Former ABC soap stars who hit it big

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Former ABC soap stars who hit it big

Photos of some former ABC soap stars who hit it big in TV, films and music.

ABC announced April 14, 2011, that it's canceling two of its longest-running soap operas, "All My Children" and "One Life To Live," due to sagging ratings. ABC soaps have produced many actors who have gone on to bigger fame, including... "Live with Regis and Kelly" co-host KELLY RIPA, who played bad-girl-gone-good Hayley Vaughan Santos on "All My Children" from 1990-2002.

MICHAEL WEATHERLY melts our hearts each week as Very Special Agent Tony DiNozzo on "NCIS," but he honed those hot acting chops as Cooper Alden on ABC's "Loving" from 1992-95 and its replacement, "The City," from 1995-96.

Did Fergie see hubby JOSH DUHAMEL as Leo du Pres on "All My Children" circa 1999-2002? Likely not. But non-AMC fans know him now from TV ("Las Vegas") and films, like "Life as We Know It" (above) with Katherine Heigl.

DEMI MOORE played Jackie Templeton on "General Hospital" from 1982-83. Since then, we hear she's had a little success in Hollywood.

Fans of "One Life To Live" were crushing on NATHAN FILLION long before he turned heads as mystery writer Richard Castle on ABC's "Castle." Fillion stole hearts as Joey Buchanan from 1994-97 on OLTL.

We know LAURENCE FISHBURNE from his many film roles, including "Akeelah and the Bee" (above) and his current "CSI" role as Dr. Raymond Langston. But longtime "One Life To Live" viewers - really longtime - remember him as another doctor, Joshua Hall, from 1973-76. It was Fishburne's first acting gig.

To many TV fans, KATE MULGREW will always be Captain Kathryn Janeway from "Star Trek: Voyager." To soap fans of the '70s, she holds a special place as Mary Ryan Fenelli, the headstrong daughter from the ABC daytime drama "Ryan's Hope," a role she originated and played from the show's beginning (1975) until 1978.

Sure, he warmed our hearts in the '80s (and in never-ending reruns) as Uncle Jesse on "Full House," but if you want to win that free round at bar trivia, be the one who knows that JOHN STAMOS first gained fame as rocker Blackie Parrish on "General Hospital" from 1982-84.

If you blinked, you may have missed RYAN PHILLIPPE's turn as Billy Douglas on "One Life To Live" in 1992-93. Bet you'll catch him in "The Lincoln Lawyer" on the big screen, though.

Bonus Round: KATE JACKSON (right) became a superstar in the '70s thanks to the ABC series "Charlie's Angels." But she paid her dues on an ABC soap that lives on as a cult classic with fans. "Dark Shadows" mixed soapy melodrama, gothic settings and the supernatural (the "hero" was a vampire) with some howlingly hilarious low-budget production from 1966-71. Jackson played governess Daphne Harridge from 1970-71.

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ABC announced April 14, 2011, that it's canceling two of its longest-running soap operas, "All My Children" and "One Life To Live," due to sagging ratings. ABC soaps have produced many actors who have gone on to bigger fame, including... "Live with Regis and Kelly" co-host KELLY RIPA, who played bad-girl-gone-good Hayley Vaughan Santos on "All My Children" from 1990-2002.

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