Ten actors who helped make General Hospital shine
In honor of General Hospital’s 45th year on the air, AOL came up with a terrific photo trivia quiz which was like a trip down memory lane for longtime fans like me. Seeing all those familiar faces made me realize that through the years there have been some wonderful actors who’ve called Port Charles home. Here’s ten that were memorable and, in my opinion, let an indelible mark on General Hospital.
Amber Tamblyn (1995-2001)
When the producers and writers of GH realized the quality of an actress they had with Amber Tamblyn, they took this 12 year old girl and made her an important part of the Quartermaines, a core family. She appeared as Emily Bowen, the daughter of Page, a woman Monica befriended while they were undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. When Page died, Monica and Alan adopted Emily and she became part of the family, and eventually the conscience of the squabbling, occasionally unscrupulous clan (along with Lila). Amber grew up on GH, going through growth spurts and the emotions of the awkward years. She never failed to convey a reality and truth in her acting. She was a shooting star, passing through GH on the way to bigger things, like Joan of Arcadia.
Emma Samms (1982-85; 1992-93; 2006)
Long before her stint on Dynasty and The Colbys, Emma Samms had captivated daytime watchers as Holly Sutton, the gorgeous, but devious, con artist who crossed paths with Luke (at a time when Laura was MIA), before finding her perfect mate in Robert Scorpio. Robert married Holly to keep her from being deported; and their marriage of convenience turned into a real love story. They were the TV equivalent of Nick and Nora Charles from the Thin Man movies, funny, loving, adventurous, playful — everything but the martinis. Emma brought class to GH and played beautifully with both Anthony Geary and Tristan Rogers. Unlike so many soap heroines, Emma stood out as lovely, lovable and frothy, a welcome presence every time she rejoined the show.
Jack Wagner (1984-88; 1989-91; 1994-95)
As Frisco Jones, Jack Wagner got to do all kinds of fun things on GH. He was a singer with Blackie Parrish’s band. He joined the Port Charles Police Department and was a rookie cop. He was recruited into the WSB (World Security Bureau) and became a spy. Along the way, he fell for Felicia — a modern day, Aztec princess. If all this sounds ridiculous, it was. But it was also fun. Jack even had a number one AC hit with the song “All I Need” in part thanks to GH promoting the song. Wagner cut his teeth on the soap, perfecting the sardonic style he brought to Melrose Place. Good looking, but not a bodybuilder hunk, Jack was at his best playing against the hero type. If he left The Bold & the Beautiful (where he’s currently Nick Marone) tomorrow to return to GH, he’d been a welcomed return.
Demi Moore (1982-83)
General Hospital was looking for an actress in the Margot Kidder/Karen Allen style (it was the era of Superman and Raiders of the Lost Ark). When 19-year-old Demi Moore showed up, the first thing they loved about her was the voice. That husky growl contrasted with her good looks and mesmerizing eyes. She was cast as Jackie Templeton, an aggressive, ambitious reporter who caught the eye of Robert Scorpio. Demi’s role on GH was short — just two years — but she made a strong impression. Within a few years she was part of Hollywood’s Brat Pack and her movie stardom took off. GH sort of caught lightning in a bottle a second them when they brought Janine Turner — pre-Northern Exposure — on the show as Jackie’s sister, Laura.
Ian Buchanan (1986-89)
Great looks, great accent, great actor…that is Ian Buchanan. He was a former model when he turned up on GH as Duke Lavery, a master criminal. For three amazing years, he was the center of a terrific love story — with Finola Hughes’ Anna — and just became a star before your eyes. When he left, he immediately reappeared in primetime on Twin Peaks (as Dick Tremayne) and It’s Garry Shandling’s Show (as Ian McFyfer). He was versatile and idiosyncratic. To this day, GH fans still wish Duke Lavery could come back just so Ian could return to the canvas. He occasionally drops into The Bold & the Beautiful still; like in the last month or so.
