''A World Apart'' is an American

daytime drama A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

that ran from March 30, 1970, to June 25, 1971, on the

ABC television network The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Califor ...

Overview

The initial stories were written by Katherine Phillips (adopted daughter of

Irna Phillips Irna Phillips (July 1, 1901 – December 23, 1973) was an American scriptwriter, screenwriter, casting agent and actress. She is best remembered for pioneering a format of the daytime soap opera in the United States geared specifically toward wo ...

, who created ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the third longest-running drama in television in American history. ''Guiding Light'' a ...

'', ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

'' and '' Another World''). The story concerned a soap opera writer who adopted two children, a fictionalized version of Irna Phillips' life. Soap opera writer Betty Kahlman ( Elizabeth Lawrence,

Augusta Dabney Augusta Keith Dabney (October 23, 1918 – February 4, 2008) was an American actress known for her roles on many soap operas, such as the wealthy but kindly matriarch Isabelle Alden on the daytime series ''Loving (TV series), Loving''. She playe ...

) raised her adopted children without a husband. Her sounding board and friend was fellow soap opera writer Meg Johns, played by actress Anna Minot. Betty married Russell Barry ( William Prince) and the early focus was on generational conflicts between a newly married middle-aged couple and their confused children. People tried to understand each other, but were ultimately "a world apart", echoing the title. Eventually, the show-within-a-show element was scaled back, and writer Katherine Phillips was replaced by Richard Holland and Suzanne Holland. At that point, Betty and Russell settled into a tranquil marriage. Other storylines centered on the Sims family, who were mired in less turmoil than the Kahlmans, but still had their problems, as Dr. Ed Sims ( James Noble) and his extremely conservative wife Adrian (

Kathleen Maguire Kathleen Maguire (September 27, 1925 – August 9, 1989) was an American actress who won an Obie Award in 1958 for her performance in the stage play, ''The Time of the Cuckoo''. Early years Born in New York City, Maguire was an acting studen ...

) struggled with their rebellious daughter Becky (Erin Connor).

Cast

Many of the show's performers went on to later notability as actors, including

Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...

(Patrice Kahlman),NathanYoung, ill SimsNathanYoung Nicolas Surovy (Fred Turner),

Susan Sullivan Susan Michaela Sullivan (born November 18, 1944) is an American actress. Sullivan is best known for her roles as Lenore Curtin Delaney on the NBC daytime soap opera '' Another World'' (1971–76), as Lois Adams on the ABC sitcom ''It's a Living' ...

(Nancy Condon),

Dorothy Lyman Dorothy Lyman is an American television actress, director and producer. She is most known for her work as Gwen Frame on '' Another World'' and on ''All My Children'' as Opal Sue Gardner, as Rebecca Whitmore on '' Generations'', and on the sitcom ...

(Julie Stark), and

David Birney David Edwin Birney (April 23, 1939 – April 27, 2022) was an American actor and director whose career included performances in both contemporary and classical roles in theatre, film, and television. He is noted for having played the title role ...

(Oliver Harrell). James Noble (Dr. Ed Sims) would eventually play Governor Eugene Gatling on the television comedy ''

Benson Benson may refer to: Animals *Benson (fish), largest common carp caught in Britain Places Geography Canada *Rural Municipality of Benson No. 35, Saskatchewan; rural municipality *Benson, Saskatchewan; hamlet United Kingdom * Benson, Oxfordshire ...

'' alongside

Robert Guillaume Robert Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American actor and singer, known for his role as Benson DuBois in the ABC television series ''Soap'' and its spin-off, ''Benson'', as well as for voici ...

Clifton Davis Clifton Duncan Davis (born October 4, 1945) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, minister, and author. Davis wrote The Jackson 5's No. 2 hit "Never Can Say Goodbye" in 1971. He appeared on Broadway in the musicals '' Two Gentlemen of Verona ...

, who played Matt Hampton, would later appear in both ''

That's My Mama ''That's My Mama'' is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 4, 1974 until December 24, 1975. There are 39 episodes of this series. ''That's My Mama'' was never a ratings success, having alw ...

'' and ''

Amen Amen ( he, אָמֵן, ; grc, ἀμήν, ; syc, ܐܡܝܢ, ; ar, آمين, ) is an Abrahamic declaration of affirmation which is first found in the Hebrew Bible, and subsequently found in the New Testament. It is used in Jews, Jewish, Christia ...

'', where he played Reverend Reuben Gregory.

Jane White Jane White (October 30, 1922 – July 24, 2011) was an African-American actress. Born in New York City, she attended Smith College and The New School. In 1945, she made her Broadway debut in '' Strange Fruit''. This performance was followed by ...

and Davis played mother and son on both ''A World Apart'' and ''Amen''.

Broadcast history

The series ran Monday through Friday at 12:30 p.m. EST (11:30 a.m. Central), opposite CBS' then-popular ''

Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show focu ...

'' and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

The Who, What, or Where Game ''The Who, What, or Where Game'' is an American television game show that was broadcast weekdays on NBC from December 29, 1969, to January 4, 1974. The host was Art James, and the announcer was Mike Darow; Ron Greenberg packaged the show, which was ...

.'' It managed only a minuscule 2.8 rating, making it the second-worst-rated soap on the three networks—ahead of only '' The Best of Everything'', which aired just before ''A World Apart'', at noon EST. (The ironically-named ''Best'' sported an even-worse figure of 1.8, one of lowest ever for a US soap opera. Both series debuted on the same day, replacing re-runs of ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typic ...

'' and ''

That Girl ''That Girl'' is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from September 8, 1966 to March 19, 1971. It starred Marlo Thomas as the title character Ann Marie, an aspiring (but only sporadically employed) actress, who moves from her hometown of Brewster ...

''.) ABC canceled the show after a little over a year, wrapping up with a moving episode where Patrice Kahlman finally made peace with giving her newborn son up for adoption (among the few, if not only, episodes of this show known to survive).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:World Apart, A 1970 American television series debuts 1971 American television series endings American Broadcasting Company original programming American television soap operas English-language television shows