990s, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) aired the P&G serial nationally after it's 3:PM network news update. After an absence on Canadian networks, the series came back on CHCH-TV, exclusively for the Ontario market. In September 2007, Global picked up the show after CHCH-TV dropped it, claiming Passions’ former time slot. GL returned to CHCH when Global decided to air The Doctors.

Internationally, Guiding Light currently airs in Iceland, Italy, Hungary and Serbia. It also started airing on September 3, 2007 in the UK on CBS Drama, and is currently airing episodes from 2006.

The September 13, 2009, episode of CBS 60 Minutes featured a segment on the cast and crew of Guiding Light discussing the show and its eventual cancellation. The segment was re-broadcast on July 18, 2010.

Awards

Daytime Emmy Awards

Show

• 1980 Outstanding Daytime Drama Series
• 1981 Outstanding Writing for a Daytime Drama Series
• 1982 Outstanding Daytime Drama Series
• 1982 Outstanding Writing for a Daytime Drama Series
• 1982 Outstanding Achievement in Any Area of Creative Technical Crafts (Technical Direction/Electronic Camerawork)
• 1983 Outstanding Achievement in Any Area of Creative Technical Crafts (Lighting Direction)
• 1984 Outstanding Achievement in Design Excellence for a Daytime Drama Series
• 1985 Outstanding Direction for a Drama Series
• 1985 Outstanding Achievement by a Drama Series Design Team – Ronald M. Kelson
• 1986 Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team
• 1986 Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Drama Series
• 1986 Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design for a Drama Series
• 1987 Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Drama Series
• 1987 Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Drama Series
• 1990 Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team
• 1991 Outstanding Original Song: "Love Like This"
• 1991 Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series
• 1992 Outstanding Original Song: "I Knew That I'd Fall"
• 1992 Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series
• 1992 Outstanding Achievement in Graphics and Title Design
• 1993 Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team
• 1993 Outstanding Achievement in Multiple Camera Editing for a Drama Series
• 1994 Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team
• 1994 Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series
• 1995 Outstanding Lighting Direction for a Drama Series
• 1995 Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Drama Series
• 1996 Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series
• 1996 Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Drama Series
• 1996 Outstanding Live and Direct-to-Tape Sound Mixing for a Drama Series
• 1996 Outstanding Lighting Direction for a Drama Series
• 1998 Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series
• 1998 Outstanding Lighting Direction for a Drama Series
• 1998 Outstanding Original Song: "Hold Me"
• 2007 Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Drama Series
• 2007 Outstanding Daytime Drama Series (tie, with The Young and the Restless)
• 2007 Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series
• 2008 Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition for a Drama Series
• 2008 Outstanding Achievement in Live & Direct To Tape Sound Mixing For A Drama Series
• 2008 Outstanding Achievement in Multiple Camera Editing

Individuals

• 1983 Lifetime Achievement Award: Charita Bauer (Bert Bauer)
• 1984 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Judi Evans Luciano (Beth Raines)
• 1985 Distinguished Service to Daytime Television: Charita Bauer (Bert Bauer) [posthumous]
• 1985 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Kim Zimmer (Reva Shayne)
• 1985 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Larry Gates (H.B. Lewis)
• 1987 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Kim Zimmer (Reva Shayne)
• 1990 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Kim Zimmer (Reva Shayne)
• 1991 Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series: Rick Hearst (Alan-Michael Spaulding)
• 1992 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Maeve Kinkead (Vanessa Chamberlain)
• 1993 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Ellen Parker (Maureen Reardon)
• 1993 Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series: Monti Sharp (David Grant)
• 1994 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Michael Zaslow (Roger Thorpe)
• 1994 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Justin Deas (Buzz Cooper)
• 1994 Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series: Melissa Hayden (Bridget Reardon)
• 1995 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Justin Deas (Buzz Cooper)
• 1995 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Jerry verDorn (Ross Marler)
• 1996 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Jerry verDorn (Ross Marler)
• 1996 Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series: Kevin Mambo (Marcus Williams)
• 1997 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Justin Deas (Buzz Cooper)
• 1997 Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series: Kevin Mambo (Marcus Williams)
• 1998 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Cynthia Watros (Annie Dutton)
• 2002 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Crystal Chappell (Olivia Spencer)
• 2003 Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series: Jordi Vilasuso (Tony Santos)
• 2006 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Kim Zimmer (Reva Shayne)
• 2006 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Jordan Clarke (Billy Lewis)
• 2006 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Gina Tognoni (Dinah Marler)
• 2006 Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series: Tom Pelphrey (Jonathan Randall)
• 2008 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Gina Tognoni (Dinah Marler)
• 2008 Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series: Tom Pelphrey (Jonathan Randall)
• 2009 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Jeff Branson (Shayne Lewis)

