''Our Five Daughters'' is a daytime

soap opera 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 on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

from January 2 to September 28, 1962. The show was written by Leonard Stadd and directed by Paul Lammers, and aired for a half-hour, five days a week, at 3:30 PM EST, right after '' Young Doctor Malone''. The show starred former silent film icon

Esther Ralston Esther Ralston (born Esther Louise Worth, September 17, 1902 – January 14, 1994) was an iconic American silent film star. Her most prominent sound picture was '' To the Last Man'' in 1933. Early life and career Ralston was born Esther Loui ...

, whose career had faded after refusing to sleep with a studio mogul; she had lost most of her money and had been working as a sales clerk before finding some acting roles here and there. One of them was a brief appearance on the daytime courtroom drama '' The Verdict Is Yours''. ''Verdict'' producer

Eugene Burr Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

liked what he saw and offered her the lead role in his new soap, ''Our Five Daughters''. Ralston played Helen Lee, mother of five daughters, whose husband Jim ( Michael Keene) was critically injured in an accident. He became an invalid and the abrupt change caused havoc for his wife and children. The show did not gain a significant audience and was ended after several months, on the same day ''

The Brighter Day ''The Brighter Day'' is an American daytime soap opera which aired on CBS from January 4, 1954, to September 28, 1962. Originally created for NBC Radio by Irna Phillips in 1948, the radio and television versions ran simultaneously from 1954&nda ...

'' ended its run. The late

Jacqueline Courtney Jacqueline Courtney (born Sharon Courtney; September 24, 1946 – December 20, 2010) was an American actress best known for her work on daytime soap operas. Courtney's initial appearance on television came in 1951 when she performed on WAAT in ...

, who played daughter Ann Lee, was also a popular actress on other daytime shows such as ''

The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American television mystery crime drama series and soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that netwo ...

'', '' Another World'', and '' One Life to Live''. Remarkably, all five actresses playing the daughters resembled Esther Ralston in her heyday. Wynne Miller, who played her sister, was later featured on the NBC serial ''

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

'' as Jessica Buchanan Delaney. Janis Young, who played another of the sisters, later played a mad housekeeper on '' Another World''. Other performers included Janis Young, future writer Ralph Ellis, Wynne Miller, and Edward Griffith.

References

External links

* American television soap operas 1962 American television series debuts 1962 American television series endings NBC original programming Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows {{US-drama-tv-prog-stub