Marilyn Chambers with her Ivory Snow box
I don’t follow the news much, so I missed the fact that Marilyn Chambers, star of Behind the Green Door, one of the first “main-stream” porn films, died earlier this month. I only found out when it was briefly mentioned in People magazine.
What I found interesting was the note that before Marilyn made her move into sexually explicit films, she was on the Ivory Soap Box.
It’s interesting how the American public is so fascinated with and influenced by the trials and tribulations of fictitious families. The success of all soap operas (daytime and prime time), as well as shows like LOST, is all about getting people vested in a form of imaginary voyeurism. And it started with … soap.
Earlier this month, CBS announced they are canceling Proctor & Gamble’s soap opera, Guiding Light. The last episode will air September 18th.
The first episode of Guiding Light aired on NBC radio on January 25, 1937, making it the longest running soap opera. It was sponsored by Proctor & Gamble hence the “soap” opera moniker. However, it wasn’t the first soap marketing by P & G that concentrated on the continuing saga of a ficticious family.
