General Hospital News & Gossip

News for the week of 31-May-2004
by Carol Banks Weber

Put those rumors to rest. Tony Geary (Luke) has no ax to grind against Greg Vaughan (Lucky III). Unlike their on-screen counterparts, the actors get along famously, as colleagues, emphasized Geary. Furthermore, they are well-aware of the lack of significant airtime and characterization for Lucky, as well as the shelved father/son relationship, and hope to rectify the situation soon with considerable help from the writing team. The scenes between them at the police department indicate a definite improvement and warming of the cold front. Geary and Vaughan seem to have a firm, comprehensive grip on where they’d like their characters to go, how to improve their on-screen relationship and recreate the Lucky recast with more of Vaughan’s natural charisma.

A key to Lucky’s renewed viability is to, of course, drop the cop facade, and bring back the con artist that Luke himself has instilled in both his children growing up. Laura’s compassion is a given. But not enough of the dark side, through Luke’s influence, has been explored to any extent, in Geary’s opinion: “We’ve always said that Lucky knew how to forge a check and that he had specific skills that you don’t get in school. He could talk his way out of things. I think that’s one of the things they should look more into with Greg. With the charm that Greg has, Lucky could be a very sharp-tongued con. It’s in his blood!”

Understandably, 25-year GH veteran Geary is protective of the Luke/Laura legacy, and that includes their progeny. He wants to ensure that any resulting characters and stories properly honor that legacy. While he’s willing to assist newcomers, especially talented ones so full of potential like Vaughan, he would rather view the interactions as that of a fellow co-star just trying to help another co-star fit in in the best way possible, for the overall good of the show, and more selfishly, to preserve the authenticity of that legacy. “If I weren’t in scenes with Greg, I like him, so if I could say anything that I could help him with, I would do it anyway,” Geary began. “This relationship is very key to me, to Luke, and to keeping the franchise alive. So I have a big investment in Greg being as good as he can be. And he can be excellent.” –ABC Soaps in Depth, “Like Father, Like Son,” June 8, 2004

Tony Geary (Luke) and Genie Francis (ex-Laura) will reunite – their voices, anyway – on the big screen in a Disney children’s animated film called Teacher’s Pet, coming to theatres soon. Joining them are other famous stars Kelsey Grammer, Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally.

Ted King (Lorenzo) didn’t just find a penny or a quarter on the ground one day on his way to the train. He found $90 in cash just laying around, waiting for anybody to pick it up. Another boy found $10. At the time, King was about to board a train with a pal in New York when he noticed the money at his feet. He waited for someone to claim it, but after a few beats when no one did, he picked it all up. Later, off the train, he, his girlfriend and the pal headed down to the East Village and “blew everything right there and then. The whole night didn’t cost us a thing!” –ABC Soaps in Depth, June 8, 2004

Playing a retarded neurotic depressive, with all its mental and physical restraints, has been challenging for Tyler Christopher (Nikolas) – a hit with his fans in the L.A.-based production of The Boys Next Door, put on by himself and his 68 Cent Crew Theatre Company cohorts. Arnold Wiggins has these bent-over jerky movements that can be tough to maintain throughout a two-and-a-half hour play, but somehow, Christopher does it. The regular routine of a staged play can be tough as well, but it’s a captivating kind of tough for Christopher. “It’s the purity of an uninterrupted performance – the challenge to find something fresh in each show – that keeps drawing me back to doing theater.” It’s not that surprising the versatile actor would choose such a role. He’s known for challenging himself with unexpected polar opposites of his princely, studly soap character, Nikolas Cassadine, from a cross-dressing rocker to a psychic-savante. –ABC Soaps in Depth, June 8, 2004

Lindze Letherman’s (Georgie) pet dog Jordan Ford used to be a tick-infested, starving stray up north in Canada not so long ago. Letherman had been doing a movie at the time (before she joined GH), when she kept seeing this scrawny little yellow-haired mutt with porcupine quills stuck to his nose and a rusted collar practically fused into its neck, hanging around at the craft’s table. She took pity on the pup, took him to a vet, cleaned him up and initially sought to find better owners. Eventually, she realized she wanted him for herself and, with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s (RCMP) help, got him across the border safe and sound at her California home.