Other awards

• 2005 Writers Guild of America Award: GL 2005 WGA Writing Team: David Kreizman, Tita Bell, Joyce Brotman, Christopher Dunn, Lloyd Gold, Kimberly Hamilton, Jill Lorie Hurst, Penelope Koechl, Eleanor Labine, Royal Miller, Cassandra Morgan, Danielle Paige, David Smilow, Gillian Spencer, Brett Staneart, Donna Swajeski, Ellen Weston
• 2005 Directors Guild of America Award
• 2010 GLAAD Media Award nomination for "Outstanding Daily Drama"

Head writers and executive producers

Head writer(s)	Years	Executive producers
Irna Phillips	1937–1952	David Lesan, Joe Ainley, Carl Waster
	1952–1956	David Lesan, Joe Ainley
Television
Irna Phillips	1952–1958	Lucy Ferri Rittenberg
Agnes Nixon	1958–1966
David Lesan, Julian Funt, Theordore Ferro, Mathilde Ferro, John Boruff, James Lipton and Gabrielle Upton	1966–1968
Irna Phillips	1968–1969
Robert Soderberg and Edith Sommer	1969–1973
James Gentile, Robert Cenedella and James Lipton	1973–1975
		Allen M. Potter
Bridget and Jerome Dobson	1975–1979
Douglas Marland	1979–1982
Pat Falken Smith	1982–1983
		Gail Kobe
L. Virginia Browne, Gene Palumbo	1983
Pamela K. Long and Richard Culliton	1983–1984
Pamela K. Long and Jeff Ryder	1984–1986
Jeff Ryder	Feb. 1986 – Sep. 1986
Mary Ryan Munisteri & Ellen Barrett	Sep. 1986 – Nov. 1986
Joe Witmore
	Oct. 1986 – Dec. 1986	Joseph D. Manetta
	Dec. 1986 – early 1997	Joseph D. Manetta and Sheri Anderson
Pamela K. Long	1987–1990
		Robert Calhoun
Stephen Demorest, James E. Reilly, and Nancy Curlee	1990–1991
Stephen Demorest, James E. Reilly, Nancy Curlee, and Lorraine Broderick	1991–1993
		Jill Farren Phelps
Stephen Demorest, Patrick Mulcahey, Nancy Williams Watt, Millee Taggert, and Sheri Anderson	1993–1995
Sheri Anderson	1995
Douglas Anderson	1995
		Michael Laibson
Megan McTavish	1995–1996
Michael Conforti and Victor Miller	1996
James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten	1996–2000
		Paul Rauch
Claire Labine	2000–2001
Lloyd Gold	2001–2002
Millee Taggert and Carolyn Culliton	2002–2003
		John Conboy
Ellen Weston	2003–2004
		Ellen Wheeler
David Kreizman	2004–2008
David Kreizman, Christopher Dunn, Lloyd Gold, and Jill Lorie Hurst	2008–2009

External links

• Guiding Light.net Official P&G website

• CBS-TV: GL
• Guiding Light at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• Internet Archives – The Guiding Light Internet Archives – The Guiding Light 15 minute MP3 radio episodes from the 40's and 50's
• FindYourLight, an official CBS site that accepts user-submitted content
• Guiding Light at the TVGuide.com
• Carter, Bill. "CBS Turns Out 'Guiding Light'," The New York Times, Thursday, April 2, 2009.
• 'Guiding Light' Finally Killed By Procter & Gamble, April 3, 2009, Fox News.