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ABC Issues Statement On The Passing Of Claire Labine

By Michael Fairman

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Courtesy/Alchestron

Courtesy/Alchestron

Over the weekend, the daytime community continued to mourn the passing of nine-time Daytime Emmy winner, Claire Labine (pictured far right, next to Kate Mulgrew (Ex-Mary, Ryan’s Hope).

This imaginative storyteller passed away at the age of 82.  She leaves behind a list of some of the most touching stories in the history of soaps that audiences who love the genre will never forget.  Most of Labine’s success in her career was with the ABC Television Network where she co-created Ryan’s Hope, wrote many of General Hospital’s most revered storylines, and more.

Now ABC has issued a statement on the passing of Claire Labine, and what she meant to the network’s success during the highpoint of its ABC daytime block of shows and more.

ABC: “We are sad to learn of the death of our friend and former colleague Claire Labine. As creator of Ryan’s Hope and head writer of both General Hospital and One Life to Live in the 90s, Claire was an imaginative storyteller who inspired hope and sparked conversations through her stories and characters paving the way for a new generation of writers who would follow in her footsteps. We are proud and honored she was a part of our ABC Daytime family. We send our deepest condolences to her family and those closest to her.”

Share your continued thoughts and condolences on Labine’s passing in the comment section.  But first after the jump. watch the opening and closing credits of the premiere episode of Ryan’s Hope from 1975, Bobbie learning B.J. is brain dead from GH, as well as Alan telling Robin she is HIV positive, all part of the iconic stories from Labine.

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One of the true greats of the soap genre. Her “Ryan’s Hope” was literate, witty and filled with dimensional, compelling characters. Then, later she saved GH and made it better than it had ever been (wish she was still here so she could do it again). She tried to fix OLTL in the 90s and GL in 2000, but was consistently undermined by the network know-nothings that were in charge. The soap industry needs more Claire Labines, writers with the same class, talent, integrity and heart (much like the late Agnes Nixon, another brilliant, irreplaceable gem). RIP.

OH so very sad–she was an amazing head writer and instilled a sense of realism into her stories.
This is the worst November of all time-Leonard Cohen, Leon Russell and Claire Labine have all died.

Ohhhhh…so sad and surprised at the passing of Leonard Cohen. Wish I’d had the opportunity to see him in concert. Hallelujah…

If there were more like Labine writing for daytime, maybe there would be more than 4 soaps still on the air. If anyone has not seen her work, I refer you to the following–(1) scene from RH between the show matriarch, Maeve Ryan, and show villainess, Rae Woodard, including in the 1981 Daytime emmy clips on youtube, (2) “Ryan’s Hope’s” last episode where Maeve sang ‘Danny Boy’ and everyone, in front of and behind the camera were in genuine tears. (3) From her ‘GH” days–Mary Mae Ward reciting a prayer (Grace Realized) to AIDS patient Stone and his girlfriend, Robin. Also, I vividly and fondly ALL the St. Patrick Day episodes on “RH.”

Claire was my cousin and that’s how I knew her. None of her success or fame was ever shown when we were with her. Rather an incredibly warm, considerate and funny human being who was as interested in our lives as though we were as important. She will be remembered!

I am very sorry to hear of the passing of your cousin, Steve. I know she is resting in peace.

You and your family must be very proud. Sorry for your loss…

So sad that such an iconic writer is gone. She added so much to the soap landscape with her memorable storylines.

One of the great story tellers and Ryan’s Hope was the first soap opera I got hooked on. It was great reliving Ryan’s Hope when SoapNet network was on the air. Rest in Peace and prayers to her family and friends.

It’s good to see that ABC acknowledged her. The Stone and Robin sl is still relevant and cutting edge today. It surprises me too. I would’ve loved to see similar statements made for head writers Norma Monty and Ann Marcus, two 80s writers that helped keep GH great. I suppose this is what we call progress for the network?

The photo used above comes from my interview with Claire Labine and Kate Mulgrew from 2011 which can be found here https://www.totallykate.com/labine/interview.html

TotallyKate.com webmaster

Claire wrote my absolute favorite era of “GH.” What a talent! Rest in peace, dear lady.

Mine too-Sonny, Brenda, Ned, Lois, Stone, The Q’s-all of my favorites, too!

The stories that Claire Labine wrote for GH in the 90’s are the stories that got me hooked on the show. Robin/Stone’s story along with Ned/Lois and Sonny/Brenda are still the gold standard for me of GH storytelling. Those stories will forever be in my heart. Rest in peace Claire, you gifted the viewers with tales that will last a lifetime.

What can I say? I am at a loss for words. This lady came up with some of the best stories in our history of soaps. Well miss you, Claire.

I am curious as to which new generation of writers who have followed in her footsteps they are referring to??

THANK YOU Miss Claire. RIP.

