Barbara Irwin & Mary Cassata's Y&R Memorable Moments

Mary Cassata is Associate Professor of Mass Communication at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Barabara Irwin is Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Canisius College in Buffalo.

Throughout the years, we have developed a partnership in both our teaching and research. We've been studying soap operas for, collectively, nearly thirty years, and it was our research on soap operas that introduced us to William J. Bell, creator of The Young And The Restless. Barbara met Bill when she interviewed him as part of her dissertation research. After that, we conducted a research study for him addressing which characters on Y&R and B&B were considered favorites by the shows' fans. Then we were lucky enough to be chosen as the writers for these two books.

We are co-directors of a long term research facility, Project Daytime, based at SUNY/Buffalo. Mary Cassata is the author of an award-winning book, Life on Daytime Television: Tuning in American Serial Drama (written with Dr. Thomas Skill). At one time, she authored a monthly column, "Ask the Soap Doctor" for Soap Opera Digest. Barbara Irwin wrote, "An Oral History of a Piece of Americana: The Soap Opera Experience" as her Ph.D. dissertation. Mary, by the way, served as Barbara's major professor in graduate school.

As soap opera "experts," we've been guests on numerous national radio and television talk shows, as well as literally hundreds of syndicated and regional programs throughout the US and Canada. We've also acted as consultants for Procter and Gamble as well as for numerous television specials/features/conferences/exhibits on soaps. In addition to collaborating on these Y&R books and numerous articles, chapters, and papers on our soap opera research, we've also completed an update of "Getting There," an original soap opera Mary created (with Jenette Dozoretz) that was optioned by Corday Productions (of Days Of Our Lives fame). We're also now working on our second screenplay.