Kelly Monaco (Sam; ex-Livvie/Tess, PC) confirmed that the practical jokes and goofing around at the GH studios can be notorious. But she’s relatively immune to falling for much, although she acknowledged that Steve Burton (Jason) and Maurice Benard (Sonny) can be kings of comedy, breaking each other up every chance they get. After time travel, witches, angels, vampires and werewolves on her former soap PC, however, nothing much phases this actress. As for those testosterone-laden ping-pong games headed up by Burton, Monaco keeps to herself, laughing about that being the guys’ domain.

At the May 21st Daytime Emmys [face it, people, you’ll be reading about the aftermath for months on end], Cynthia Preston (Faith) made a point of stressing to her fans that her character has not been let go, will not be let go, and is just experiencing a slow lag time.

A few months prior to the awards ceremony, on the day of the nominations announcement, Preston could be found on a plane about to parachute off for a second segment of SoapNet’s SoapTalk, where she appeared as a guest star. The talk show’s producers brainstormed about what she could do, nixing a cooking show idea (since the actress’s husband is the chef of the house), before Preston finally arrived at the daring idea of jumping out of a plane. The idea originally came from former co-star Chad Brannon (ex-Zander). She enjoyed her first time skydiving a lot, even managing to josh good-naturedly about doing it as a reaction to being omitted from the nominations list.

Just as with AMC, new opening credits will probably debut on Memorial Day May 31 for GH. The extra footage from 70 hours worth of the shoot will go toward the teasers for viewers to hang in there through the commercials until GH, otherwise known in the industry as interstitials. [Kids, there’ll be a quiz at the end of this column ::snicker::] The updating of opening credits idea for all three ABC Daytime dramas came directly from ABC Daytime president Brian Frons, who found time to sit in on some of GH’s shoot.

However clueless and smug Frons can come off, he still remains one of the few network executives out there willing to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Soap Opera Digest’s/Soap Opera Weekly’s Carolyn Hinsey for a “Dueling Divas” SPW column, twice, or to go on public record with SOD in a special June 8th feature, “Executive Branch,” about how the inner workings of the executive/network branch of the soap industry result in the outer on-screen make-up of a successful or failed soap.

Perhaps the ubiquitous gazebo and park are now trademarks of GH because of cost constraints. Production designer Chip Dox explained that many sets have been retired, are recycled or are very rarely updated for that very reason (Lorenzo’s bachelor pad was the latest beneficiary of an update). Much of the Port Charles Hotel, the lobby and the Grille, will remain gutted by the fictional February Sweeps fire, Carly’s pad used to be PC’s Lucy’s, Courtney’s office once housed PC’s vampire Caleb, the Scorpios live in the former Webber house, and two sets that will probably never close down are the hospital and Kelly’s, the oldest at the studio, the bones of which are well over 25 years old now.

Natalia Livingston (Emily) recently helped out a friend in his search for the right publicist. That friend happened to be one of the participants in the hugely popular reality-TV show hit, NBC’s The Apprentice. Nick Warnock would like nothing better than to break into show business, and Livingston thinks he’s got a good shot at it. She also thought he’d make a perfect Apprentice for sure.

Catherine Wadkins (Mary) found herself a bit star-struck while on the set of GH her first few days when Wally Kurth (Ned) walked by. She’d been getting her character’s wardrobe adjusted at the time when she turned and asked about him, recalling a Justin Kiriakis on DOOL (his previous soap role), a soap she used to check out regularly as a teen. Confirmed he was one and the same, she barely uttered two words—“hi” and “bye”—during their initial meeting, so overwhelmed was she.