Claire Labine is one of my all time role models. She inspired me to focus on writing and she helped me become a better, more empathetic person through the stories she wrote. I was just a 15 year old boy when she captivated me as she began her tenure at GH. Through Ned and Lois’s romance (still my all time favorite pairing), Monica’s breast cancer, Stone and Robin’s story, the infamous Lucy/Damian “bet” – but most especially through BJ’s heart – Claire created GH’s true golden era. The BJ story remains the best story ever portrayed on daytime television in my opinion. I am so grateful for Claire’s storytelling. May she rest in peace.

Ms. Labine was truly one of the best. Ryan’s hope was a gem in a class by itself; Claire left her stamp with her inimitable writing/story telling style and creativity with quality par excellence in any project she wrote for or collborated on. Her story telling for General Hospital was soap at its best. She is irreplaceable and will be sorely missed. My condolences to her family including those of us in her soap family.

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‘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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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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‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Admits That He Didn’t Expect the Role of Michael Corinthos to be Recast, and Would Consider Working on Another Soap (Exclusive)

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Chad Duell, the Daytime Emmy-winning actor, who stepped away from the pivotal role of Michael Corinthos on General Hospital, opened up about: his previous decision to leave the series after nearly 15 years, where’s he’s at now after time away from the demands of a daytime soap opera, and took a stroll down memory lane with some of Michael’s most-acclaimed storyline during his run, during a livestream chat on August 19 on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.

Viewers last saw Duell on-screen as Michael in January of 2025, and with his successor in the role, Rory Gibson making his debut at the GH Nurses’ Ball in episodes that aired later in May. It was clear that during the conversation, Chad was a bit surprised that the GH brass decided to recast him when he thought he was just taking some much needed time off.

Burn-out of the daily grind of being on a soap was definitely a part of Chad’s decision to take a break. Duell explained “People know when you’re doing something for so long or your character is kind of in the same place for so long or doing the same stuff over and over again, you do get a a little burnt out, you get a little stiff, stale, a little stiff at times. I didn’t want that to be any sort of lasting impression. I have 15 years of a body of work of I’ve done on that show, which is fantastic.”

Chad Duell

Photo: ABC

WHILE CHAD WAS AWAY GH RECAST MICHAEL CORINTHOS WITH RORY GIBSON

Chad shared, his mindset when leaving GH was, “I’m taking some time away, we’ll see what happens.” Then he added, “Obviously, they decided to go in a different direction with Michael when I was gone. I didn’t think they were going to bring somebody back in my place. But you know, it’s the business. You never know what can happen.”

Duell also shared he has not watched a single episode of General Hospital since he left the series, but now feels he reenergized following the loss of his father and stepping away from the GH, “I’m in a place now mentally, where I’m ready to sink my teeth into it again.”

Courtesy/ABC

Even though he is no longer Michael on GH, Chad was very happy with his final storyline where Michael was set on fire when a bomb exploded at Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) penthouse. “It was fun to put him in a dangerous situation, because I was wanting Michael to be in something scary instead of trying to be a hero character or just things happening around him, but to be the center point of tragedy happening to him. (I always saw) Michael as the heart of the (Corinthos) family.”

When Michael was badly burned the show chose not burn his face, which normally a soap does when they are recasting role and switching actors. Chad weighed-in, “They didn’t burn my face because I told Frank Valentini (EP, GH) I’m willing to come back. It was just a little bit of a break. So, I assumed that if they would have burned my face, they could have brought somebody back looking different than me… if that’s what their plan was.”

Courtesy/ABC

MEMORABLE MICHAEL STORYLINES

One of Chad’s most memorable performances was the in the storyline of Michael’s rape while he was sentenced to prison in 2010 and the confession of it in 2011. “It was so well-written and I was very nervous,” recalled Chad. “When I get really nervous about something, it ends up being really good when I do it, because it just means I care a lot about it”

“I have to put a lot of effort and work into it, and I really want it to be good.  I was working with Dominic  Zamprogna (Dante) and Steve Burton (Jason) a lot during those scenes, and Laura Wright (Carly). It was great working with Steve and Dominic, especially, during that storyline.

A NEW SOAP ROLE FOR CHAD?

As to a future soap opera role, Chad is open to the idea and would love to jump back in to a juicy role, “I know people over at The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless. They know that if they’re interested, I would love to come in for a screen test or something, and they can see what I’m doing.”

Meanwhile, Chad has been busy putting out new music under the moniker Duelly and during the interview he explains how he creates his EDM tracks and much more. You can stream his latest single, Static in the Quiet Room on Spotify, Apple Music and You Tube Music.

You can check out the full conversation with Chad Duell below.

Now let us know: what show would you like to see Chad cast on down the line? BTG, DAYS, B&B, Y&R, or a new role on GH? What did you think of his thoughts on the casting switch while he was away in the role of Michael? What was your favorite Michael storyline during Chad’s 15-year run on the ABC soap opera? 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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