Irving Vendig was an American 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,...

 writer.

Career

He created The Edge of Night

The Edge of Night

The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...

for Procter and Gamble Productions and CBS Daytime

CBS Daytime

CBS Daytime is a television programming block on CBS. It's the branding for the CBS Television Network's late morning and early afternoon programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows, and talk shows...

 in 1956. He had been a writer on the Perry Mason

Perry Mason

Perry Mason is a fictional character, a defense attorney who was the main character in works of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason was featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a plot involving his client's murder trial...

radio show. When Erle Stanley Gardner

Erle Stanley Gardner

Erle Stanley Gardner was an American lawyer and author of detective stories, best known for the Perry Mason series, he also published under the pseudonyms A.A. Fair, Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J...

 refused to allow the show to become a soap opera, Vendig refashioned the show into The Edge of Night, and brought actor John Larkin

John Larkin

John Larkin may refer to:*John Larkin , Belfast-born legal scholar*John Paul Larkin , American jazz musician known as Scatman John...

, who played Mason on the radio, to the show as series star Mike Karr

Mike Karr

Mike Karr is a fictional character on the long-running daytime soap opera, The Edge of Night.A tireless crime-fighter, Karr was introduced as a cop finishing law school. This character evolved from the earlier Perry Mason character on radio...

.

Vendig was the series' Head Writer

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...

 from 1956 until 1960, then co-head writer with James Gentile from 1960 until 1965. Vendig was credited on-air as series' creator until his departure from the daytime drama in 1965.

He also created the NBC Daytime

NBC Daytime

NBC Daytime is the schedule for the NBC television network's daytime television programming which consists of morning news program Today and soap opera Days of our Lives...

 drama Three Steps to Heaven

Three Steps to Heaven (TV series)

Three Steps to Heaven was a soap opera that aired on NBC from August 3, 1953 to December 31, 1954. It was created by Irving Vendig. Don Pardo was the announcer....

. He also wrote for the daytime dramas Search for Tomorrow

Search for Tomorrow

Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...

(which he wasn't able to see at his Florida home because the local CBS affiliate didn't carry it), Paradise Bay and The Clear Horizon

The Clear Horizon

The Clear Horizon is a soap opera which ran on CBS Daytime from July 11, 1960 to March 10, 1961 and from February 26, 1962 to June 11, 1962. The show was created and head written by Manya Starr. -Premise:...

. He created Hidden Faces

Hidden Faces

Hidden Faces is an American soap opera that aired on NBC from December 30, 1968 to June 27, 1969. The series was created by Irving Vendig, who also created the long-running Procter & Gamble serial The Edge of Night....

, a short-lived drama for NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

, which was similar in theme to his more famous The Edge of Night, which starred Stephen Joyce, Conard Fowkes, Louise Shaffer

Louise Shaffer

-Biography:Shaffer was born in Woodbridge, Connecticut, where she showed an interest in acting early on in her life. After finishing high school, she attended Connecticut College for Women, then Yale Drama School...

, and a very young Linda Blair

Linda Blair

Linda Denise Blair is an American actress. Blair is best known for her role as the possessed child, Regan, in the 1973 film The Exorcist, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and two Golden Globes, winning one. She reprised her role in 1977's Exorcist II: The Heretic.-Biography:Blair...

.

External Links