Agnes Nixon - My Life to Live: How I Became the Queen of Soaps When Men Ruled the Airwaves

T he Emmys, 1981. I was sitting in the backstage area in the Waldorf-Astoria grand ballroom, waiting for my cue. I was the recipient of the Trustees Award for excellence in production, and I was greatly disturbed.

My insecurities plagued me: I didnt deserve this award. Voices from the past confirmed my fears. My father: You, a writer? Thats a joke. The head of Procter & Gamble: Frankly, Agnes, we just dont think youre a writer. The director of The Edge of Night: Sweetie, you dont get how to plot a serial.

Barbara Walters stepped onstage. The destructive voices increased in volume: Thats a joke; youre not a writer; you dont get it.

Barbara stepped up to the podium, and the noises in my head subsided. She addressed the tables crowded with bright lights of the industry and a television audience of millions. This is a very special occasion with the Emmys and the Trustees Award. I will tell you about the big one. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Trustees Award recognizes achievement in television so extraordinary that it is rarely presented. Previous winners include General David Sarnoff, William Paley, Leonard Goldenson, and Edward R. Murrow, so you can see what kind of award it is.

Today marks a number of firsts for this prestigious award. It is the first time it has been presented to someone in the daytime area, it is the first time it has been presented to a writer, and it is the first time in the history of this award that it has been presented to a woman. I feel like saying with you all, Right on.

The recipient today is the creator of One Life to Live, All My Children, and the cocreator of Search for Tomorrow and As the World Turns. By now you know I can only be talking about Agnes Nixon.

I felt a little push on my shoulder. The backstage manager said, Agnes, that was your cue. Go join Barbara.

As I walked across the stage through a thunderous standing ovation, the applause mounted. Barbara took my hand and said, One of your shows has been on the air every weekday for the past thirty years. How did you do it?

Rather than answering her question directly, I began by thanking the academy for the honor. Then I said, I honestly dont think I deserve it. But if I do, its because of all the people through the years who have helped me. My Irish family, around whose hearth I learned as a child to love a story. The late, great Irna Phillips, who gave me my first job and taught me the form of the daytime serial, and that every individuals life has a soap opera in it.

I went on to thank the network executives and the producers, directors, actors, and writers, as well as our wonderful