General Hospital News & Gossip
News for the week of 07-Apr-2008
Sometimes it’s the accidents that turn out to be the best blessings. It’s worked that way for GH legend Tony Geary (Luke), who recently watched a 30-year soap benchmark come and go, and spoke with Entertainment Weekly’s Abby West for a retrospective (“Tony Geary Reflects on 30 Years of GH”). Most of the questions he’s fielded from the press revolves around his stupendous, often stupefying successful soap/mainstream cross-over with screen partner Genie Francis (ex-Laura). This interview wasn’t an exception.
All questions about Luke, Luke the rapist, Luke and Laura’s popularity were met by Geary with the accidental response. By now a common refrain to GH soap fans, he repeated his history-making journey to the present. A stage actor with leanings and ambitions for greater, broader things, Geary never set out to conquer a little-known, struggling soap opera on ABC, bordering on cancellation. A pal of then-producer Gloria Monty, he was hired for merely a few weeks as a villain he made complicated and romantic by chance and by his own innate acting approach. So he never gave his rapist turn a second thought, thinking only of his immediate end and giving as much to that end as he could as an actor.
It took quite a few of his growing years to shake the soap status as nothing more than a burden, and quite a few forays into the mostly disappointing world of filmmaking. Once he discovered the liberal freedom of Amsterdam, where nobody knew him or cared to know about him other than as a fellow human being, Geary was well on the road to peace of mind, soul and self.
It is Amsterdam where Geary lives when he’s not on GH 31 weeks out of the year. He explained the unusually lavish vacation time not usually afforded most other soap colleagues as a necessity of economy and blissful obscurity. “There came a point where they really couldn't offer me more money in negotiations,” he said. “I've made a very fine living and I'm grateful for that. But what they could offer me would be more time. So what's happened is that through the years I've eked out what I think is an ideal situation. I have a minimum number of shows, 31 weeks a year, and the rest of my time is my own. … It's kept me very interested in staying on the show because it affords me a fantastic life and to be able to be bi-continental. I'm really happy with the situation. I can come here and work and go there and live.”
For the 31 weeks on GH throughout the year, Geary also can’t complain. Although most of the vets have since been written off the show or have very little to do on-screen, Geary has had Jane Elliot (Tracy) left to play with—which seems to make the loss less of a blow. “Well, I've been very, very lucky in the last five years or so to be able to work with Jane, because I've been a huge fan of her for my entire career in soaps. She and I are both the same age, and I think she was on the show a year before I was. She also came and went and did other shows. But because I have this compadre, this colleague who shares my history and my history with the show, I haven't felt as isolated.... So I've been really fortunate to be able to grow and mature without resentment because it is difficult when you were the focus of the show and having great story all the time to be back-burnered and sort of moved over into the more supporting category, unless you have someone as spectacular as Jane to work with. And that has been really a saving grace for me in the last few years. Plus, you know I've been on the show long enough to demand a lot of time off, so that also helps. [Laughs]”
So. What up with the lack of on-screen celebration for GH’s 45th anniversary, which came and went without much fanfare other than a little cake and a little photo opp? Executive producer Jill Farren Phelps would certainly have liked to give GH due props, except for the timing of the writers’ strike, its end, and the necessity to take care of the continuing stories at a crucial in-between Sweeps time. She explained it this way, we deserve good, solid stories told well, as well as can be, and not to throw money at “parties or gimmicks” necessarily. “That said, there are fan favorites who are going to come back, but they will be integrated into the story as opposed to just because it’s a certain day.” Also, the copious use of CGI effects doesn’t seem to fall under the “parties or gimmicks” title apparently, since she’s all for how it enhanced the good, solid stories that need to be told, and they’ve been figuring out how to apply it without draining the bank account. “It’s a learning curve for us. This is a different animal we’re bringing in. It’s been a very exciting innovation. It’s a new toy. We played with it on GH: NIGHT SHIFT and what we learned, we tried to bring in to GH. We’re very pleased with the results and we’re constantly learning how to do it more easily, quickly and have it be cost-efficient.”
Phelps, Jackie Zeman (Bobbie) and Ingo Rademacher (Jax) both remembered the GH fans who made the soap what it was and is today, without whom there would never be a 45th benchmark. Zeman reminded us all to focus on those fans and giving them what they want, a “connection,” the zenith of which touches her deeply as a human being, not an actress. “It’s not about how many scenes I shot or what my storyline was, it’s about how it emotionally affected the people who cared enough to invest the time to pay attention.”
Rademacher admitted he hasn’t always found the connection to GH wonderfully fulfilling (he does now, thanks in large part to Laura Wright/Carly), but he has noticed the tremendous impact of the fans and their devotion to making this soap super-popular no matter what the ratings say.
