Irna Phillips

Irna Phillips (July 1, 1901 - December 22, 1973) wrote and created many of the first American soap operas. She is considered by many to be the mother of the genre.

Dispute about Painted Dreams

By 1933 Painted Dreams had become so successful that Phillips urged the local Chicago station WGN to sell the show to a national network. When they refused Phillips took them to court claiming the show as her own property. In the meantime Phillips created a new show Today's Children, which was little more than a thinly disguised version of Painted Dreams. For example Mother Moynihan became Mother Moran, while much of the storyline remained the same. Historians believe that Today's Children represents the first instance of a broadcast network soap opera - thereby crediting Phillips with inventing the genre

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By 1938 Today's Children was a massive hit on NBC radio. Later that year Painted Dream's immerged from the courts and was purchased by CBS. The nature of the court settlement prohibited Phillips from any future involvement with the series, however, the natational broadcast of Painted Dreams never matched the popularity of Today's Children. Later in 1938 Irna Phillips mother, who had been the inspiration for the matriarch character passed away and Phillips demanded that Today's Children be discontinued out of respect. Instead of taking Phillips to court NBC agreed and replaced it with her new series Woman in White

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