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News for the week of 21-May-2012
Calm down, JaSam fans. Portrayer Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth) promises her character is not out to break up Jason and Sam in any way. She’s actually in the couple’s corner, trying to coax Jason to give Sam another chance. Besides, Herbst said, Elizabeth’s long since moved on.
Miss AMC? Here’s your chance to revisit the canceled soap in all its glory, through a special Karaoke Party hosted by the annual, summer GH Fan Club Weekend. The July 22nd, 9 p.m.-midnight Karaoke event will feature some AMC stars, in addition to GH’s Sean Blakemore (Shawn) as host. They include Jill Larson (ex-Opal) and Bobbie Eakes (ex-Krystal), with more big names to come. Assigned seating tickets are $85. Mail in your money orders to: Claire Mullan, 11315 Blue Sage Drive, Kagel Canyon, CA 91342. GHFC Weekend happens at Studio City, CA’s Sportsmens Lodge Hotel.
The GH casting department needs a handsome, young actor to be a romantic foil for Starr and Michael, probably for a summer triangle. They’re auditioning actors now with Kristen Alderson (Starr). A kissing scene’s involved too.
Jane Elliot (Tracy) acts with a difference. Perhaps because she doesn’t go with the flow like everybody else. She doesn’t do social networks. She never had plastic surgery. She’d rather not be recognized in public places. You’ll never find her doing fan events. It’s helped with her often villainous roles, to maintain the integrity of whatever it takes to pull off—without fear of retribution. At least, Elliot thinks so. “I'm not one of those actors who spends a lot of time engaging with the audience,” she told TV Guide’s Michael Logan in a May 15th-updated interview. “I'm fierce about my anonymity, which is why it's easy for me to play the villain. I'm not close enough to the audience to have them throw a pie in my face because of something Tracy just did.” She also doesn’t pine away for the damsel in distress roles. Elliot’s perfectly fine to play the villain, without flinching. She revealed that she doesn’t even like Tracy as a person, but she does like the “multi-dimensional” depths Tracy as a character gives her to play.
The respected veteran soap actress also strongly endorsed new executive producer Frank Valentini as a maverick, just like the late Gloria Monty was when she took on GH in the golden era of the 1980s. Elliot admired the workhorse ethic of Valentini, who “is the first one in the building in the morning and the last one out at night. And he works all weekend!,” as well as his fresh vision. “This is not to say that the people before him didn't care, but he's committed to this show in a very unique way. There's no substitute for loving the medium. You know that saying ‘A new broom sweeps clean?’ Well, that's Frank. As good as [former exec producer] Jill Phelps was and as much as I loved working with her, a new broom sweeps clean. Frank comes to this show with fresh eyes, with no disappointments, no frustrations over lost battles. He comes with everything he has to give.”
Elliot then praised new head writer Ron Carlivati for finally using her mob history (back when she crossed over to The City) in story. It’s something she’d wanted previous head writer Bob Guza Jr. to do, to no avail. “I tried for nine years to get Bob Guza to acknowledge that Tracy had been married to a member of the mob in New York and he completely ignored it. But within minutes of Ron getting there he brought it up, and I love him for that! I'm told that they're going to do a love triangle with Anna [Finola Hughes], Luke and Tracy, and how thrilling would that be? How good is that? In all my years on GH, Tracy has never been in a triangle!”
She’s absolutely thrilled to have some GH veterans back and joining her and her friend Tony Geary (Luke) for their own stories. There’s a “muscle memory” amongst them that you can’t fake. “When Tony and I look at each other on camera you see all of that history. It goes beyond the words. It's two people who have spent more than half their lives together.”
Another veteran soap actress who contributed so much to GH’s success in those glory years of the 1980s through 1990s, Genie Francis (ex-Laura; Genevieve, Y&R) recently did a nice thing in light of her Daytime Emmy nomination. Of all the wonderful nominees, including fellow Y&R cast member Elizabeth Hendrickson (Chloe) and GH’s Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis), she wished former co-star Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth) a win. Francis remembered how kind and genuine Herbst’s joy was at the last Emmy win for GH in 2007. It meant so much. “I will tell you the year I did win; she was nominated alongside me as well. I have to say, she came to me with a full heart and said, ‘I am so happy for you, Genie. It has been so many years and you deserve it.’ She came to me and put her arms around me and I hugged her and said, ‘Your time will come. Your chance is going to come. You are young and you still have loads of time.’ For an actress who has just lost the Emmy to have that much of a giving heart, is rare. So the truth is, I would really like to see Becky win this year.” –Michael Fairman, May 17, 2012 interview
Nathin Butler (Ewen) recently tweeted that his character will survive (thanks to Dr. Drake Jr.). He also live-tweeted with fans late last week. Fans of Ewen will be glad to know this actor is also a musician with his own band, The Sugar. They’ll perform at the annual summer GH Fan Club Weekend, July 22, 4 p.m.-6 p.m., at the Sportsman’s Lodge Event Center’s Vista Room in Studio City, CA. The band’s studio album is also going to be available for purchase.
General Hospital News & Gossip, Copyright © 2024 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.
