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’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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?”

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.
General Hospital
GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

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.
General Hospital
‘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)

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.”

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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