TheSoap Opera DigestAwards, originally known as The Soapy Awards when introduced in 1977, is an awards show held by the daytime television magazine Soap Opera Digest.
History
1977–1983
The Soapy Awards were an award presented by Soap Opera Digest magazine to the best work on American soap operas from 1977 until 1983. Unlike their successors, the Soap Opera Digest Awards, this accolade lacked a great deal of glamour. The statue itself was a tall geometric crystal and were presented during a television show after winners were announced in the magazine. The original award was designed by the magazine's art director Janis Rogak.
The magazine's editor Ruth J. Gordon, who was founding editor made the very first presentation on The Merv Griffin Show.
The 1981 show incorporated many of the categories which would become a hallmark of the Soap Opera Digest Awards, such as 'Most Exciting New Actor' (Tristan Rogers, General Hospital), 'Favorite Villain' (Andre Landzaat, General Hospital), and 'Favorite Villainess' (Robin Mattson, General Hospital). That year, the awards were swept by General Hospital.
In 1984, the awards were replaced by the Soap Opera Digest Awards.
1984–2005
In 1984, the awards evolved into TheSoap Opera Digest Awards, to replace the less-lavish Soapy Award. TheSoap Opera Digest Awards were meant to promote excellence in the soap opera genre and were decided by the fans who read the magazine. The statue itself was made of crystal and in the shape of a heart.
The first Soap Opera Digest Award show aired in 1984, and was featured on national syndicated television and hosted by then husband and wife Catherine Hickland and David Hasselhoff. One of the reasons for the move up was the new-found audience of both Daytime and Prime time soap operas. That year for the first time awards were given to prime time soap operas as well as daytime soaps. This practice was phased out in the 1990s as primetime soap operas began to lose the large appeal they once had.
For the first two years, fans themselves voted on the nominees list as well as the winners. Ballot stuffing and a voting bloc for the 1985 awards led to the side effect where Days of Our Lives swept almost every category. The third awards were changed so that the editors of the magazine chose the nominees and each reader was allowed only one ballot to vote for their favorites. This allowed other shows such as Santa Barbara and Another World to take home trophies. A change in award season from the end of the year to the beginning meant that there was no show in 1987.
In 1992 the awards were broadcast live for the first time; in addition, the award statue (previously a flat crystal heart) was redesigned to be an inch taller. NBC had aired the event ever since it made its way to network television, but the show would no longer be seen on the network after the airing of the 2000 awards. The year 2001 marked the first time that there was no awards ceremony and voting was done entirely online. In 2003 the cable channel SOAPnet broadcast the awards which were hosted by Lisa Rinna and Ty Treadway.
In 2001, the award was featured in the episode "The One with Joey's Award" for the show Friends, in which Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) was nominated for a Soapy for his fictional role in Days of Our Lives but does not win. In the episode, Joey says the awards began in 1998, so it's likely not meant to be the same award, but rather a homage.
No awards were given out in 2002 or 2004. The 2005 awards were done entirely through the magazine. Fans could find a ballot in a November issue of Soap Opera Digest and then mail it to the editors. Only one ballot per person was counted. The awards were announced in the magazine in February 2005.[clarification needed]
2005 - ?
This section needs expansion with: missing information Are the awards still active? What's happened in the decade and a half since 2005?. You can help by adding to it. (February 2021)
This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (February 2021)
2003 Michelle Stafford (The Young and the Restless)
2005 Tamara Braun (General Hospital)
Outstanding Supporting Actor: Daytime
Former name Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Daytime Soap Opera, Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Daytime Serial, Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role: Daytime
Former name: Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Daytime Soap Opera, Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Daytime Serial, Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role: Daytime
Former name: Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Prime Time Soap Opera, Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Prime Time Serial, Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role: Prime Time
Former name: Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role on a Prime Time Soap Opera, Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Prime Time Serial, Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role: Prime Time
Former name: Outstanding Youth Actor in a Daytime Soap Opera, Outstanding Youth Actor in a Daytime Serial, Outstanding Young Leading Actor in a Daytime Serial
Former name: Outstanding Youth Actress in a Daytime Soap Opera, Outstanding Youth Actress in a Daytime Serial, Outstanding Young Leading Actress on a Daytime Serial
This section needs expansion with: missing information Are the awards still active? What's happened in the decade and a half since 2005?. You can help by adding to it. (February 2021)