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Fraternity Row
FraternityRow2010final

Fraternity Row final title card, circa 2010-2012

Created by Agnes Dixon
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of episodes 11,078
Production
Executive producer(s) Jerry Davis (1969-75)
Steven Harrison (1975-81)
Jonathan Long (1981-86) Deanna Williams (1986-89, 1991-98)
Harry Moran (1989-91)
Madeline McPherson (1998-2003)
Felix McLean (2003-09)
Vernita Belle Brown (2009-12)
Producer(s) Jerry McCanton
Location(s) New York City, New York
Running time 30 minutes (1969-76)
60 minutes (1976-2012)
Broadcast
Original channel BGC
Picture format 480i SDTV (1969-2009)
1080i HDTV (2009-2012)
Original run January 6, 1969 – January 20, 2012

Template:Italic title

Fraternity Row is an American soap opera that aired for 43 years from January 6, 1969 to January 20, 2012 on BGC. The show was created by Agnes Dixon. It takes place in a town called Billingsley, Pennsylvania. Fraternity Row debuted on January 6, 1969 and was very different from all other soap operas. It shows a lot of diversity; the rich and the middle class, black and white, Jewish and Catholics. The show expanded from 30 minutes to a full hour on July 26, 1976.

BGC announced on July 14, 2011, that it canceled Fraternity Row due to low ratings. The show taped its final scenes on November 11, 2011, and its final episode aired on January 20, 2012. Its spinoff, One Line to Cross, debuted on June 17, 2013 and replaced the now-canceled Our Screams Can Last. Three years later, On March 16, 2015, BGC replaced Fraternity Row with a newly debuted Passionate Dreams spinoff called Rainbow Stories .

Fraternity Row (FR) reached its peak of popularity in the mid-to-late 1980s, topping the ratings in 1988. Its popularity was boosted by the enormous popularity of Roxanne Bright, as played by actress Megan Gordon. The supercouple pairing of Gordon's character Roxanne and star quarterback Todd Byron (played by several actors, including a notable, rare one-week engagement by Max Holden) brought it to number one. Another popular player at the time was Mari-Lynn Dennison, who played Roxanne's ingenue sister Tiffany.

Unfortunately, while the show was at its peak popularity in 1988, it was also an era of serious backstage tumult. Producer Randy Stone had a particularly contentious relationship with series star Gordon. Their feuding reached an embarrassing low when, while promoting the series on a talk show, Stone humiliated Gordon by revealing a porn film the actress had performed in earlier in her career. Stone was fired. Meanwhile, actress Dennison was being harassed by a stalker who later murdered Stone because of his treatment of her. Dennison was so traumatized by the incident, she never acted professionally again.

Gordon's fights with series producers continued after Stone's death. His successor chose to replace Gordon in the role of Roxanne with Spring Skye. The recast was controversial and was met with extremely divided reactions by FR fans. The show, however, could not sustain its popularity without Gordon, so she was quickly rehired to portray a new role, the trashy hooker with a heart of gold, Ruby Bright, in 1989. Tragically, Gordon died of lupus-related health issues in 1992. With her demise, FR's "golden era" ended and the series' popularity faded.

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