The man who put soaps in primetime.

The beginning

Before the mansions. Before the shoulder pads. Before Alexis walked into a room and owned it — Aaron Spelling (1923–2006) was a working actor grinding it out, learning television from the floor up. Then he produced more of it than any human being in American history: 218 credits, 3,000+ hours. The record still stands.

The eighties

Dynasty (ABC, 1981–1989). Oil money. Catfights. The Carringtons vs. the Colbys — and Alexis, the villainess Joan Collins turned into the blueprint for every primetime soap diva since. At its peak, the whole world stopped to watch.

The Colbys (1985–1987) spun the war into its own series.

The nineties

A decade later he did it again — for a whole new generation. Beverly Hills, 90210 (Fox, 1990–2000): ten seasons that turned the teen soap into a cultural earthquake. Melrose Place (1992–1999): seven seasons of beautiful people doing terrible things in one West Hollywood apartment complex.

Then he went straight at daytime itself — Sunset Beach (NBC, 1997–1999): 755 episodes, two Emmys, and storylines with zero shame.

The music

And the music? The Peach Pit After Dark didn’t book fake bands — it booked real ones. Luther Vandross sang “Here and Now” on that stage. The Flaming Lips played “She Don’t Use Jelly.” Jamie Walters sang his own songs in character as Ray Pruit.

Daytime soaps made hit records. Spelling proved primetime could do it too — twice, ten years apart.