Pat Falken Smith
Encyclopedia
Patricia Falken Smith was a television writer, most famous for her stints as head writer
of several soap opera
s, including General Hospital
and Days of our Lives
.
for Days of our Lives in 1976 and 1977.
Smith was hired by Gloria Monty
to head write ABC Daytime
's General Hospital from 1979 - 1981 and she is credited with taking the show to the top of the soap ratings. Smith was reported to be the highest paid writer in broadcasting history when she left General Hospital
in 1981, at $1 million per year.
She returned to Days of our Lives in 1981 where she introduced the Brady
and DiMera
families.
Then Smith went to Guiding Light
in 1982, where she served as Head Writer for less than 13 weeks. She went on to serve as Head Writer of Ryan's Hope
.
Head writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...
of several soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s, including General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
and Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
.
Biography
Smith served as the Head Writer for Days of our Lives from 1975 - 1977, where she earned a salary of $285,000 a year, considered very high for that time, which included $35,000 just for "thinking creatively." She won the "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series" Daytime Emmy AwardDaytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
for Days of our Lives in 1976 and 1977.
Smith was hired by Gloria Monty
Gloria Monty
Gloria Monty was an American TV producer working primarily in the field of daytime drama.She died of cancer at the age of 84.-Education:...
to head write ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime is a programming block on the ABC Network which has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows and talk shows.-Schedule:...
's General Hospital from 1979 - 1981 and she is credited with taking the show to the top of the soap ratings. Smith was reported to be the highest paid writer in broadcasting history when she left General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
in 1981, at $1 million per year.
She returned to Days of our Lives in 1981 where she introduced the Brady
Brady family (Days of our Lives)
The Bradys are a working class Irish-American Catholic family living in the fictional town of Salem on the soap opera Days of our Lives. First introduced in the early 1980s, the Bradys have become one of the central families on the show, second only to the Hortons...
and DiMera
DiMera family
The DiMeras are an upper-class Italian Roman Catholic family on the soap opera Days of our Lives. Over the years, the nature of the family itself has been retconned several times; although never directly and overtly, it's been represented as old-line Italian nobility, a relatively self-made...
families.
Then Smith went to Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
in 1982, where she served as Head Writer for less than 13 weeks. She went on to serve as Head Writer of Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
.