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In the spring of 1992,One Life to Livesent two of its newest characters on a collision course.
Watching from home, a young actor named Neil Tadken was inspired.
IfOne Life to Livecould bring the AIDS crisis to the airwaves, why couldnt more shows?
And why not all at once?
This Pride month marks the 25th anniversary of the project.
Though Tadken reached out to all of the soaps, a few refused to participate that first year.
He hadnt thought about it before, but, What was I gonna say, No?
So it became an annual TV tradition.
The following year,General Hospitalraised the stakes substantially.
The Day of Compassion was marked by a huge in-show ceremony known as the Nurses Ball.
Even more shows joined in on the Day of Compassion, including the Procter & Gamble soaps.
As the project got bigger, Tadken got more help.
For the most part, Leritz remembers these as positive experiences.
Maury Povich was great, he said, which I was not expecting at all.
Throughout this period, Tadken, Leritz, and their collaborators worked without pay.
The idea of it so deeply touched my heart […] This was before the cocktail.
People were just dying.
During this same period, soap operas were beginning to change dramatically.
TheAdvocateevencalled1994 a surprisingly good year for gay and lesbian content and characters on national television.
The event had a heavy white and cis focus, but it was also making a real impact.
After Lee Mathispassed awayfrom AIDS-related illness in 1996, the following Nurses Ball included a tribute to his character.
In 2000, Day of Compassion co-organizer Ari Sloanesuccumbedas well.
There is evidence that soap operas cansuccessfully spreadhealth information.
Its almost real world can vividly demonstrate the long-term course of a disease like HIV/AIDS.
He used his earnings from the acting work to put himself through seminary.
Today, Tadken is anEpiscopal priestin Monrovia, California.
