Leave it to the stars of the soaps to be there for each other, and others, in times of need and when it counts. The Los Angeles County wildfires have burned the homes of many beloved actors, displaced thousands upon thousands of people, took down entire communities, and has been a history-making disaster for its residents.

This Sunday, January 19th, General Hospital’s Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) along with Josh Kelly (Cody) have put together quite the roster of soap stars to join them in their fundraiser, Daytime Makes a Difference, which will stream live beginning at 3:30pm ET/12:30pm PT. This special Zoom event is being brought to you by Coastal Entertainment.

All proceeds will be split three ways to three organizations who reflect the needs of those trying to recover from the wildfires. They are: the World Central Kitchen, Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation and the Pasadena Humane Society.

Photo: Coastal Entertainment

Scheduled to appear are: Tabyana Ali (Trina), Tajh Bellow (TJ), Maurice Benard (Sonny), Ian Buchanan (ex-Duke), Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis), Tanisha Harper (Jordan), Rick Hearst (Ric), Carolyn Hennesy (Diane), Finola Hughes (Anna), Chloe Lanier (ex-Nelle), Eva LaRue (Natalia), Jon Lindstrom (Kevin), Kate Mansi (Kristina), Vanessa Marcil (ex-Brenda), Sofia Mattsson (Sasha), Scott Reeves (ex-Steve; ex-Ryan, Y&R), Tristan Rogers (Robert), Emma Samms (Holly), Amanda Setton (Brook Lynn), Parry Shen (Brad), Rena Sofer (Lois), Josh Swickard (Chase), Donnell Turner (Curtis), Cynthia Watros (Nina), Sawandi Wilson (Isaiah), Kristen Vaganos (Molly), John J. York (Mac) and Dominic Zamprogna (Dante), and Cameron Mathison (Drew), who sadly lost his home in the Eaton Fire. In addition, look for Days of our Lives cast members: Carson Boatman (Johnny), Tamara Braun (Ava) Eric Martsolf (Brady) and Brandon Barash (ex-Stefan, DAYS/ex-Jake; ex-Johnny, GH) to also be part of this important event.

Photo: ABC

Michael Fairman TV spoke exclusively to Bradford Anderson on the creation of this special fundraiser. However, before we got into the details, we would have been remiss to not ask Bradford his thoughts on the loss of longtime GH star, Leslie Charleson (Monica Quartermaine), who passed away last Sunday at the age of 79. Bradford shared, “She’ll be missed. But, the cool thing is that there’s so much happening in (story) in the main Quartermaine house again. It’s a shame that she can’t be there.”

In speaking of his most memorable moment with Charleson, Bradford shared it was during the original version of his podcast with Steve Burton (Jason), “The thing that I remember the most is when we sat down with her for those two hours on the podcast, and she said, ‘Steve, go to your room.’ That was my favorite thing she’s ever said. No one can put Steve in his place like Leslie could. Steve and Leslie had such a connection.”

Photo: ABC

HOW THE BENEFIT CAME ABOUT, GETTING TO KNOW JOSH KELLY AND HIS SIGN IN BOOK

On just how the fundraiser came together so fast, Bradford explained, “I’ve known Josh for a short time, but we really enjoy each other. We’ve done a couple events together including at Graceland, and he’s just so lovable that guy. One of the things that he’s passionate about is people and connection. Josh can be a little close to the vest sometimes, but I got a great sense of him when you go into his dressing room, and he’s got a sign in book, a welcome book, basically. On GH, if you’re not on contract, and working as an actor, you get assigned a dressing room for the day. So, if you’re assigned Josh’s room (because he is not working that day), the sign in book says, “First of all, congratulations, you’re on a TV show today. Be very proud of yourself. There’s sparkling water in the fridge. Enjoy this day. If you want to leave a remembrance or tell me who was in my room, I would love to hear from you. ”

“Josh is putting himself in the shoes of someone who would be walking onto a television set for their first day and/or being nervous,” explained Anderson. “Then, the actor opens up the book and reads that the contract player is happy that they’re there and proud of them for being there and that they belong there. I was like, ‘This guy is generous and he’s empathetic and he’s just a solid guy.’ So, when the idea of Daytime Makes a Difference came up, Josh contacted me and said, ‘I really feel like we’re in a position to do something and I’d love to do this with you, as I know you have a shorthand with this stuff.'”

