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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

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: ABC

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.

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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:

Spoiler
It was Cyrus who murdered Sam by injecting her I.V. bag with something, and is also the one who tampered with Lulu’s ventilator.

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

Troy Lennon Appel on Auditioning Six Times for ‘General Hospital’ Before Being Cast in the Role of Hudson Parker

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Troy Lennon Appel

General Hospital introduced the character of Hudson Parker back on July 30, 2026 marking the first appearance of Troy Lennon Appel in the role.

Quickly, we learned there was some connection to Ethan Lovett, after Hudson tracked him down and beat up the guy, the potential that Hudson is the biological father to Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase’s (Josh Swickard) adopted daughter, Phoebe, and that he is now Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) right hand man at JJE.

On Sunday, October 25 in a brand new episode of the That’s Awesome Podcast with Steve Burton (Jason) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli), the Stone Cold and the Jackal duo welcomed Troy Lennon Appel to the show to delve into his background, landing the role of Hudson, and what may come next in a teaser for upcoming episodes of GH.

Jonathan Bennett

Photo: ABC

A NEW CHARACTER CREATED JUST FOR TROY WAS THE TICKET TO PORT CHARLES

As it turned out, Troy revealed that he had actually auditioned for General Hospital on six different occasions before being cast as Hudson, the last audition being for the role of Joe Fitzpatrick that went to Jonathan Bennett.

Appel explained, “Every time I showed up (to audition), I was like, ‘All right, I gotta nail this because it’s General Hospital.‘ It was my sixth one where I auditioned for Joe Fitzpatrick, Jonathan Bennett’s character. That was last November. Then, it was February of this year when I came in for an in-person callback. My wife and I were just like, ‘You gotta nail this.’  I didn’t get that character. Obviously, Jonathan got that, but then, they created Hudson Parker for me. I’m shocked I’m even on this show right now!'”

The General Hospital newcomer was even more stoked when he realized that not only did the producers and writers create a role just for him, but that he was going on contract as a series regular.

Appel recalled, “All at once, they were like, ‘We’re going to offer you a three-year contract and we’re creating a character for you.’ It was just something you never expect to hear. I was on the phone and I just fell down to the ground. I went through the range of emotions you could have. I know I cried. I hyperventilated. I’ve never hyperventilated in my life. But now, I get to essentially live the dream I have.”

Photo: ABC

HUDSON AND JOSSLYN

Eden McCoy shares many a scene with Troy, and he gave her major kudos for getting him through the beginning weeks of his run as Hudson. “We did a chemistry test, together and I give her so much credit because obviously, she’s a pro. She’s been doing it for so long. I’ll do scenes with her where I’m like, ‘I got to just try to meet her where she’s at because she’s just so talented.'”

Troy added, “Eden took me under her wing, and just helped me out so much with understanding the process of all of this and even just knowing where to go, when, when to be where I need to be. I don’t know how I would be feeling if I didn’t have her always working with her and just helping me out the entire time.”

The mystery of just who this guy is will become clear in the weeks ahead as Appel revealed, “We actually just shot what Parker’s background is. Right now, I am the Vice President of Operations for JJE. I manager the company’s financials, essentially. But, there’s more to Hudson which we will eventually find out.” Getting the chance to mix it up with the cast, Troy added of Hudson, “He’s up to some stuff.”

Check out the full conversation with Troy Lennon Appel with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson below.

Now weigh-in: what do you think about Troy having a role specifically creating for him after 6 auditions for GH? What do you think will be revealed of Hudson’s background in the weeks to come? Do you want to see a Josslyn and Hudson pairing? Weigh-in via the comment section below.

 

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General Hospital

GH Alums Kelly Monaco and Greg Vaughan to Reunite for Special Fan Event

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Greg Vaughan and Kelly Monaco

General Hospital fan favorite Kelly Monaco (ex-Sam McCall) will be making a rare public appearance teaming up with her longtime friend and former leading man, Greg Vaughan (ex-Lucky Spencer), at a special fan event.

The announcement came from the stars on their social media accounts, but you can circle, Sunday, December 13, at Uncle Vinnie’s Comedy Club in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey as the spot to see Kelly and Greg at this meet and greet.

As General Hospital viewers know, Monaco spent 21 years as Sam McCall before being killed-off on the October 30, 2024 episode. Before that, she had become soap-famous for her dual roles as Livvie and Tess on the GH spinoff, Port Charles.

Kelly Monaco and Greg Vaughan

Photo: UncleVinnie’s

Vaughan is currently appearing on daytime’s newest soap opera in the recurring role of Dr. Kial Rollins, a role which he debuted back on December 8, 2025. Throughout his daytime career, Greg has appeared on The Young and the Restless (ex-Diego), Days of our Lives (ex-Eric) and as GH’s Lucky.

