Friday, September 23, marked the fifth anniversary of ABC's final episode of the beloved soap opera All My Children. Pine Valley fans across the nation tipped their hats in memory of the former show that ran on the network from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011. But it was former series star Vincent Irizarry (ex-David Hayward; Deimos Kiriakis, Days of our Lives) who summed up the emotional day the best.
After the actor saw a Soaps In Depth article commemorating the day, he took to Facebook to share that by sheer coincidence, he had ended up near the Glendale studios at which AMC taped after moving production from New York City to Los Angeles in 2010.
"Ended up in Glendale today; a part of town I rarely, rarely visit," he wrote. "Decided to go to The Americana for a salad and glass of wine to bring the exhausting, yet satisfying, work week to an end; decompress. Perfect afternoon. Clear, sunny skies. Slight breeze. Moderate temperature. LA autumn at its finest. Doesn't hurt to have the musical standards I adore playing over the PA outside where I sit, harmoniously joining the flowing waters of the nearby gilded fountain...Sinatra, Bennett, Holiday... Yes. What Friday's were created for... However, what makes this seemingly perfect late afternoon even more curious is what I recently, completely by chance, spotted on my Twitter feed; this accompanying article. Today happens to mark the 5 year anniversary of the final episode airing of ABC's 40+ yr run of All My Children... Personally, what makes this even more relevant during my weekending exhale is the fact that the last scenes we shot and produced of AMC ABC were at the studio we relocated to here in LA from NYC after 40 yrs of production, just 8 minutes away from where I'm typing this post, so enjoying my New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, at a place I would visit back then, but haven't since I worked on the show those 5 years back. Not once. Coincidence? Hmmmm..."
He continues: "Perhaps the restless spirit of Dr DH led me here to reminisce, reflect on this day's significance... Thank you, dear, dear [AMC creator] Agnes Nixon, and all I had the privilege of working alongside throughout those magical years. Thank you, even more, all of you who had invited us into your homes, year after glorious year, graciously weaving us into the fabric of your everyday lives. To you I send my greetings from our dear, eternal 'Pine Valley.' I raise a glass to you all..."
As fans of the show likely recall, ABC cancelled AMC in 2011, shortly after moving the show to L.A. in an effort to cut production costs. The network sold the licensing rights to the third-party production company Prospect Park, which aired the soap online until September 2, 2013.
What do you think about Irizarry's toast to AMC? How much do you still think about and miss Agnes Nixon's soap opera? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
