Pat Falken Smith

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Patricia "Pat" Falken Smith (January 21, 1926 – May 19, 2001) was a television writer, most famous for her stints as head writer of several soap operas, including General Hospital and Days of Our Lives.

[edit] Biography

Smith was the head writer for Days of Our Lives from 1973-77, where she earned a salary of $285,000 a year, considered very high for that time, which included $35,000 just for "thinking creatively."^[1] She won the "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series" Daytime Emmy Award for Days of Our Lives in 1976 and 1977.

Smith was the head writer for General Hospital from 1979-82 and she is credited with taking the show to the top of the soap ratings. Her stint as head writer included the highest rated episode in soap opera history, the wedding of Luke and Laura, which attracted more than 30 million viewers when it was first broadcast on November 16, 1981.^{[citation needed]} Smith was reported to be the highest paid writer in broadcasting history when she left General Hospital in 1982, at $1 million per year.^[2]

She was lured from General Hospital to Guiding Light, where she served as head writer for less than 13 weeks.^[3] She went on to serve as head writer of Ryan's Hope and again at Days of Our Lives.

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

• Patricia Falken Smith at the Internet Movie Database
• Obituary for Pat Falken Smith on SoapCentral

Preceded by William J. Bell	Head Writer of Days of Our Lives 1975-77	Succeeded by Ann Marcus
Preceded by Douglas Marland	Head Writer of General Hospital 1979-1981 1986-1988	Succeeded by Robert J. Shaw
Preceded by Gary Tomlin Michelle Poteet Lisanti	Head Writer of Days of Our Lives 1981-1982	Succeeded by Margaret DePriest Sheri Anderson
Preceded by Douglas Marland	Head Writer of Guiding Light 1982-83	Succeeded by L. Virginia Brown
Preceded by Claire Labine Paul Avila Mayer	Head Writer of Ryan's Hope 1983-85	Succeeded by Millee Taggert Tom King