Photo: JPI

CHLOE LANIER

As had been previously reported, Josh Kelly is currently dating former GH star, Chloe Lanier (ex-Nelle), and Anderson said that it was Lanier who thought of Coastal Entertainment as the perfect platform for the fundraiser. “I miss Chloe on the show. She is such an incredible actress and an equally good person. I’m glad I’ve got to see her around Josh that has been fun,” expressed Bradford. “So, Josh called up Linda Rohe of Coastal Entertainment, and within a matter of 24 hours we were off in running and had almost 30 people confirmed to be a part of it.”

Photo: AP

ACTORS COMING TOGETHER FOR THOSE IN NEED

“The response that we’ve got from all of our castmates and other people from daytime has truly been astounding. Everyone is trying to figure out how they can help,” shared Bradford. “This is kind of all of our attempts to just do what we can. For people who live in Los Angeles, or for all of us that have lived there, and have friends and family here. There is this connection and love for a city that had given us so much.”

GH’s Cameron Mathison (Drew Quartermaine) is one of the actors who’s home was destroyed in the wildfires, and even though he is trying to cope and pick-up the pieces of what’s next, he is making the time to appear on the benefit. “Cameron was the very first one who responded,” explained Anderson. “He is another person that when you look in his eyes, you can tell he’s a very empathetic and compassionate person. He’s such a beacon of strength and to see him suffer, and seeing everyone else who has suffered, has been heartbreaking. Cameron has been showing up to tell his story and to let people know what’s happening, and to try to bring awareness to other’s plight as well. He is just a standup guy.”

Photo: PasadenaHumanSociety

THE CHARITIES CHOSEN AND TICKETS

With so many organizations available for the public to make donations, Josh and Bradford whittled it down to three for their fundraising efforts. “We thought it was important to serve the immediate need. That’s why we’re going with the World Central Kitchen, to help first responders and to help anybody that is food insecure right now in the LA area, and the LA Fire Department Foundation to make sure that they have everything they need to fight these fires. Then, the Pasadena Humane Society because there’s so many displaced animals. So, we were like, ‘The people, the first responders, the animals, let’s cover all the bases,”‘ explained Anderson.

He added, “Tickets are going really fast and there’s no ceiling on tickets. So, if people can’t attend the live event, but still want to support the cause, they can buy a ticket and look at it as a donation and they can still get the Zoom link to watch it later.

Photo: JPI

WHAT TO EXPECT DURING ‘DAYTIME MAKES A DIFFERENCE’

As to the structure of the event, and what fans will partake in, Anderson outlined, “We’re not going to have 30 actors on screen at one time. That would just be chaos. We probably will bring people on in small groups. There is going to be some talk that is serious and heartrending and heartbreaking, I’m sure. At at the same time, we want to celebrate the fact we can all be together. Josh and I certainly will have a touch of humor throughout the benefit as often that is the best way to deal with tough topics or stressful situations We want to make sure that every guest that we have on has the space to share what they want. I am sure there will also be talk about what’s happening with their soap character, if we have time. We will also have some questions elevated to our attention from fans in the live chat.”

It was important for Anderson and Kelly to take action now, which is why the event is coming together quickly. Bradford elaborated, “We wanted to deal with the imminence of this threat. We want to do something now. We’re very lucky to have 30 great people that have offered to be with us live and who really want to be a part of it. In addition, we’re also going to play a series of videos from people that can’t be there with us on Sunday.”

So, will you be supporting Bradford and Josh’s initiative and purchase a ticket for what looks to be an incredible line-up of ‘General Hospital’ and daytime stars? Let us know via the comment section below.