Agnes Nixon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Agnes Nixon
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Nixon at the 2010 Daytime Emmy Awards
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| Born |
Agnes Eckhardt
December 10, 1922 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
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| Died | September 28, 2016 (aged 93) Haverford, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actress, writer, producer |
| Years active | 1944–2013 |
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Notable work
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One Life to Live All My Children Loving |
| Spouse(s) |
Robert Henry Adolphus Nixon
(m. 1951; died 1996) |
| Children | 4 (including Robert Nixon) |
Agnes Nixon (born Agnes Eckhardt; December 10, 1922 – September 28, 2016) was an American television writer and producer. She was famous for creating popular ABC soap operas like One Life to Live and All My Children. She also created Loving and its spin-off show The City.
Agnes Nixon won many awards for her work. She received five Writers' Guild of America Awards and five Daytime Emmy Awards. In 2010, she was given a special Lifetime Achievement Award. People often called her the "Queen" of modern American soap operas because of her big influence on these shows.
Contents
Her Career in TV
Starting Out
Agnes Eckhardt was born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 10, 1922. She went to Northwestern University. She began her career writing for soap operas, learning from a famous writer named Irna Phillips. Agnes worked on shows like Woman in White and As the World Turns. She was also the main writer for Search for Tomorrow, Guiding Light, and Another World.
While working on Guiding Light, Agnes Nixon wrote a very important storyline. A friend of hers had passed away from cervical cancer. Agnes wanted to teach women about getting regular health checks, like a pap smear. She wrote a story where the main character, Bert Bauer, had a cancer scare. This storyline aired in 1962 and helped educate many viewers. In 2002, she received an award for this pioneering health storyline.
Creating One Life to Live
In the mid-1960s, Agnes Nixon had an idea for a new show called All My Children. However, the TV network ABC asked her to create a different show first. They wanted something more "modern" and up-to-date. This led to the creation of One Life to Live.
Nixon wanted to make a show that was different from traditional daytime dramas. She created a unique story with diverse characters. The show featured both a rich family (the Lords) and a working-class family (the Woleks). One Life to Live showed the different backgrounds and social classes of people in a fictional town called Llanview, Pennsylvania.
When One Life to Live started in 1968, it reflected the changing world. It included important social topics and characters from different backgrounds. For example, it had Jewish and Irish American characters. It also featured some of the first major African American roles in soap operas. One character, Carla Gray, had a storyline where she learned to embrace her black pride. This show was known for its focus on social issues and strong male characters.
The Success of All My Children
After the success of One Life to Live, ABC gave Agnes Nixon the chance to create All My Children. This show began in 1970 as a half-hour program. It quickly became very popular, combining social issues with great acting.
For its first seven years, All My Children was a half-hour show. Sadly, most of the early episodes were erased by ABC to reuse the videotapes. In 1975, ABC wanted to make the show an hour long. Agnes Nixon agreed, but only if the network promised to save and keep all future episodes. So, episodes began to be saved in 1976, and All My Children became an hour-long show in April 1977.
Later, Agnes Nixon stepped back from being the main writer, but she stayed involved. She continued to help guide the show. In 1999, she was asked to take over as the main writer again. She brought back important social issues to the show. In 2000, a major character, Bianca Montgomery, came out as a lesbian. This storyline was very important and helped All My Children win several awards, including a GLAAD Media Award.
Other Shows: Loving and The City
In 1983, Agnes Nixon started another show called Loving with Douglas Marland. This half-hour show was set in a fictional town in Pennsylvania. Loving ran until 1995. Nixon also received credit for its follow-up series, The City, which ended in 1997.
On-Screen Appearances
Agnes Nixon sometimes appeared in her own shows. She played characters named Agnes Eckhardt and Aggie on All My Children. She also played Agnes Dixon on One Life to Live.
Her Personal Life and Passing
Agnes Nixon was married to Robert Henry Adolphus Nixon from 1951 until he passed away in 1996. They had four children together. Agnes Nixon passed away in Haverford, Pennsylvania, on September 28, 2016. She was 93 years old. Her death was caused by pneumonia due to Parkinson's disease.
In 2017, her memoirs were published. The book was called My Life to Live: How I Became the Queen of Soaps When Men ruled the Airwaves.
Awards and Recognition
Agnes Nixon received many honors for her groundbreaking work in television:
- In 1973, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for One Life to Live.
- She won an award for Outstanding Achievement in the World of Daytime Drama in 1977.
- In 1981, she received the Trustees Award for Continued Excellence.
- She won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series for All My Children in 1985.
- Her All My Children writing team won the Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team Daytime Emmy in 1988, 1996, 1997, and 1998.
- In 1992, she was added to the Television Academy Hall of Fame.
- She received the Golden Plate Award in 1993.
- In 1994, she was inducted into the Soap Opera Hall of Fame. She was the first female writer to receive this honor.
- She won the Editor's Choice Award at the Soap Opera Digest Awards in 1996.
- Nixon won Writers Guild of America Awards for Best Written Daytime Serial in 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002, and 2004.
- In June 2010, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 37th annual Daytime Emmy Awards.
See also
In Spanish: Agnes Nixon para niños
