Guiding Light is one of my first memories as a child. My mama would turn on the soaps in the afternoon to keep her company while she ironed or sewed. I’ve loved the Bauer, Spaulding, Lewis and Cooper families goings on from childhood until today, when their final episode airs. It’s a sad, sad day. No game show will ever replace the memories…

Best wishes to the cast and crew and we all look forward to seeing what you do next!

Good to end on a happy marriage!

www.chrissysmith.net

Like Cabin Girl, Guiding Light is part of my very first memories. I started watching with my mom when I was five years old, and she started with her grandmother on the radio. The characters are like friends and family. Being on every day of every week, except for the people we live with, we see these characters more than our actual friends and family. As Tina put it, GL has been here for so many events in the world over seven decades of history. We brought these people into our homes and they have been a part of our lives. This is not just a show…it’s a part of our lives.

 I still have hope that these characters will live on in some way. Guiding Light as we have known it is over, but maybe, someone will find a way to bring the Light back again.

Guiding Light didn’t break records - it burned them into the history books!  Celebrate Guiding Light for its stunning success.  You are not being replaced, you have all just finalized the delivery of this gem to the world and likely blazed the trail for similar programs as they begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel as well.  Broadcast television is metamorphosing.  Time to redefine yourself Ms. Sloan - you’ve got so much left to do!

Wishing you all the best.

     I am also a 3rd generation GL fan.  When I began watching GL, it was a 15 minute broadcast in black &white!  These characters have become like dear friends and family over the years.  We loved, laughed, cried, cheered for them, and sometimes got angry with their choices, just like we would with anyone we were close with.  I have grown up alongside Beth, Phillip, and Rick (aka. Freddy). They were teenagers in the show at the same time that I was.  I bonded with them and when Riva (Kim Zimmer) came to town, well look out Springfield!  I have always respected Lillian (Tina Sloan) and loved her portrayal of Lillian. Yes Lillian, I do forgive you for Maureen’s death!  I’m glad your character came to terms with that as well. Good luck with CHANGING SHOES!  I hope CBS and P&G realize someday what gem they had.  No game shows for me.  I’ll find something else to fill my hour. 

            We’re all grieving the loss of our Springfield family.  I hope that GL will reemerge someday.  In the meantime, farewell Springfield and thank you GL for the past 72 years!  You will be in my heart… . ALWAYS!

Ms. Sloan, thanks for this article.  I don’t watch TV anymore - haven’t for a few years, but to hear that Guiding Light will be leaving the air both amazes and saddens me.

I watched Guiding Light as a child with my mother (the 60s)- the Bauers were friends I met up with daily.  In my teens (the 70s), the Spauldings came along to spice things up, Ross Marler became a mainstay, and Roger Thorp became an evil icon (who could ever forget the drama and bizarre relationship of Roger and Holly?).  I always remember watching GL and the minute the last scene closed, my friend (and neighbor) would call, "Did you watch?  Can you believe it?" then we’d spend another hour, rehashing all we’d just watched and speculating about what would happen next.  When my mother would get home from work, I’d chatter away, telling her all that she’d missed.

In my early married life (the 80s), I continued watching GL.  I remember the loss of Bert Bauer, the Mrs. Wexler/Amanda dynamic, the addition of many families - the Lewises, the Reardons, the Chamberlains, and eventually, the Coopers.  Oh, and of course, the outrageous Reva Shayne.  And yes, Ms. Sloan, I remember when the Raines family came onto the scene, adding yet another dimension to the show - a path from frightened, abused victims to strong, empowered women.

I may not have watched GL (or any TV) for sometime now, but that fact certainly won’t stop me from missing its absence.  Over the last couple of decades, I occasionally found myself in a hotel room or perhaps the house of a friend when GL would appear on the screen.  It was like going home - old friends were there and seeing the new storylines were like catching up on all of the gossip from your hometown. 

72 years - wow… such an accomplishment.  GL, thanks for the memories.  Your extended family will miss you. 

I, too, am a member of a multi-generational family, who has watched GL for decades.  I am sad to lose a "good friend," just because the corporate powers that be, at CBS-TV and Proctor&Gamble, decided that a game show would be a better fit, from a financial standpoint.  The game show may be slated for a 72 week run and/or a 72 month run, but it will be long gone and replaced many times, and never reach a 72 year run, like GL did.

I met many of the cast members at Fan Club Luncheons and have corresponded with two cast members, during the last several years, and can say that everyone was kind, caring and appreciative of their viewers.  I wish them all the best, now that the "Light," has been turned off. 

Tina, that is a beautiful and moving statement. I love that you mention being able to pick any point in the run of the show and having a sampling of American life throughout history. I literally grew up with Guiding Light and while I couldn’t watch every episode because of school and later work, I caught as much as I could and the characters of Springfield were always with me. I started watching (or at least remembering watching) when I was 4 years old. My mom would put me down for my nap on a blanket on the floor and I was much more interested in what Nola was doing than in sleeping. Throughout the years I can mark where I lived or how old I was by what was on. I will never ever forget jumping up in the middle of the living room and screaming at the TV on that Friday in the summer of 1990 when the show ended on a freeze frame of Reva’s car in midair. They made us wait the entire weekend to find out if she made it or not!

Thank you and countless others so much for you dedication of time and of self to a legacy, a friend and a part of our lives. 

Much success with Changing Shoes. I’m looking forward to seeing it!