Kin Shriner (Scott) acknowledged those behind the scenes and in front of the cameras throughout the 45 years, and how they’ve contributed to the “American classic” and “icon” GH has become.
–Soap Opera Digest, April 8, 2008
Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth) is almost ashamed to admit this within listening distance of her husband Michael Saucedo (ex-Juan), but she listens a lot to the morning radio for her daily dose of news. Saucedo, she explained, is always on her case about deriving so much news from what he viewed as mostly a tabloid type format. Herbst also admitted to a ChapStick addiction, a phobia of suffocation, an instinctive yen to organize, and a wish to add about 11 hours to the day for maximum enjoyment.
Brandon Barash (Johnny) really plays music, not just his character. He has a room devoted to piano and guitar he’s thinkin’ about painting. He’s also into Scrabble, and will scrabble to the end for a better grade if he believes he’s owed one, like this one time in college. The smartie successfully petitioned his then-professor for an upgrade from C to B+.
Sonya Eddy’s (Epiphany) first screen buss came from wacky character actor David Arquette – for the 2007 ABC TV show, In Case Of Emergency. She kidded around with Arquette to go easy on her since she was a virgin, so to speak. Arquette made that first on-screen buss hard to follow, Eddy said. “All I can say is, Courteney [Cox, the real-life Mrs. David Arquette] is a lucky woman because he can kiss! I was jealous of Courteney for a second there.” Her next on-screen kiss, she said, would be cool with Billy Dee Williams (ex-Toussaint, GH: NS). –Soap Opera Digest, April 8, 2008
I almost had to change the channel when Reign Morton (Cassius, my new boyfriend) sang “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” a lovely, fragile and scary (for me) hymn playing while Kate went under the knife on February 20th. Reminded me too much of death and dying, disease, pain and suffering. Morton’s good, though, ain’t he? He should sing Seal’s “Loneliest Star” to me next.
Gossip for the week of 07-Apr-2008
Michael goes into a coma after taking a bullet for Sonny inadvertently this week. According to news and gossip king Sage Bourland, this will give TPTB a chance to SORAS the character later on. (SPW brought up Jesse Soffer/ATWT-Will as a possible contender.) I’m sorry, Dylan Cash (current Michael); if it helps, my six-year-old son, who still counts you as his “friend,” was upset to hear the news and said he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
Alan resurfaces as Tracy’s conscience. Or maybe Monica’s solace.
Jerry and Claudia engage in hate sex. It’s nothing personal. He’d rather keep tabs on the woman of his dreams, Alexis, and blows his cool when she’s seemingly close to Ric… Lucky overly worries about Elizabeth’s welfare when it comes out that she may marry Jason. Sam mistakes Lucky’s concern for burning love and ricochets to Ian. Ian fills Claudia in on all the scoop about Jason, which enables her to target this enforcer for her own gain. –SoapDish, April 2, 2008
Rick Hearst (Ric)… out by May Sweeps? There’s talk at Daytime Confidential of him noticeably improving GL where he used to reign as Alan Spaulding.
Thought I “overheard” the masses buzzing on the boards about Kari Wuhrer (ex-Reese) coming to some agreement with ABC Daytime about her gender/pregnancy discrimination suit awhile ago.
Executive producer Jill Farren Phelps addressed rumors of a new and improved opening credits. Phelps met with ABC Daytime president Brian Frons about the matter, and well, she said let’s just see.
Okay, I am almost willing to cut Carly some slack this week, after the past few weeks from hell, where she is anything but sympathetic… seeing as she finds her son Michael in a coma due to her own damned negligence, not just Sonny’s. Piggybacking on her nepotism for Lulu at Kate’s new magazine was back to back obnoxious, ADD behavior, from ripping Maxie a new one for hanging out with Spinelli (and possibly saving her new job as fashion assistant, which is where the girl belongs) to ripping Jax, her husband, a new one for having a mind of his own and friends of his own. Funny how she has him on a shorter leash than she expects him to have on her. The ugly-fication of Carly made me wonder if TPTB have always tried to negate her as a fairly decent but misunderstood human being and if this was one of many reasons for Sarah Brown bolting as the original. But then, to be fair, TPTB always seem to have something hugely negative against most of the females on this show. I mean, who caught the sour look on Elizabeth’s face when Nikolas told her of Sam’s selfless generosity in speaking up for Monica at her hearing? Ugh, totally unnecessary.
General Hospital News & Gossip, Copyright © 2008 Carol Banks Weber. Published by SoapZone.com / Jeff Jungblut. No part of this page may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Opinions expressed on this page are those of the author and may not be representative of SoapZone.com or its advertisers. Don't steal scoops.
