Guiding Light is an American radio and television soap opera. It is listed in Guinness World Records as the second longest-running drama in television in American history. Guiding Light aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952 and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio between January 25, 1937 and June 29, 1956. With 72 years of radio and television runs, Guiding Light is the longest running soap opera, ahead of General Hospital, and is the fourth-longest running program in all of broadcast history; only the American country music radio program Grand Ole Opry, the BBC religious program The Daily Service, the CBS religious program Music and the Spoken Word, and the Norwegian children's radio program Lørdagsbarnetimen have been on the air longer. When the show debuted on radio in 1937, it centered on Reverend John Ruthledge and those people's lives that revolved around him.
| Genre | Soap opera |
| Created by | Irna Phillips and Emmons Carlson |
| Written by | Christopher Dunn, Lloyd Gold, Jill Lorie Hurst, David Kreizman, Tita Bell, Kimberly Hamilton, Rebecca Hanover, David Rupel, Donna Swajeski, Ellen Weston, Brett Staneart, Casandra Morgan, Penelope Koechl, David Smilow, Gillian Spencer |
| Directed by | Bruce S. Barry, Joe Cotugno, Rob Decina, Matthew Lagle, Brian Mertes, Adam Reist, Robert Scinto, Jo Anne Sedwick, Susan Strickler, Ellen Wheeler, Karen Wilkens |
| Starring | Series cast |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | NBC and CBS: 19 (radio), CBS: 57 (television, includes four years on both TV and radio), Total: 72 |
| No. of episodes | NBC: 2,500 (radio), CBS: 15,762 (radio & TV), Total: 18,262 |
| Executive producer(s) | Lucy Ferri Rittenberg (1952–75), Allen M. Potter (1976–82), Gail Kobe (1982–86), Joe Willmore (1986–89), Robert Calhoun (1989–91), Jill Farren Phelps (1991–95), Michael Laibson (1995–96), Paul Rauch (1996–2002), John Conboy (2002–04), Ellen Wheeler (2004–09) |
| Producer(s) | Producers, Alexandra Johnson-Gamsey, Maria Macina, Jan Conklin, Christopher Cullen, Janet Morrison, Coordinating Producer, David Brandon, Associate Producers, Jennifer Weeks, Amanda Glattstein |
| Location(s) | Chicago, Illinois (1937–47), Los Angeles, California (1947–49), New York City, New York (1949–2009) |
| Running time | 15 minutes (1937–68), 30 minutes (1968–77), 60 minutes (1977–2009) |
| Production company(s) | Procter & Gamble Productions (1952–2008), TeleNext Media, Inc. (2008–09) |
| Original network | NBC Radio (1937–46), CBS Radio (1947–56), CBS (1952–2009) |
| Picture format | NTSC (480i) |
| Audio format | Mono (1956–87), Stereo, CBS StereoSound (1987–97), Digital Stereo (1997–2009) |
| Related shows | Another World |
About Guiding Light
Starting as a radio program in 1937, the show follows the town of Springfield, specifically, the Bauer family.
Achievement of Guiding Light
It holds the Guinness World Record for longest-running drama on television, having run for 57 years. The show won the Outstanding Daytime Drama Series at the Day Emmys in 1980.
Top Facts You Did Not Know About Guiding Light
Guiding Light Category.. Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series winners.. Television series by Procter & Gamble Productions.. Television series created by Irna Phillips.. American television soap operas.. CBS Radio programs.. NBC radio programs.. 2000s American drama television series.
Latest information about Guiding Light updated on July 28 2021.
