The only existing soap on the air longer than "ATWT" is "The Guiding Light," a sister Procter & Gamble production that began on radio and made its CBS television debut in 1952.

"As the World Turns" boasts some TV landmarks of its own.

Breaking with the original 15-minute format for soaps, "As the World Turns" debuted as the first half-hour drama in daytime (an hour is the standard length today) and was the top-rated soap for a record 20 years -- from 1958 to 1978 -- while racking up a total of 42 Daytime Emmy Awards.

The show also became the only daytime serial to spawn its own prime-time spinoff, "Our Private World," starring pioneering soap opera super-vixen Eileen Fulton as Lisa. The 1965 series only lasted a few months, but Fulton remains with the show after 46 years. Fellow incumbent cast member Don Hastings has played Dr. Bob Hughes for 45 years.

Other alumni have gone on to greater fame off the show, including Julianne Moore, James Earl Jones, Meg Ryan, Lauryn Hill, Marisa Tomei, Cicely Tyson and Jason Biggs.

Wagner began her career on the stage, appearing in such Broadway productions as "Sunny River," "The Bad Seed" and "Oklahoma!" before moving into television.

CONSCIENCE OF OAKDALE

Wagner's presence on "As the World Turns" has diminished in recent years as the series focuses on the intrigues of younger characters, but she remains a key figure in the fictional Chicago suburb of Oakdale, where the program is set.

"She is ... Oakdale's conscience," said executive producer Christopher Goutman. "Even the worst of our villains know that they can't pull the wool over Mrs. Hughes' eyes."

Currently, Nancy is embroiled in a mystery surrounding the publication of a scandalous novel, "Oakdale Confidential," which sheds light on the checkered pasts of several characters. A real-life novel tied into the series is due out from Pocket Books next month in conjunction with the show's anniversary.

Nancy, who began the series as rather assertive and opinionated, has mellowed over the years, and Wagner credits the writers with "letting Nancy grow up and grow old along with Helen, so I didn't have to cross over the border and be a character woman. I was just Nancy."

But Wagner insists that Nancy "is nothing at all like me."

"I never told people quite so much what to do as Nancy does," Wagner said, adding that she has always enjoyed a considerably more active social life, frequently going to the opera, ballet and out to dinner with her husband and friends.

"(Nancy) was always just a homebody," Wagner said. "I kept my house clean, but we still went out."