all-time only eclipsed by Charita Bauer's record of 34 years that she set in the fall of 1984), and the character of Alan Spaulding (introduced by The Dobsons on November 7, 1977) would remain part of the show's canvas off-and-on until September 2009, although with two major recasts. Also the longest running recurring character began under The Dobsons, Cedars Hospital's OB-GYN Dr. Margaret Sedwick. Dr. Sedwick first made her appearance in September 1979 during Jackie Scott Marler Spaulding's difficult pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage. Dr. Sedwick and the actress who played her from the beginning, Margaret Gwenver (Sedwick was Gwenver's married name) would help many women characters through pregnancies and miscarriages through the years (as well as being a major part of Lillian Raines' diagnosis and recovery from breast cancer) and would last be seen in 2009 a few months before the show ended. The Dobsons also are credited with writing, and then the producers presenting, the first ever marital rape story line in daytime, when by then married couple Roger Thorpe raped his wife, Holly Norris Bauer Thorpe on the March 5, 1979, episode of Guiding Light. And the rape was considered one of the most realistic looking rapes in daytime (a few months earlier, in October 1978, Roger had raped Rita Stapleton, with actor Michael Zaslow and actress Lenore Kasdorf both complaining that that rape was made to look like to the audience as though it was very romantic, instead of an act of violence.) This story line was considered one of the most controversial and most thought provoking story lines in daytime history (on ABC's General Hospital, the character of Luke had already raped the character of Laura, but those two characters were not yet married at that time, so Guiding Light Roger raping Holly still holds as the first ever marital rape on a soap opera), with a very interesting follow-up of a major trial (where the then new character of attorney Ross Marler defended Roger), and then in June 1979 Holly would shoot Roger (with his gun), three times in the chest, when it looked like he was going to be acquitted, he threatened to take their daughter Chrissy out of the country and fought with Holly's former husband (and Rita's current husband, Dr. Ed Bauer) and Ed was losing the fight. (This shooting would be one of the two events on the videotape presented to