General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Jane Elliot Talks On Her 60-Year Career, Always “Coming Home” to Play Tracy, Monica’s Memorial and Going Toe-to-Toe with Erika Slezak (Exclusive)
On General Hospital, Jane Elliot has been playing the often scheming, often lovable, Tracy Quartermaine on and off since 1978 for nearly 50 years. The character is now the longest-tenured member of the iconic Quartermaine family still around. Something that is not lost on the newest Gold Circle Inductee at last week’s 52nd annual Daytime Emmy Awards.
Jane was awarded her honor for excellence and dedication to her craft in the field of daytime television; and for making an enduring contribution to the vitality of the industry, and for setting standards for all to emulate.
Michael Fairman TV spoke to Jane shortly after she took to the stage during the Emmy ceremony and was acknowledged for her Gold Circle induction on her legendary daytime career which has spanned 60 years. It has included roles such as: Carrie Marler on Guiding Light, Angelica Deveraux on Days of our Lives, and Cynthia Preston on All My Children. Soap fans first saw Jane in 1965’s, A Flame in the Wind.
Photos: ABC/CBS/NBC
Jane shared what she is most proud of in her daytime career, “The first soap opera I did was in 1965, 60 years ago and it was live television. It’s 60 years later and I have been part of nine different soap operas. The thing I think that I’m proudest of is that I keep coming home to General Hospital and they keep a place for me, and that’s cherished. It is so cherished that they let me go do other things: I’ve done Days of our Lives. I’ve done Guiding Light, I’ve done All My Children, etc. They let me go, and visit other shows and create other characters, and then I get to come home. I don’t know anybody that’s been as lucky as I am.”
Photo: ABC
THE WRITE STUFF
Over the past year, GH Emmy-winning head writers, Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten, have really given Jane some extraordinary nuanced material to play, and dare we say for the 2026 Daytime Emmys, if she were to throw her hat into the race, she would be hard to beat. Commenting on the writing, Elliot expressed, “It starts on the page. I can only do what I do, but it has to be on the page first. The material that I’ve been given to do in this past year has been exceptional.”
MONICA’S MEMORIAL EPISODES
There was not a dry eye in the house when on September 25 and 26, General Hospital aired its episodes centering around the memorial of Monica Quartermaine as the series said goodbye to the iconic character and her portrayer, the late Leslie Charleson. In real-life and on the show, it was Jane and her co-star Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) who were closest to Charleson making the story and the emotional scenes difficult to do.
“It was really hard, because Leslie died nine months ago and we did a celebration of life for her,” recalled Elliot. “I did a eulogy then for Leslie, and then I did it for Monica. To keep her (Monica) alive for nine months on camera and play like she was still here, and then to finally, after not acknowledging it, then acknowledging that she’d passed, was heartbreaking for Steve Burton and for me. I thought Steve did the best work of his life.”
Photo: JPI
In the key moment in the story for Tracy, she wheels interloper Drew Cain (Cameron Mathison) out of the church (he was in a wheelchair recovering from gunshot wounds), closes the doors, and then makes her way to the pulpit to finally eulogize Monica, who has always been like a sister to her; even though they were sister-in-laws. Jane explained if she felt more pressure or weight to the moment to deliver in the scene because of her love and out of respect for Leslie Charleson and the history they shared.
“There’s always weight when you’re given good work, right? When something is well-written it’s always a pressure to come up with the goods. because you want to it justice,” expressed Elliot.
Photo: ABC
GOING TOE TO TOE WITH ERIKA SLEZAK
Since Monica’s death, General Hospital brought six-time Daytime Emmy winner, Erika Slezak (Ronnie, GH and ex-Viki, OLTL) to the series for a short-term run as Tracy’s newest rival. Jane shared her reaction to working with another icon. “I was just in awe. I’ve watched Erika for years on television. She’s watched me for years on television, and then there we are face to face, nose to nose. And it’s like, ‘Oh, my God! There you are’. And she looks at me and goes, ‘Oh, my God! There you are.’ It could not have been more delicious.”
Courtesy/ABC
THE LEGACY OF TRACY: FROM WITHHOLDING EDWARD’S HEART MEDICATION TO BEING THROWN OUT OF THE QS
In a famous 1980 General Hospital storyline, Tracy Quartermaine withheld her father Edward’s heart medication during what she believed was a real heart attack. However, Edward was actually faking the attack to test her loyalty. It became a soap classic and won Elliot a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1981. Jane explained that although it did launch Tracy further into the soap opera stratosphere she does not reflect back on it in that way. “I don’t think about stuff like that. I just do what’s asked of me,” Elliot said. “You put it on the page, I’m going make it sing as best I possibly can. I don’t have that self-awareness of how it’s going to live in history. I just do what I do. That’s all.”
