General Hospital
GH’s Nancy Lee Grahn Shares How “Hard” it Was to Say Goodbye to Kelly Monaco, and Play Out Their Final Scenes as Mother and Daughter
Two-time Daytime Emmy-winner, Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis), has taken to social media to address the on-screen death of Sam McCall played by Kelly Monaco. On Wednesday’s October 30th episode while Alexis was visiting her daughter in the hospital, as Sam was recovering from live-saving liver transplant surgery (S donated her liver to save Lulu Spencer), suddenly things went very awry.
Before you know it, Alexis was at the nurses hub pleading for help and in shock as all of Sam’s monitors and alarms went off. After trying valiantly to save her, Lucas, Portia and Elizabeth had to face the truth that Sam died.
Now today, on the October 31st episode, and in the days to come, Alexis will have to face the tragedy and losing her eldest daughter. While so many GH viewers are outraged with the soap for killing-off Sam to begin with, now they are watching and enduring the heartbreaking fallout, which we are sure will feature many gut-wrenching moments from the cast.

Photo: JPI
Grahn shared how difficult it was for her to perform with Kelly in her final scenes, “As hard as it may be for GH viewers to watch today’s episodes and the episodes to follow, it was equally as hard for me and my casemates to play.” In tribute to Kelly, Nancy added, “Playing Kelly Monaco’s mom has been effortless and the love is real.”
After she posted her sentiments, several fans responded about their real-life experiences, and how Nancy and Kelly’s scenes hit so close to home with the death of a loved one and a child. One mom shared, “I had to change the channel when Alexis climbed into the bed w/Sam. Lost my son June 2022. He was 25 and severely disabled. Complications due to Crohn’s disease got him. I climbed into his bed as he took his last breath. Can’t watch death scenes any more.” Nancy responded, “Understand. I’m so sorry. My sister has Crohns. Don’t watch. Just watch happy shows.”

