A pioneering radio writer, Irna Phillips created arguably the first soap opera (Painted Dreams, 1930), then spent the next 40 years as the creative force behind everything from Woman In White, Today's Children, and Road of Life on radio to As The World Turns and Another World for television. She was among the first soap writers to focus on professional characters—doctors, nurses, and lawyers. Phillips also mentored future soap greats Agnes Nixon and Bill Bell.

Further Reading:

Dunning, John. On The Air: The Encyclopedia Of Old-Time Radio. New York, Oxford University Press, 1998.