Jonathan Jackson (1993-99)
Like Amber Tamblyn, Jonathan Jackson grew up before our eyes on General Hospital. Unlike Amber, though, Jonathan came onto the show with huge expectations thrust upon him. He was Luke and Laura’s son, Lucas Lorenz Spencer, Jr. — Lucky. He had to be up to speed in scene with Genie Francis and Anthony Geary, a wise beyond his years ten year-old who knew how to get cross-country on his own when he parents were being pursued by mob king Frank Smith. Jonathan was perfect right out of the gate; he looked, sounded and acted like he’d be Luke’s kid. He was sensitive like Laura, too, not just a smart ass kid. In six years on the show, Jonathan made Lucky his own. He won three Daytime Emmys for his performances as Lucky, and he’s still the real Lucky to many people, even though two other actors have subsequently played the part.
Rena Sofer (1994-96)
Before 24, Heroes, Coupling, Blind Justice, Just Shoot Me, Oh, Grow Up, Ed and all the other primetime series in which she’s been involved, Rena Sofer made a Brooklyn girl named Lois Cerullo one of the most memorable characters on GH in the ’90s. Tough talking with a heart of gold, Lois was intimately involved with Ned Ashton, his family — the Quartermaines — as well as Sonny Corinthos (her old friend from Bensonhurst) and his main squeeze Brenda Barrett. These were all very colorful characters and the show really popped while they were front and center. Rena showed her flair for comedy as well as drama as Lois. The same qualities that keep getting her cast on primetime shows. For her role as Lois, she nabbed the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1995. (By the way, she’s currently, she’s pregnant with her third child.)
John Stamos (1982-84)
He was Blackie Parrish and he was a cool guy. Even the name was cool for the time. John Stamos was every bit the teen heartthrob in his tenure on General Hospital. He was a tough street kid whom Rick and Lesley Webber adopted. He started a band, Blackie and the Riff Raff, but ultimately got into trouble — involuntary manslaughter — when Lou Swenson, his girl, died accidentally. It was a convenient way to write John Stamos out of the show because he was ready for bigger challenges than daytime. So Blackie got ten years in prison, and Stamos got Full House, then Jake in Progress and now ER. GH fans are still waiting for Blackie to return, having done his time (and then some).
Finola Hughes (1991-2007 — on and off)
There was something distinct about Finola Hughes from the second she appeared on GH. Oh yeah, they stuck a big huge scar on her face (not the best makeup job), so there was that. But the clip Brit accent, the tone of the ultimate Bond girl, Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman), a dash of Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) from The Avengers, Finola Hughes was the whole package. Her storylines kicked ass, too. Anna Devane was involved with WSB spy Robert Scorpio, his former partner, ex-wife and mother of his child. But she was also a double agent. She went straight, became the chief of police, had another big time love affair with Duke Lavery (Ian Buchanan), and — oh, yes, she won a Daytime Emmy as Outstanding Lead Actress. What I love about Finola is that even though she’s done lots of primetime — including hosting How Do I Look on the Style Network — she still comes back to GH to play Anna Devane. She’s coming back this week to learn that she’s going to be a grandmother. Robin is preggers. One thing for sure, she will be a very cool granny.
Lynn Herring (1987-2003)
I miss Lynn Herring on GH as Lucy Coe. She was one of those actresses that could play comedy, drama, good girl, bad girl, she was a character that was completely fun and arresting. She was so good as Lucy, who started as a prim librarian who was keeping a secret life under wraps, that when General Hospital spun off another soap, Port Charles, Lynn was the anchor. Her character was the link between the two shows — until Port Charles went all Dark Shadows and entered another reality altogether. She’s been out of the TV loop for a while — raising her kids with husband and co-star Wayne Northrup (the original Roman Brady on Days of Our Lives) — but she could easily walk into the Quartermaine mansion one day in the future and pick up right where she left off.
New Amsterdam: Reclassified - VIDEO
(S01E07) A show like New Amsterdam is bound to have a lot of unanswered questions. Luckily for us viewers, many of those questions get answered in each episode. For instance, in this episode we finally learned that Chris Bauer is the father of Buffy Summers.