Photo: ABC
As for Monaco, this week’s episodes will mark the end of her 21-year run on General Hospital. Along the way, she was acknowledged for her performances back in 2006 in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category at the Daytime Emmy Awards and became one of the most popular actresses to ever appear on the ABC soap opera.
What do you think about the sentiments shared by Nancy Lee Grahn on playing out the scenes where she loses her on-screen daughter Sam as played by Kelly Monaco and saying goodbye to her longtime scene partner and castmate? Comment below.
As hard as it may be for #gh viewers to watch today’s episodes and the episodes to follow, it was equally as hard for me and my casemates to play. Playing Kelly Monaco’s mom has been effortless and the love is real. 💙
— Nancy Lee Grahn (@NancyLeeGrahn) October 31, 2024
It might take a while to get over today’s episode. Nancy Lee and Steve Burton knocked it out of the park. I loved how Nancy Lee’s goodbye scenes were as fierce as we would have imagined. Steve’s was understated and…perfection along with the flashbacks.
The entire episode was a return to form with the show. Excellent dialogue and great acting. I’m also loving that Cody is no longer bumbling and is standing up and saying what we all want to say to Drew. Michael and Willow’s scenes were great, but we know the fallout of Michael and Sasha will be some great drama.
I wish Frank and the show would listen to the fans. It is obvious there are several actors on the show that are EXTREMELY unpopular with those who watch the show faithfully. Sam could have been in an interesting triangle with Dante and Lulu, a storyline with Jason getting back together, etc. Instead, Drew and Portia stay on the show.
Give us more Tracy, Lucky/Elizabeth, find Jason a love interest, bring Valentine back for Anna (or Ava) and a storyline of substance for uber-popular Maxie.
There are now seven people who will never watch GH again because of what the Producers/writers did to Sam. For these people there is nothing GH can do to make them get over it.
Perfectly stated
Bring Valentine back, are you crazy? That S,O.B causes nothing but trouble for anyone he comes in contact with!
Kelly is one of the true stars of daytime this just isn’t right.
Agreed
The ICONIC SAM MCCALL!!!!!!!
NEVER FORGOTTEN
FOREVER REMEMBERED
WE LOVE YOU KELLY, 21 YEARS AND BEYOND!!!!!!!
Same Here
Why is GH bringing on ALL of these new actors and firing the best ones ? Sam is a needed character.Sam and Finn would have been a super couple. LuLu, Gio, Natalia, Rick, and Holly, would not be missed !!! GH is not what it used to be. I have been watching since 1963. Gone to Soap Opera Weekend’s. Too many new people. Too many storylines . No connection anymore.
Please leave out Holly! The GH storyline does not need Ric… yes more Maxie!
Lulu and Rick are legacy characters same as Sam. I love Rick! If I had to pick I’d take Rick over Sam and Lulu, though it’d be nice if they all came back. GH are the legacy characters; no one can replace any of them.
Great writing and acting today. Loved the JaSam flashbacks. It’s a shame that the news about KM had to come out before she died on screen. As a long longtime viewer and fan of the genre, I wish they had kept this under wraps, and she just died. Now that would’ve been an iconic moment like Tracy keeping Edward’s meds, BI’s heart were.
That they used organ donation as a vehicle to kill off Sam does an immense disservice to the organ donation community.
We know that soaps are not real, but GH has been known for its commitment to telling real, intense stories. But now what they’ve done is stop (potentially) thousands of donors for people who desperately need organs.
There were so many other ways to handle this but Frank and the writers once again did the lazy thing and as a result could be responsible for people dying.
And yes I know that they are leading up to a serial killer storyline with this, but people have very short, very selective memories.
All that said, I will miss Kelly. And NLG did masterful work with a truly crappy storyline.
It was never stated the transplant is what caused her death. At all.
This whole scene of a “cardiac arrest” out of nowhere, in a healthy patient supposedly recovering well, is giving me flashbacks to the last time AJ came to Hell.
You might remember in that case, shortly before AJ shuffled off his mortal coil, we saw Ava in his hospital room convincing herself that AJ had to die before he remembered that she had confessed to the murder of ConKate shortly before the whole mishap with her $1.98 WalMart handgun.
Now I’m not saying Ava killed her own niece. They defintely were not close, but Ava would have no reason to kill her. What I AM saying, is that the cause of the “cardiac arrest” was probably the same thing in both cases – some sort of drug injected into the IV drip. Unfortunately those sort of drugs are very often “untraceable” so there may be no telltale signs of it turning up in the autopsy.
But I have a feeling that neither Alexis, Jason, or Sonny are going to believe this was a case of “natural causes” that took Sam out. So who would be the suspects? Hell only knows. If it’s Cyrus the Virus, at least that would finally lay to rest the ridiculous idea that he gave up his past sinful lifestyle when he “found” my Former Employer.
I have a [strong] feeling it was Cyrus’ doing after he failed at executing Lulu via her ventilator.
They have been saying this for weeks, nothing new! Yes, Cyrus is most likely the murderer.
I don’t think he tried to kill Lulu. I think he wanted Sam out of the picture so that Dante and Lulu will get back together. I think he messed with Sam’s intravenous line or something which caused her to have a heart attack.
Any procedure or operation can have that consequence. it was because of having the operation.
And per projected spoilers:
A little naive here?
Jesus. Really? Let me say this simply.
Leaving aside that Frank abhorred Kelly…if not for the surgery, Sam would not have died.
Too many people have antiquated beliefs about organ donation and there are never enough organs donated. People die daily as a result.
And now Frank has used organ donation as a vehicle that can – and will – lead people to believe that doing a live organ donation will kill them.
Frank and Doris Hursely must be turning over in their graves! Eliminating a legacy character , Sam, in the worst way. Valentine and his staff should be fired. Any parent watching this will think twice about becoming a live donor.
The scene where Alexis & Jason met eyes & he rushed the kids off to Bobbie’s gave me chills. Emmy Award for Nancy Lee Grahn at Sam’s bedside after she died. Last time I cried so hard was when Sasha & Brando lost their precious little baby. Jason with Sam afterwards & the flashbacks were so good. They never should have killed Sam-agree with others that there are too many characters & storylines on this show & many who could be sent off & NOT missed at all. I haven’t seen Friday’s show yet but my God how is Laura gonna take this & Sam’s poor kids? Sam was connected to so many.
I’m waiting for fallout from organ transplant organizations, since this was a bad decision in writing by the GH decision makers. It could potentially put a damper on people who were thinking about donating.
I agree. Thought that from the start. Fix it, fi nish it, ASAP! I donated a kidney to my sister, and from the start of this storyline I was scared about how people will take this! It was great up until the murder. Promote organ donation!!! not murder!
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Carly and Lulu Make Plans to Rescue Their Children; Anna Looks Determined to Secure Her Freedom

