Search for Tomorrow

Search for Tomorrow was a soap opera which aired on the CBS television network from September 3, 1951 to March 26, 1982. The show was then moved to NBC, where it commenced telecasts on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode was aired on December 26, 1986.

The '60s

The show was one of the highest-rated soaps in the 1950s, but Search was losing out to newer soaps as the decade drew to a close. When the show was in a ratings slump in 1960, Western-themed drama writers Frank and Doris Hursley were hired to write the show. They wrote a pregnancy into the storyline for Joanne, to coincide with Mary Stuart's real-life pregnancy. In 1963, with the ratings staying stagnant, the duo decided to write out Jo's baby by having him run in front of a speeding truck and die upon impact. Miss Stuart was unhappy with the decision and, in the book All My Afternoons, Stuart was paraphrased as saying that she played the grief scenes with so much conviction that even the makeup lady could not bear to watch her to see if her makeup was right. In the end, the ratings did not rise, and Stuart threatened to quit the show unless the Hursleys were fired. The duo left the show and created General Hospital for ABC the same year.

Related Topics:
1950s - 1960 - Frank and Doris Hursley - 1963 - All My Afternoons - General Hospital - ABC

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As the show progressed, Joanne's sister Eunice (Ann Williams) came to town and seduced Joanne's second husband, Arthur Tate. When a woman named Marian Rand came to town and sued Arthur for paternity, the stress surrounding this dilemma, coupled with personal troubles and the guilt of sleeping with Eunice caused him to have a fatal heart attack.

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Joanne's daughter Patti (played most notably during this time by actress Leigh Lassen) grew into a teenager and got involved with drug-dealing gang members (incorporating a scathing viewpoint regarding America's counter-culture of the day). Joanne's friend Sam Reynolds (who was, ironically, Arthur's archenemy) proved his worth to Joanne by saving Patti when she was held at knifepoint. They were going to be married, but alas, it was not to be. Actor Robert Mandan, who played Sam, did not renew with the show, and was written out as dying in Africa.

Related Topics:
Leigh Lassen - Robert Mandan

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