SAM AND LUCKY

It was back in 2007 that in story, Sam started pursuing Lucky (then played by Greg Vaughan) as a form of revenge against Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst). Sam was furious after learning that Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) had a child with Elizabeth while Sam and Jason were broken up. That child was Jake. Eventually, Sam and Lucky became a hit with viewers and would continue to cross each other’s paths.

Uncle Vinnie’s comedy club took to their Instagram and shared, “The fans asked and we always deliver!!” Tickets going fast! Order on our website.”

In addition, Shanna Moakler, who is in a relationship with Vaughan, took to the comment thread and exclaimed, “My two favorite people.” Moakler and Monaco had previously announced in March of 2025 the start-up of their podcast called Bad Bunnies. It was expected to cover pop culture, personal stories, and Hollywood secrets.

Then, in July 2025, it was confirmed that Kelly Monaco would no longer be participating. At the time, she stepped away due to personal family matters, focusing on maintaining a private life, and new work commitments.

So, would you love to see Kelly and Greg together again? Happy to see that Kelly is making a public appearance for her fans? Let us know via the comment section below.

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GENERAL HOSPITAL: Brook Lynn and Chase Hesitate to Sign Divorce Papers, Elizabeth Reveals Aiden’s Leaving For Paris, Willow Flashes Back to Her Crimes

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Brook Lynn and Chase

As the week came to a conclusion on the Friday, October 23 episode of General Hospital, Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) wrestled with becoming an empty-nester, while Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) and Monet (Blythe Howard) conspired to keep Lulu (Alexa Havins) and Ric (Rick Hearst) at legal bay, and Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase’s (Josh Swickard) frozen relationship thawed, but how much?

Let’s take a look! First, in a moment that was written to bring Liz and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) closer, the GH head nurse is wistful over the fact that she just learned that her talented bakery chef son, Aiden, secretly earned his GED and got into a prestigious pastry school in France and to top it off received a scholarship to attend the school.

Liz is concerned that allowing him to go wasn’t the smartest move because of his young age. Dante suggested that maybe it’s her fear of being alone that is causing her to feel hesitant for Aiden to go abroad. He shared a story about the support her received from Olivia when he moved away from home for the first time; that he understood mothers and sons are close, but she needed to let him go build his own life.

Elizabeth

Courtesy/ABC

After coming to terms with it, she revealed that Aiden is leaving in four days and had to make cupcakes for the Halloween party, Dante offered to help her do the baking. They smile. So, what this means to GH fans? All of Liz sons: Cameron, Jake, Aiden are all now officially off the canvas!

WILLOW VS. LULU

At Miller & Davis, Willow strolls in to meet Monet to go over their strategy in their meeting with Ric and Lulu. While discussing their next move, Willow flashes back to the night she shot Drew (Cameron Mathison) twice in the back, and then later, how she first stuck a needle in his neck to use the paralytic drug that kept him in a locked-in state for months.

Willow

Courtesy/ABC

When Ric and Lulu arrive, the four end up in a stalemate. Willow refused to drop the lawsuit, and Lulu refused to retract the story on her. Willow’s stance is that Lulu had been manipulated by the Quartermaines, who wanted to take her children away, so Michael can have sole custody of them. Lulu fired back that she was doing her job as an investigative reporter to expose crimes perpetrated by a congresswoman.

Now at an impasse, Ric and Lulu tell Monet and Willow they will see them in court as now a judge will hear the case. Not what Ric wanted that to happen, but now he tells Lulu, they will figure out a way to bring Willow down.

DIVORCE BLUES?

Finally, Chase and Brook Lynn head to the Dominican Republic to get a quickie divorce after how their lawyers dredged up awful things about both of them in Port Charles. While on the plane, the two discuss that they still want each other to be happy.

Once in front of the judge in the Dominican Republic, he asked if the two were mutually consenting to this divorce, but instead, the two sang each others praises.

This left the judge to ask if the two wanted to go through with ending their marriage and he left the room. Later, when he returned with the divorce documents to sign, Chase and Brook Lynn stared at each other hesitating to sign on the dotted line.

So, what do you think will happen next? Will Brook Lynn and Chase end their marriage, or decide to try to make it a go? Is it upsetting to you that all of Elizabeth’s sons are off the canvas? Should the soap recast them all, like they did with Alexis’ daughters and restart the story of these young men? Do you think now will be the time that Willow’s crimes will be publicly exposed, and she will lose her kids and her seat in a congress? Weigh-in 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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