Two frontburner actors wish Jackie Zeman (Bobbie) could interact with them on-screen more, Tamara Braun (Carly) and Tony Geary (Luke) both. They’ve missed her presence on more than several major storyline occasions. Carly’s endured a near-date rape, a kidnapping, several threats of divorce from Sonny, a shooting, infidelity from Sonny, another shooting, the list goes on. But her own mother Bobbie was never allowed to truly be a substantive source of comfort or guidance. Luke seems a lot more lonely, Geary added about his character lately, with his sister out of sight, no mention of any other family members and Lucky might as well be out in the great divide after joining the force. Hopefully, with the reappearance of Zeman’s Bobbie the past few weeks after her, ahem, vacation, all that will change.

It’s been written and said that Dillon is a B&W film buff, but portrayer Scott Clifton is not. Clifton drove home the point with a critical look at the few B&W films he’s reviewed, including the Humphrey Bogart/Ingrid Bergman classic, Casablanca. Stuff happens in B&W films that just don’t seem realistic (or relatably contemporary) to him, from the exaggerated gestures (a man slapping his knees to indicate laughing) and the ancient operator-assisted telephone calls, to the obvious fake cut-out plane in said classic.

Sam observed this disconcerting and sad characteristic in Jason last week, and portrayer Steve Burton recently reiterated it as such to the press... the fact that Jason is so obsessively consumed with doing his boss Sonny’s bidding and ensuring that everybody else is happy, yet forgetting himself in the equation.

In the aftermath of the Daytime Emmys, Tony Geary (Luke) said that he’d hoped DOOL’s head writer Jim Reilly made his GH character the cross-over serial killer, instead of Marlena.

First impressions don’t always count in the long run. Here, a sampling of soap stars tell on who didn’t quite match their initial encounters or preconceptions:

Scott Clifton (Dillon) remembered greeting Tony Geary (Luke) at the beginning of his GH tenure and receiving a shy, understated response. So, Clifton assumed that maybe Geary was of the hands-off variety, preferring to keep to himself and keep away from the newcomer riffraff. All that changed when Clifton got to know Geary better, colleague to colleague. Instead of stand-offish, Geary turned out to be very personable, humble and of course, funny as heck. “He’d apologize profusely on the set for blowing a line. He’s always coming up to me, saying, ‘How do you get your hair to do that?’” [I’d like to know too. Dillon’s hair defies gravity.]

Tyler Christopher (Nikolas) used to think Maurice Benard (Sonny) was this formidably intense, passionate, moody uber-actor who might fly off the handle at the slightest provocation. But after a short while, Christopher knew better. Benard was an intense actor, but he also had an incredible sense of humor and very easy-going manner.

Ted King (Lorenzo) vouched for the polar opposite between Robin Christopher and the nasty Skye she plays so well. “...she’s such a lovely, lovely person. [She’s] warm, generous, kind, loyal – all things that Skye is not.”

–ABC Soaps in Depth, “StarTalk,” June 8, 2004

Rebecca Herbst’s Elizabeth returns on June 17 to Port Charles with her newborn, hoping to reconnect with the “father,” Ric, but finds instead Ric preoccupied with Alexis.

Ingo Rademacher (Jax) landed a part in an upcoming movie by Stephen King called, Lunch at the Gotham Cafe. Movie, mini-series, musical... details on this and more should soon be available at his site.

Stay tuned for a special tribute episode (July 16) in honor of the passing of Anna Lee (Lila). Her character will also die and be mourned by many in the fictional town, including a few guest arrivals, such as Kimberly McCullough (ex-Robin). McCullough is scheduled to tape for about two episodes next month. [See Gossip section below for possible other guest stars.]

Ryan Alosio – a dead ringer for Greg Vaughan (Lucky), with a slew of guest appearances on several primetime shows – aims a gun at Sonny, starting June 10 as Nico (the same name Sonny’s portrayer Maurice Benard had when he starred on AMC prior to GH).

The casting department has put a hunt out for another teen, a white male with a major attitude.

It’s not as if Sarah Brown (ex-Carly) wanted desperately to break back into soaps, to stay. She merely wanted a gig on the East Coast while her boyfriend shot a movie there. At first, she wanted the gig on an ABC soap, but daytime president Brian Frons preferred she stick around longer than a month or so, so he allowed her to try another network. CBS’s ATWT didn’t mind having Brown around for the summer and took her in. Her new role is as yet undisclosed, purportedly with Jack and Carly.