Seriously though, it sure was nice to see familiar faces from two of my favorite shows of the past. I understand that Kristine Sutherland has taken a break from acting but I don’t understand why we don’t see more of Chris Bauer. I always thought his character on The Wire could easily have his own show.
It was nice how they managed to work 9/11 into John’s history. It only makes sense that a person with such strong ties to New York would be extremely affected by such a tragedy.
It was also refreshing to see something from John’s more recent past. Personally, I find the period flashbacks a little hokey. The clothes, the music and especially the references. At least with this episode, the worst thing we’ll get is some lame Giuliani reference.
I know Andy was John’s first partner and all but I find it hard to believe that after seeing everyone he ever cared about grow old, infirm, incoherent and eventually die, Andy’s death would be so hard to take. He’s had wives and children pass on right before his eyes and this guy is the one who really made an impact? It’s not a leap I’m willing to take.
Once again, I am less interested in the crime being solved and more intrigued by the people from John’s past. I enjoyed seeing how Andy’s happy home made such an impression on John and it made sense to me that it would be particularly hard to get back to those memories when he feels so close to living a normal life. I still feel that he and Dr. Sarah ended up together way too fast but it’s becoming increasingly clearer that John desperately wants to be mortal. For me, that is what this show is about.
Of course, there had to be some corruption involved in this convoluted story. I don’t mind that Andy was trying to rip off the criminals, but what made him think he wasn’t going to get exposed eventually? If John is investigating the shooting, he has to find out about Andy’s reason for being there. Andy’s sudden concern for his pension and his reputation was too much for me to swallow.
Even more ridiculous was Joe’s ex-partner getting arrested in the end. I was hoping that I was wrong about him being the shooter but that was clearly too much to wish for. I guess we just have to assume that he went to prison quietly without telling anyone the entire story.
We can assume that the whole point of the ending scene was for John to realize that he is still immortal and Dr. Sarah isn’t the one for him. However, considering how ambiguous the whole thing is anyway, how can he be sure?
This show barely keeps me coming back from week to week and tonight’s episode made me look forward to the series end.
New Amsterdam: Pilot (series premiere)
(S01E01) “Most cops would kill to get into homicide” - John Amsterdam
I like the way this show begins. A brief voice over, a few establishing scenes and some hints as to what makes this series special. In the first five minutes, we learn that John Amsterdam is a homicide detective living in New York who owns a dog, has an active sex life is a recovering alcoholic and was once fatally stabbed in the chest. Makes sense.
Once the show gets rolling, we meet his new partner and his seasoned co-worker. This is where it becomes evident that New Amsterdam is your basic cop show with an added twist.
In case you missed it somehow, the twist is that John Amsterdam is immortal. The details are purposely sketchy but the bottom line is that the guy hasn’t aged a day since the year 1642. As you can imagine, it’s been an interesting life.
It’s a little unfair to review the the story of the pilot episode mainly because a good portion of the show is spent explaining the premise. The story of the murdered girl is forced to take a backseat to explanations about how and why Amsterdam came to be immortal. I have to say the murder story was pretty lame compared to the kind of stuff that we usually see on TV these days but hopefully, once everyone is up to speed on the premise, they can take more time on the stories in each episode.
One of the coolest things about the show for me was the casting. Very few of the actors are familiar faces which helps to make the premise a little more believable. Since I have no other frame of reference for these actors, I can buy their characters and their situations a lot easier. I especially like Stephen Henderson who plays Omar. Omar is the only person who knows John’s secret and because of that he reaps a few of the benefits. It must be nice to have a friend who can make instant antiques.
Another upshot of being so long-lived is that John has many lifetimes of experiences to draw on. This comes in handy when talking to suspects, families of victims or even his new partner. While I could see it getting old, I like it when he cites an archaic fact that nobody else knows.
One thing that bothered me about the show is the fact that John has stayed in New York for the entirety of his very long life. If I was immortal, I know I would get a little tired of living in the same city eventually, even if that city was so nice they named it twice. To that same point, isn’t John risking someone finding out his secret by staying in New York? Even in this episode he meets up with someone who knew him a long time ago, but what happens when that person isn’t suffering from the effects of old age? I guess he just really likes traffic.
