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Guiding Light was created by Irna Phillips. It began with a radio broadcast on January 25, 1937. It's first television broadcast was on June 30, 1952 and was 15 minutes long. From that time until August 1956 the cast did the same scripts for radio and television each day. Although Guiding Light was still the number one radio show, it was cancelled due to a declincing audience. On September 9, 1968, Guiding Light expanded to 30 minutes. It expanded to 60 minutes on November 7, 1977. It's original name was The Guiding Light. "The" was dropped from the name in 1977. This makes Guiding Light the longest running show in broadcast history. When Irna was 19 years old she found out she was pregnant. She wasn't married and the father of the baby wanted nothing to do with Irna. She ended up giving birth to a still born baby. Out of this tragedy she gained comfort in the sermons of Dr. Preston Bradley. The sermons at the non-denominational Chicago church centered around the brotherhood of man. Twenty-seven years later she used this minister's preachings and theme as the basis for The Guiding Light. The Guiding Light was centered around the Rev. Dr. John Ruthledge, the people who lived near him, and the people who came to him for help. A lamp in his study was always on as a sign to those who need his help. The lamp was known by all as "The Guiding Light." Rev. Ruthledge ran the Little Church of Five Points in Five Points, a Chicago suburb. Rev. Ruthledge was a widower and had one daughter named Mary Ruthledge. A boy named Ned Holden was left in the Rev. Ruthledge's care. He raised him as his son. Rev. Ruthledge left the Little Church of Five Points to work in Europe and was replaced by Rev. Dr. Richard Gaylord, then Rev. Frank Tuttle, then the Rev. Dr. Paul Keeler. Before Rev. Ruthledge died he gave his lamp to Ned and asked him to give it to his good friend from the seminary, Rev. Dr. Charles Matthews. Rev. Matthews lived in Selby Flats, a Los Angeles area neighborhood. Rev. Matthews then became the keeper of "The Guiding Light." Years later the locale of The Guiding Light changed from Selby Flats to the fictional midwestern town of Springfield. This is the central location of the show today. To learn more about the characters and the stories, go to the GL characters page. |
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