 "The Guiding Light" began on radio, on 25 January 1937, and  originally revolved around a minister named Rev. Dr. John Ruthledge  (played by Arthur Peterson) and his congregation in Five Points, IL.  At 68 years (although on radio it was cancelled by NBC, five times:  1939, 1941, 1942, 1944 and 1946; with audiences having huge letter  writing campaigns to have NBC revive it and then was picked up by  CBS in 1947), it is the longest running drama series in history. It  was on radio and television (the actors/actresses had to perform  scripts twice during the day), from June 30, 1952 to June 30, 1956.  It is also the only broadcast show to actually be on three networks,  NBC would split in two in 1946 (NBC and what would later become ABC;  and "The Guiding Light" was on both versions of NBC: NBC Red and NBC  Blue) and then went to CBS where it has stayed to today. It also has  changed location three times, from 1937 to 1946 it was in Five  Points, IL (a fictional suburb of Chicago), then it moved, from 1947  to 1965 to Selby Flats, CA (a fictional suburb of Los Angeles) and  then finally to its current location of the fictional Springfield,  Illinois in 1966.