Pat Falken Smith

Days of Our Lives

• Head Writer: May 1975 - April 19, 1977, October 21, 1981 - April 16, 1982
• Script Writer: 1966, 1968-1971, 1972-1975
• Story Consultant: 1987-1988

General Hospital

• Head Writer: 1979-1981, 1985-1986, 1988-1989

Guiding Light

• Head Writer: 1982-1983

Ryan's Hope

• Head Writer: 1983-1985

Smith served as the Head Writer for Days of our Lives from 1975 - 1977, 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. She returned to Days of our Lives in 1981 where she introduced the Brady and DiMera families.

Smith was hired by Gloria Monty to head write ABC Daytime's General Hospital from 1979 - 1981 and she is credited with taking the show to the top of the soap ratings. Smith was reported to be the highest paid writer in broadcasting history when she left General Hospital in 1981, at $1 million per year.[2]

Then Smith went to Guiding Light in 1982, where she served as Head Writer for less than 13 weeks.[3] She went on to serve as Head Writer of Ryan's Hope before returning as Head Writer of General Hospital two more times in the 1980s. (1985-1986, 1988-1989). She died in Los Angeles, on May 19, 2001, aged 75.

Daytime Emmy Awards

WINS

• (1976; Best Writing; Days of Our Lives)

NOMINATIONS

• (1975, 1977 & 1978; Best Writing; Days of Our Lives)
• (1981 & 1986; Best Writing; General Hospital)

Writers Guild of America Award

NOMINATIONS

• (1975, 1976, 1977 & 1978 seasons; Days of Our Lives)

• Patricia Falken Smith at IMDb
• Obituary for Pat Falken Smith on SoapCentral
• Genie Francis