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A Martinez Reveals Former SANTA BARBARA Castmate & Friend Dane Witherspoon Has Passed Away!

By Michael Fairman

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Courtesy/AMartinezFacebook

Courtesy/AMartinezFacebook

Sad news to report over the weekend from Daytime Emmy winner A Martinez (Ex-Cruz Castillo) regarding his former Santa Barbara cas mate and friend, Dane Witherspoon, who passed away at the age of 56.

Santa Barbara fans will remember that Dane Witherspoon played the original Joe Perkins on the NBC soap opera, but after a few months was let-go from the role and later was cast on CBS’ Capitol as Tyler McCandless.  Dane met Robin Wright on Santa Barbara and the two of them were wed in 1986.

A Martinez shared the news on his facebook page offering these sentiments:  “Dane passed this morning. People who watched Santa Barbara in its earliest days will remember him as Joe Perkins, a character to which he brought a quiet grace and deep, bittersweet sense of soul. He was a singular, standup guy, loved and admired by many. My first thought, upon meeting him in 1984: “This is the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen.” That beauty went all the way to his core.  “How fragile we are,” to quote the poet.  Dane was a most compelling man, and it must have been very hard on him to drift away from the path he first imagined. We’d do well to hold his kin in our thoughts, and imagine them finding a way to make the most of the lessons of his life.”

What do you think of A’s thoughts on the passing of Dane Witherspoon?  Did you watch the great Santa Barbara during its run?  Let us know!

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Of course it was sad news whether one knows him or not…that was a terrible question to ask!!! Yes, i watched Santa Barbara and this was a soap i really miss. I remember Dane in the role and didnt like it when replaced by Mark Arnold but the latter did grow on me when time passed!!! How much i miss Gina, Mason, Eden and Cruz and the rest!!! One of the few soaps that didnt deserve cancellation…sure the ratings were low and the final year wasnt great but it still remains one of my favorite serials of all time!!!

LOL Jim…I thought the exact same thing about the question! Looks like the questions has been delicately reframed…

I see it was changed…

Moii ça m’a beaucoup affectée son déçé. A ‘Martinez a parfaitement raison Dane était véritablement cannon !!! il y a un secret autour de son déçés la presse refuse de donner la cause de sa disparition !!!Santa Barbara était rempli d’excellents acteurs !!!beaucoup de chagrin Regrets et peine de sa disparition

In English: Martinez is perfectly right, Dane was really cannon!! There is a secret surrounding his disappointment The press refuses to give the cause of his disappearance !! Santa Barbara was filled with excellent actors!! much sorrow Regret and sorrow for his disappearance

How Did he die? Very sad to hear this. I remembered him on Santa Barbara.

Beautiful words, those of a true friend

Santa Barbara was my very first soap, one i watched from the very first episode. i remember the opening scene, with Dane Witherspoon doing pull-ups in prison before he’s released. I had no idea of how soaps worked and I couldn’t understand why suddenly there was someone else playing him. There’s a piece of my childhood that dies with him. It sounds like he didn’t have a happy life, for that, even more than for the sadness with which my memories of him will now be tinged, I am unspeakably sad.

I watched Santa Barbara from the beginning but I stopped once Marcy Walker left the show. I remember Dane Witherspoon very well from that first year and IA with A Martinez, he was a beautiful guy. He and Robin Wright had phenomenal chemistry. I’m very sorry to hear he’s passed away, but I was happy to hear that A Martinez kept in touch with him over all these years. It’s great to hear that Santa Barbara started a long friendship like that. I also watched Mr. Witherspoon on Capitol. He was a talented, good looking guy, and I was a fan. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

A’s words are beautiful.

Very sad.

Was Jennifer Reeves on the show when he played Joe?

I think you mean Melissa Reeves and yes, like DW, she was an original cast member of SB.

Yes! Melissa Reeves originated the role of Jade Perkins.

Yes, she (Melissa Reeves) originated the part of his little sister, Jade Perkins, when she was still Melissa Brennan. I don’t think they shared many scenes together because they sent her character off to Hollywood along with Danny Andrade around the time that Dane was playing Joe.

I cant remember if she was on when he was there but i remember her as Jade!!!

Oops, I meant Melissa Reeves. Was combining her Days’ character name with her name. 🙂

I remember her as Jade too, but don’t remember her being on too long before she popped up in Salem.