Gossip for the week of 31-May-2004
by Carol Banks Weber

During a May 22nd public appearance somewhere on the East Coast, Maurice Benard (Sonny) defended his character as not abusive to Carly, something to that effect, when some people in the crowd brought up SoapZone, where the allegations of Sonny’s abusiveness have been posted. To which Benard allegedly responded, “SoapZone can kiss my ass.” When he was confronted with how outraged posters on SoapZone reacted, he repeated his classy insult. And I say right back: “I’d rather eat my own sh*t.” It’s always lovely when actors get down in the gutter with the little people and display such admirable role-model qualities, isn’t it? [Data Lounge, No Ordinary Love, Maurice Benard Unlimited]

The post-Daytime Emmy after parties revealed a lot more than the rehearsed party lines of the actual May 21st ceremony for public viewing. Catty backstabbing, bruised egos, collective snobbery, a head writer’s tipsy (but hilarious) insults... remember, the following came from Data Lounge, on a third-hand, fifth-hand basis, to be taken with a heavy dose of skepticism:

Vanessa Marcil (ex-Brenda) and Sarah Brown (ex-Carly; new summer character, ATWT) caught up by dissing Tamara Braun’s (recast Carly) outstanding leading actress Emmy loss, laughing with mock derision, just about the time that Cynthia Preston (Faith) happened by to witness the entire thing.

To cries of, “Where’s Kelly Monaco (Sam; ex-Livvie, PC)?,” she arrived with ABC Daytime president Brian Frons and executive producer Jill Farren Phelps, confirming her place as GH’s pet project, and – according to firsthand accounts from fans posting at SoapZone – sat in the middle of Radio City Music Hall with her PC pals, Erin Hershey (ex-Alison) and Brian (ex-Jack) Presley.

Not only did Maurice Benard (Sonny) – who lost outstanding leading actor to Tony Geary (Luke) – sink to the disgruntled fans’ level by allegedly telling this very site’s posting regulars to kiss his ass, twice at least, but was seen out and about afterwards sulking and doing a good imitation of a sore loser.

Btw, Data Loungers felt left out of Benard’s kiss-my-ass insult, demanding that they were even harsher on the much-maligned actor; therefore they should receive an expletive-laden insult of their very own.

ATWT Emmy award-winning head writer, Hogan Sheffer, the one with the bad toupee and the hilarious acceptance speeches, might’ve had one too many when he blurted out his inability to see the intimidation factor in GH’s height-challenged Sonny Corinthos. Words to the effect of, “I shit out something that size just this morning.”

Nancy Lee Grahn’s (Alexis) and Maurice Benard’s (Sonny) contracts are due for re-negotiation mid-summer. Question is, one or both may not re-sign, due to conflicts with the writers and/or lack of meaty, character-authentic storylines. Ms. Grahn: Please go where your significant talents are wanted. Mr. Benard: Just fawking go, already. Grahn’s people deny she’s leaving at all.

Casper (Courtney & Jax)... Hot! They can stay. Carly, the slapstick comedienne... Tams likes it a lot, maybe she’ll get to throw an ice bucket over another unsuspecting person. S&C’s reunion will be rocked to the core when each other’s secrets and lies are painfully uncovered, his about Sam, hers about Kristina.

Steven Webber to debut in June, July... if PC’s Brian Presley (ex-Jack) accepts the rumored offer.

Another return could possibly be Jagger (with Karen), if Antonio Sabato Jr. has his way – or some other handsome former GHer TPTB tried to lure back before. The writers, however, wish for no such return.

This need for a surefire male hit stems from a growing concern by TPTB of losing a huge chunk of its existent male hits within the year.

The July 16th memorial to Anna Lee and her Lila Quartermaine could also see the cameo returns of other fan faves, Lynn Herring’s Lucy, Jon Lindstrom’s Kevin, John Reilly’s Sean, (mine) Billy Warlock’s A.J.

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