March 2, 2006

"AS THE WORLD TURNS" CELEBRATES 50 YEARS ON THE CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

On the morning of April 2, 1956, Nancy and Chris Hughes (Helen Wagner and Don MacLaughlin) awoke in separate twin beds. The first words were Nancy's "Good Morning, Dear." On that morning, AS THE WORLD TURNS was born, premiering on the CBS Television Network. April 2, 2006 marks the 50th anniversary of the daytime drama, which is still garnering critical acclaim, with 38 Daytime Emmy Awards, including wins for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series in 1987, 1991, 2001, 2003 and most recently, a 2005 win for Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team.

AS THE WORLD TURNS, created by Irna Phillips, premiered as a 30-minute live show, unprecedented at the time for a soap opera. Top-rated from 1959 to 1971, it was the first daytime serial with its own spin-off, "Our Private World," which aired in prime time. Veteran cast members who still play integral characters on the program include Helen Wagner (who has appeared since day one), Eileen Fulton, Don Hastings, Kathryn Hays and Marie Masters, all of whom have been starring on AS THE WORLD TURNS for over 30 years.

For the 50th anniversary this year, upcoming storylines center around the confusion of Holden (Jon Hensley) and Lily Snyder (Martha Byrne) as they comes to terms with their son's homosexuality, and a stranger claiming to be Rose's daughter enters their lives; Mike Kasnoff (Mark Collier) and Katie Coleman's (Terri Colombino) impending marriage is put on hold when Mike must head to Europe. When he returns, he discovers that Katie and his cousin Nick Kasnoff (Jordan Woolley) have developed feelings for each other; sparks fly when two young couples, Gwen Norbeck (Jennifer Landon) and Will Munson (Jesse Soffer) and Casey Hughes (Zach Roering) and Maddie Coleman (Alexandra Chando) are driven closer together and further apart; Barbara Ryan (Colleen Zenk Pinter) is working hard to find a way to break up her son Will and Gwen; the mysterious kidnapping of Dusty Donovan (Grayson McCouch), and Emily Stewart's (Kelley Menighan-Hensley) desperate attempts to win back Paul Ryan (Roger Howarth); and the threat to Carly (Maura West) and Jack Snyder's (Michael Park) marriage.

AS THE WORLD TURNS has held to its traditional family values while remaining current and topical with storylines touching on issues such as AIDS, drug and alcohol dependency, incest, euthanasia, teen suicide and Alzheimer's disease, to name a few.

Throughout its long history, the show has served as a launching pad for some of today's well-known Hollywood names, including Julianne Moore, Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei, Meg Ryan, Parker Posey, James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Jason Biggs, William Fitchner, Jordana Brewster, Grammy Award winner Lauryn Hill, Margaret Colin, Dana Delaney, Steven Weber, Ming Na, John Wesley Shipp and Broadway star Lea Salonga ("Miss Saigon").

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Among the current cast and production staff, Martha Byrne won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2001 and Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series in 1987; Eileen Fulton won Soap Opera Digest's Editor's Awards in 1991 for outstanding contributions to the art of continuing drama; Don Hastings won the 1993 NATAS Silver Circle Award; and the writing team has won the Outstanding Drama Series writing team in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005. In 2004, Helen Wagner, Eileen Fulton and Don Hastings were all honored at the Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony with Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Television Academy.

AS THE WORLD TURNS, a Procter & Gamble Production, tapes in Brooklyn, N.Y., and is broadcast on the CBS Television Network (check local listings). Christopher Goutman is the executive producer and Jean Passanante is the head writer.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: To download photographic images from AS THE WORLD TURNS, please visit www.cbspressexpress.com)

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Press Contacts: CBS:
Meredith Tiger 212-975-3829 mftiger@cbs.com

Cindy Marshall 323-575-2019 cindy.marshall@tvc.cbs.com

                        Procter & Gamble:
                        Alan Locher             212-474-5816   alan.locher@televest.com
                        Lisa Lugassy            212-474-5801   lisa.lugassy@televest.com
                        Cristin Callaghan       212-474-5816   cristin.callaghan@televest.com

Photo Contacts: Susan Eyre              212-975-1079  sceyre@cbs.com
                Johanna Bradford        212-474-5816  johanna.bradford@televest.com