Full Name Theodore Corday Nationality American-Canadian | Years active 1952–1966 Children Ken Corday Name Ted Corday | |
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Similar People Betty Corday, Irna Phillips, Ken Corday, Macdonald Carey, Frances Reid | ||
Helen Wagner on working with "As the World Turns" creator Irna Phillips and producer Ted Corday
Theodore "Ted" Corday (May 8, 1908 – July 23, 1966) was a producer, director and co-creator of soap opera for NBC, most notably the hit series Days of Our Lives
Contents
- Helen Wagner on working with As the World Turns creator Irna Phillips and producer Ted Corday
- Don Hastings on the process with director Ted Corday on As the World Turns
- Biography
- References
Don Hastings on the process with director Ted Corday on "As the World Turns"
Biography
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Corday graduated from the University of Alberta and studied law before moving to the United States in 1934. He worked in Broadway for many years before producing dramas for radio, such as Tortilla Flat, Tobacco Road, Gangbusters and Counterspy. He then moved to television in the 1950s, producing Guiding Light for a time as well as directing As the World Turns, from its 1956 premiere until 1965.
Corday was later lured to NBC to create three new soap operas. The first two, Paradise Bay and Morning Star, were not successful, but his third NBC serial, Days of Our Lives, was a big hit and is still in production after 50 years on the NBC network, airing well over 12,000 episodes, a success he could have never imagined but is a living tribute to his creativity, talent and genius in the dramatic serial genre.
Before Corday could pen many stories for the serial, he was diagnosed with cancer, and was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. After many months in the hospital, he died on July 23, 1966 at the age of 58. His widow, Betty Corday, continued to produce Days of our Lives until her death in 1987.
Corday died just ten months after creating Days, which is now one of the longest running television shows still on the air in the world.