Irna Phillips, originator and writer of well-known soap operas for more than thirty-five years, was born and reared in Chicago, and has lived there most of her life although she spent some years working on the West Coast. She attended Northwestern University (1918-1919), the University of Illinois (1919-1922), and the University of Wisconsin (1924), to do graduate work in journalism. Although she never married, she adopted two children, Thomas Dirk (1941), and Katherine Louise (1943).
From 1925 to 1929, Miss Phillips taught speech at Dayton, Ohio's Teachers College. She became involved in writing for radio broadcasting in Chicago in 1929 quite by accident, having been primarily interested in acting. Her first efforts resulted in the serial Painted Dreams (1929-1931), a continuing story which was broadcast five days a week. Painted Dreams, a local program, was the first dramatic daily serial, and its success paved the way for the network program Today's Children, which followed, also as a daily serial (1932-1937). Miss Phillips, who reportedly writes stories from her own experiences, took Today's Children off the air soon after her mother's death although it was a flourishing program at the time. Her mother had been the main resource for the program's lead character, Mother Moran. Miss Phillips immediately replaced it with Woman in White.
With the help of co-authors, researchers, and a full-time secretary, Miss Phillips had as many as five soap operas on the air at one time. In 1949, she began proposals for soap operas on television with “New” Today's Children (originally Lonely Women).
Miss Phillips continues to write and supervise television soap operas in 1968, notably As the World Turns (the first half hour serial) and The Guiding Light. The Guiding Light originated in 1937 on radio and was the first radio serial to move to television. She recently originated Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, but left the show soon after its inception.
The following programs are representative of those she has originated, written or supervised during the past thirty-five years. The programs listed with inclusive dates are contained in this collection. For a more extensive listing of Miss Phillips' programs, the contents list below should be consulted.
- Today's Children/Women in White, 1932-1942 (originator)
- Masquerade, 1934-1935 (originator)
- Road of Life, 1937-1944 (originator)
- The Guiding Light, 1937-1958, 1967-1968 (originator)
- The Right to Happiness, 1939-1942 (originator)
- Lonely Women/Today's Children, 1942-1947(originator)
- Young Doctor Malone (writer)
- The Brighter Day, 1950-1960 (writer)
- As the World Turns (originator)
- Another World, 1964-1965 (originator)
- Our Private World, 1965
- Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, 1967
- Days of Our Lives (co-author)
- Peyton Place (consultant)