My only other gripe is that since this show contains a lot of flashbacks, we are going to have to see a lot of bad old age make-up and fake beards but I guess if I got used to Cold Case I can get used to this.
Law and Order’s Linus Roache: In the Limelight
This season, Law and Order was looking for a way to get some new energy and interest in the long-running NBC Emmy-winning series, so on the judicial end of the show, they promoted Sam Waterson’s Jack McCoy to DA and cast Linus Roache as Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter. Roache is one of those familiar faces that you’ve seen on other shows, maybe a movie or two, but here on Law and Order he’s making you sit up and take notice. At least that’s how it is for me. After watching the first two new episodes when the show returned recently, I wanted to know more about this guy. For starters, why did he remind me of a young Bobby Kennedy?
Well, it turns out that Linus Roache played Robert Kennedy in the mini-series, RFK. The Kennedy connection was even alluded to in last week’s episode; at the end of the show, after McCoy had to defend his decision to prosecute overzealous New York City cops by taking the stand in open court, Roache’s character, Cutter, gives him a tie pin that once belonged to RFK. With the last line of the show, Cutter says, “I found it on EBay.”
There’s a lot more than the Kennedy connection that makes Linus Roache worth watching. For starters, he’s British. That American — heck, New York! — accent is all acting. He grew up in England, the son of one of the most famous TV actors in the UK. His dad is William Roache, star of Coronation Street, the longest-running soap opera in Britain; he’s been on the show since 1960! Linus spoke of his father in a 1998 interview, saying, “He’s like a national institution. He’s the sole member left in the original cast. I played his son on the show for a while when I was a kid. I didn’t like the attention. I remember going with him to some event and it was just crazy; it was like the Beatles had arrived or something, just ridiculous. I got quite upset by it.”
It may have upset him, but it didn’t keep him out of the business. He did more TV in England, including the BBC series, Seaforth, which brought him attention, as well as the feature Priest, that was deemed award-worthy. Despite the success, Roache was missing something, so he walked away from his career and spent 18 months in India where he discovered spiritual meditation. “A spiritual life is 24 hours a day, seven days a week. How do you live? What’s true? How do you respond? It’s not about living by beliefs; it’s about wanting to know,” he said in 1998, when he resumed acting.
He hasn’t stopped since, having starred last season in Kidnapped for NBC, and playing Aaron, Moses’ brother in the ABC mini The Ten Commandments. For the aforementioned RFK he received a Golden Globe nomination, and won a Golden Satellite Award for HBO’s Emmy-winning The Gathering Storm. On screen, you probably remember him as Bruce Wayne’s father in Batman Begins, and costarred with Helena Bonham Carter in Wings of the Dove and Angelina Jolie in Beyond Borders. Still to be released is Yonkers Joe opposite Chazz Palminteri. That, plus all the stage experience — even doing Shakespeare — makes him more than ready for Law and Order.
He’s psyched about his new role, especially since it’s filmed in NYC. “New York, without a doubt, is my favorite city in the world,” Roache told CanMag. He’s also studied the show, watching different seasons of Law to learn about their style. “I wasn’t a regular viewer; I’d seen it periodically. …I also knew Sam (Waterson) as an actor that I greatly admired for many, many years. I even remember when he joined the show, thinking it was a very significant moment to get such an extraordinarily talented movie actor to commit to a TV show.”
To get the right verisimilitude for the role, Roache spent time with members of the bar. “I saw in all the DA’s that I got to meet, there’s this kind of living for the job. I think you have to in these kinds of roles. In real life these people really are living for their work because it’s beyond just doing a job. You are totally dedicated and connected to doing the right thing, where there’s a kind of drive there in my character.”
On the personal side, you might be interested to know that Roache is a vegetarian, married to actress Rosalind Bennett, and just celebrated his 44th birthday on February 1st.