I do not remember him on Santa. Barbara but I do have memories of him from Capitol because like A. Martinez said he was stunning, His looks as well as his talents, left a impression on viewers. I am sad to hear he passed away so young, I hope he did not suffer.

Rest In Peace, Dane Witherspoon! Bless You! 😐

Such sad news…Dane Witherspoon was a prime and appealing example of those handsome All-American-type leading men that were so emblematic of the 1980’s Golden Age of Soaps (along with Jack Wagner, Grant Show, Charles (Flohe) Grant, Clayton Norcross, John Allen Nelson, etc…..) Today’s so-called daytime male “stars” cannot hold a candle to any of them!!!!! That being said, I still recall to this day “Santa Barbara’s” excellent usage of “If Ever You’re In My Arms Again” as the soundtrack to the Joe Perkins/Kelly Capwell love story, and along with other posters here, I was not pleased with the “JP” recasting, although I happily watched DW transition to “Capitol” where he played the military hero role….perhaps a better fit for him. Always wondered why he never did much after that show wrapped up, as he had not only a wonderful presence, but a profoundly decent sort of persona. At any rate, yet another soap favorite from the past is now but a bittersweet memory…..

Totally agree Shay miss those gorgeous guys!

I know what you mean, k/kay…sigh!!!!! By the way, wanted to tell you I appreciated your comments on Rebecca Herbst from a previous post of a few days back. I also tend to take note of those with an obvious respect for healthy, disciplined living…and her appearance definitely bespeaks of those qualities! Not only is she in phenomenal shape, but her porcelain perfection is simply stunning. : )

That is sad. I was just little when Santa Barbara came on and couldnt fully appreciate it then but have re-watched it much since and what an awesome show it was. Joe and Kelly had a breathtaking chemistry. It still boggles my mind that the show recast Dane and then killed Joe off. I think that was the first of many big mistakes that the show made that contributed to its cancellation. But I could write blogs and blogs about that show. It is sad about Dane. Does anyone know how he died? And I knew him and Robin were involved, but did they actually marry?

Robin Wright and he were married for about two or three years. I will never understand why they replaced him he was perfect but SB had probably the most recasts of characters of any soap.

And I will NEVER understand how one could go from “Joe Perkins” to “Jeff Spicoli!”

@ Shay you threw me off there for a minute yes Mr. Penn was a down grade I will never understand that one!

♥ A Martinez always a class act and a true friend. Santa Barbara was great loved Cruz & Eden! Very sad news especially being so young!

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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Dominic Zamprogna

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).

On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.

Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC

HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT

Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”

Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”

Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Dom and Liz

Photo: ABC

DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES

In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”

Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”

You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.

Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy  for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.

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Beyond the Gates

‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Mike Manning Lands Role in Indie Horror Feature ‘Deify’

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Mike Manning

While Smitty tries to hold the fort down in his marriage to congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon)  and their two teenaged children, Samantha (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) on Beyond the Gates, Emmy-winner Mike Manning has also landed another feature film role.

According to Deadline, Manning has joined the cast of Deify with 6 other new cast members for the indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which was previously announced last week.

Joining Manning as the latest cast addition are: Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Greene,  Casey Harnett, Kirk Avecdo, Anji White, anf Nicholas Chimera who’s directing the pic also has a part in the film.

WHAT’S THE STORY OF DEIFY?

Taking to his Instagram with the news of his casting, Manning shared, “A movie about a cult? What could possibly go wrong? Come for the enlightenment. Stay because they won’t let you leave. DEIFY is coming…”

The movie is currently shooting in Chicago and in story, “a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.”

MIKE MANNING IS A DAYTIME EMMY NOMINEE

In addition, the multi-talented Manning is a producer on the feature. Previously, Mike was nominated last month in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He previously won an Emmy for his role on The Bay and for being a producer on the digital drama.

Mike’s previous credits include the role of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives and the Manny on This Is Us, plus various primetime and screen credits.

So intrigued to find what role Mike will play in the upcoming horror/cult film, Deify? Enjoying him as Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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General Hospital

GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

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Patrick J. Gibbons

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.

However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.

Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC

FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG

Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!

Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”

MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL

Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).

Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI

PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY

Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”

It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”

A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons

IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS

As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”

He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”

Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.

So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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