Photo: ABC
Now below, check out our conversation with Jane. Make sure to check out the Michael Fairman Channel for more interviews with the winners at the 52nd annual Daytime Emmy Awards.
So, what do you think about what Jane shared about always “coming home” to GH, Erika Slezak, working in daytime for 60 years, and Monica’s memorial? Are you glad to see Jane receiving the Gold Circle honor? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
Total class act! Love Jane Elliot!
Jane is a treasure. She looked amazing that night, amazing for a lady of her age, or any other age for that matter. And the honor was so well deserved. Probably the only way they were gonna get her on the stage at this point, to give her the flowers she so rightfully deserves.
I know it’s pretty well known in the industry that she hasn’t submitted her name for the Emmys in many years, but I really wish she would next year. She’s done such exceptional work this past year, and the year isn’t over, I have no doubt that if she submitted for Best Supporting Actress that not only would she get a nomination, she’d win.
What a great story that would make for next year’s Emmys, if Jane won in 2026, 45 years after her one and only previous win. If everyone wishes it, maybe we can will it into happening.
I would love it if she submitted her name also. I just love her. She’s truly exceptional.
I love Jane Elliot. She is so classy.
I love how Jane has become the undisputed queen of daytime. It is obvious how many of her fellow actors are in awe of her. There is no doubt she would win Best Actress next year. I hope Jane and Steve submit the Monica funeral scenes. No doubt, they would win.
The best thing about GH, Jane Elliot
My absolute co-favorite all-time actress period (along with the incredible Beverlee McKinsey). For those who never had the chance to experience Jane as Carrie Marler on Guiding Light (1981-1982) you have no idea what you missed. THe collaboration between Jane and her buddy Doug Marland, who created the character specifically for her. She was originally approached about playing the role of Vanessa Chamberlain who was about to debut on GL but but she thought the character as described was too much like Tracy. Carrie was the complete antithesis of Tracy Quartermaine, but also with the added complexity of DID (she has that in common with erika Slezak too as far as acting experiences!).Check her very few available episodes on Guiding Light.
How is it possible that she’d never sat across the Emmy-nominated-actress lunch table with Erika Slezak? Did she only get nominated for Supporting?
The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.
Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.
Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.
Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.
The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”
Photo: NBC
Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”
He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”
The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”
Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.
Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.
This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.
So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.
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Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Ava’s (Maura West) daughter Avery looks quite different, starting on today’s November 9 episode of General Hospital. That’s because GH has made Avery into a full-blown teenager and the role is now being played by actress Alya Bullington.
In her debut, the Tennessee native was thrown into the deep soap waters with Daytime Emmy winners, Maurice Benard and Eden McCoy (Josslyn). Bullington weighed-in to TV Insider about her first scene which featured Avery overhearing a fight between Sonny and Josslyn.
She explained “It was something I have never done before, I did not have a lot of experience with the screaming and the crying stuff, but I got my first script, and I was like, ‘OK, this is a huge opportunity to learn so much about how that stuff works and to become this character that I have never even tried playing before.’”
Photo: ABC
THE TEENAGED VERSION OF AVERY WILL HAVE A LOT TO CONTEND WITH
Speaking of working with McCoy, Bullington shared, “She’s incredible. I remember her just laughing and making jokes on set, and then the minute that they started taping, she just locked in and she cried immediately, and my first thought was, ‘I want to be able to do that.’
The soap opera newcomer added, “I think she just inspired me so much because she is so great and she can just lock into whatever character she wants to in the moment.”
The character of Avery was born back in 2014, but as recently as the October 8 episode of General Hospital, the character was suddenly referred to as a teenager. This is the second young female character in recent months to be aged up following the casting of Kayden Brenna Tokarski as Scout Cain.
As for her take on Avery and what’s ahead, Alya said,“She’s emotional, and she’s curious, and she’s a really fun person to play because so much stuff is happening in her life. I think she’s kind of confused about what’s happening and what to believe.”
So, what do you think about General Hospital making Avery a teenager? Are you excited to see the conflict between Sonny, Ava and Avery now that they have aged up the character? Share your thoughts and welcome Alya to GH via the comment section below.
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