This week on all-new episodes of General Hospital, the race is on! Can Lulu (Alexa Havins) and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) get to Rocco (Finn Carr) and Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) in time to ensure their safety from Cullum (Andrew Hawkes)? Can Carly (Laura Wright) with the help of her brother, Lucas (Van Hansis) rescue Josslyn (Eden McCoy) from captivity at Wyndemere? These questions may be answered, plus the return of the one and only Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) are on tap!
In the just released General Hospital spoilers video for the week of June 22-26, Lulu tells her mother, Laura (Genie Francis), “Dante and I have to get to Rocco before Cullum!” Meanwhile, Rocco (Finn Carr) looks angered and emotional as Britt walks through their cabin hideout. Does Rocco know his parents are on the way to find them, or has Cullum already tracked them down to the British Virgin Islands?
Back in Port Charles, Carly is informing Lucas that his niece, “is a WSB agent.” She knows Josslyn (Eden McCoy) is being held against her will at Wyndemere, and she has to find a way to get her out. Lucas agrees with Carly’s plan of, “We go in and we don’t leave without Josslyn!” Elsewhere, Josslyn is looking worried for her future as she is stuck in captivity thanks to Cassius, Cullum and Sidwell!

Courtesy/ABC
FINOLA HUGHES RETURNS
The final moments of the teaser promo reveal Anna in a psychiatric clinic in France. We have not seen her for months after Cullum, Sidwell and Pascal fed her hallucinogenics to make her believe her arch nemesis, Cesar Faison was alive!
Now, the doctors walk towards her hospital bed, where we see the super spy calmly knitting. Is Anna back to normal and playing everyone to get out of her predicament, or does she still remain deeply traumatized … or both?
Take a look at the rest of the official GH spoilers for the week below.
MONDAY, JUNE 22
Willow gets an unwelcome surprise. Trina sticks to her guns. “Nathan” wants reassurance. Ethan advises Ava. Brook Lynn receives an update.
TUESDAY, JUNE 23
Dante cautions Liz. Laura learns a secret. Brook Lynn confides in Michael. Sonny challenges Ava. Chase makes a decision.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24
Anna meets with her doctor. Carly makes a stunning confession. Britt extracts a promise. Cullum pulls a fast one. Gio and Emma hit the pool.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25
Josslyn clashes with Cassius. Lulu and Dante make a discovery. Chase receives a warning. Jordan seeks help. Alexis is summoned to the PCPD.
FRIDAY, JUNE 26
Anna takes a huge risk. Britt is in grave danger. Willow is in disbelief. Danny must act fast. Curtis jumps to the wrong conclusion.
Check out the latest General Hospital promo entitled, “Rescue Mission” below.
Now weigh-in: Do you think Anna is still mentally off-balance, or OK, and just pretending to be troubled to get out of France and get back to Port Charles? Will Josslyn finally be rescued, or will Carly and Lucas find themselves locked up with her? And, who will get to Britt and Rocco first? Cullum, or Dante and Lulu? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section below.
General Hospital
Maurice Benard Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ Writers; Teases Upcoming Sonny Scenes with Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric

With the highly-anticipated returns of Finola Hughes (Anna Devane) on this week’s June 24 episode of General Hospital, Steve Burton’s (Jason Morgan) upcoming return on July 13, which also serves as the ABC daytime drama’s 16,000 episode, things are about to fire on all cylinders in the story, as noted today by series star, Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos).
On Father’s Day, the three-time Daytime Emmy-winning actor and mental health activist took to his Instagram and expressed in a video that he has some unbelievable upcoming senes with the aforementioned Burton and Hughes. Add to that Nazneen Contractor (Justine Turner) and Rick Hearst (Ric Lansing), where Benard gave credit where credit is due to the GH writing team, which is led by co-head writers, Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten..
In this video, Benard said, “I just want to get on here and say that I did some work with Steve Burton, Finola Hughes, Rick Hearst, Nazneen Contractor, and they’re all just fantastic. Truly fantastic. But, I want to say the writing was just exceptional. It truly was. It was exceptional. So, thankful for that kind of writing. I know writers don’t get the credit a lot, but I just want to say to the General Hospital writing team, keep rolling!”
GENERAL HOSPITAL PREVIEW
So now the question becomes, with a major tease like that, what is about to go down between Sonny, Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric? Will we finally get to the end of the line for Sidwell (Carlo Rota), as previously teased by the GH co-head writers? Will we learn what happened to Jason and Anna, fully? Will Justine and Sonny becomes closer or stop their liaisons? And what of Ric? Will he be true blue to his brother or double-cross him? There is a lot at stake as we move further into the summer and one that looks like it could be one of the more exciting ones in years!
FINOLA HUGHES CONFIRMED AMAZING SCENES WITH MAURICE BENARD
As a punctuation point to his video, Benard also shared this written message in the post: “I just did some wonderful scenes with Steve Burton, Rick Hearst, Finola Hughes and Nazneen Contractor and and unbelievable writing, freaking amazing scenes that you will see in the near future on General Hospital.” In fact, Finola Hughes jumped in the post comment thread and responded, “I loved our scenes so much xxx”
Fans will most likely see all the scenes Benard referred to later in July, since GH tapes approximately six weeks ahead of air.
So, are you excited to see what Maurice is talking about? Are you hyped for what’s to come on GH? Any clue on what you think will go down between the main characters on the soap with the returns of Anna Devane and Jason Morgan to the mix? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
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General Hospital
‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Announces Upcoming Release of His First Single, ‘If You Need Me’

In a surprise move, Daytime Emmy winner, Chad Duell (ex-Michael Corinthos, GH) is getting ready to unveil a new chapter of his career in music.
The former GH star, where he played the son of Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Carly Spencer (Laura Wright) for 15 years, has announced his new single, “If You Need Me” will drop on Friday, June 26. The single is now available for pre-order on Spotify and major music streaming platforms and is distributed by DistroKid.
Taking to his Instagram story over the weekend, to announce the pre-save of his new single, Chad expressed, “I’ll make a full post about what I’ve been up to and my music once it goes live next week, but you can pre-save my first single so it goes straight to your Spotify once it drops next week.”

Photo: CDuellIG
SINCE LEAVING GENERAL HOSPITAL
Previously, since his departure from the ABC soap opera. Chad starred alongside Zach Mendez in the world premiere of of Yum Yum at Annapolis, a new play written by Bruce Reisman. Duell last appeared on General Hospital on the January 21, 2025 episode.
The part was recast with Rory Gibson who debuted as the new Michael in May of 2025 during the Nurses’ Ball episodes and who has remained in the role since that time.
In an interview earlier this year on The Able Show, Duell said on his decision to exit the soap opera, “I was blessed to be part of that (show) for as long as I have, but what happens sometimes is if you’re doing the same thing, especially in a creative field for such a long time, you can get a little burnt out in a way. It can make you a little depressed, so that’s kind of what happened. On top of that, I had other things going on in my life at the time. My father passed away recently and I just needed a reset. So, I stepped away. A lot of times you have to go through some stuff to really step into that next level. I needed to kind of feel uncomfortable.”
So, what type of musical genre will Chad’s new song be? Country? Pop? Rock? Dance/Club? Something else? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below, and if you are eager to hear the new single next week via the comment section below.
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