Agnes Nixon
| Agnes Nixon | |
|---|---|
Nixon at the 2010 Daytime Emmy Awards
|
|
| Born |
Agnes Eckhardt December 10, 1922 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died |
September 28, 2016 (aged 93) Haverford, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Parkinson's disease |
| Occupation | Actress, writer, producer |
| Years active | 1948–2012 |
| Spouse(s) | Robert Henry Adolphus Nixon (m. April 6, 1951–1996; his death) |
| Children | 4 (including Robert Nixon (filmmaker) |
| Website | Official website |
Agnes Nixon (née Eckhardt; December 10, 1922 – September 28, 2016) was an American television writer and producer. She is best known as the creator of the long-running soap operas One Life to Live, All My Children, and Loving.
Nixon's work as producer and writer introduced a number of new storylines to American daytime television – the first health-related storyline, the first storyline related to the Vietnam War, the first on-screen lesbian kiss and the first on-screen abortion. She won five Writers' Guild of America Awards, five Daytime Emmy Awards, and in 2010 received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Nixon was often referred to as the "Queen" of the modern American soap opera.
Nixon was born Agnes Eckhardt on December 10, 1922, in Chicago, USA, the daughter of Agnes Patricia (née Dalton) and Harry Joseph Eckhardt. She attended Northwestern University, where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She began her career in soaps working for Irna Phillips. Under her tutelage, Nixon was a writer on Woman in White and As the World Turns, and was head writer for Search for Tomorrow, Guiding Light, and Another World.
During her time on Guiding Light, Nixon is believed to have written the first health-related storyline on a daytime soap opera. A friend of Nixon's had died from cervical cancer, and Nixon wanted to do something to educate women about getting a pap smear. She wrote it into Guiding Light by having the lead character, Bert Bauer, experience a cancer scare. The storyline aired in 1962 and in 2002, she was the inaugural recipient of the Pioneer for Health Award from Sentinel for Health for her work on the episode.
...
Wikipedia