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General Hospital Turns 59 Today

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: ABC

Today on Friday, April 1st, General Hospital celebrates its 59th anniversary on the air and continues to be the longest-running American soap opera.  It debuted on ABC back on this day in 1963.

The show, which has told the story of the lives of the doctors, nurses and patients at GH, and later expanded into a soap about the town of Port Charles and its families, citizens, and mobsters has won a record 14 Daytime Emmys as Outstanding Drama Series.

Photo: ABC

It was created by Frank and Doris Hursley, and is currently written by co-head writers, Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor and executive produced by Frank Valentini.

Original series stars John Beradino (Steve Hardy), and Emily MacLaughlin (Jessie) were the mainstays of the show back in the 60’s and were joined a year later by Rachel Ames (Audrey Hardy).

Photo: GH

Nowm the core families of the Quartermaines, Corinthos, Cassadines and more provide the romance, lust, high stakes drama, danger, mystery, love, and more, making GH one of the finest in its genre.

Happy 59th anniversary to the cast, crew and creatives for keeping GH a must-see for all soap opera fans and TV viewers for 59 years.

Now, share your congratulations to everyone at General Hospital via the comment section below, and if its your favorite soap on the air let us know why, too!

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Happy bday GH, I’m so glad your part of my daily life, and here’s to many many more.

I am 59 this year too. I cannot recall a time in our house without GH. I think about the characters and stories from the half-hour episodes I saw after school. The excitement of Luke and Laura was unforeseen. I have not fully enjoyed the heavy mob-influenced stories or the eye-rollingly impossible resurrections but in six decades, there is more to celebrate than to deride. My other favorites, All My Children and As the World Turns should still be with us too.

Ok lakovos, how I miss ATWT! I used to love watching when we’d visit my feisty Scottish grandma…she’d spot a character on a show and just blurt out, “She’s a slut!” Or words to that effect. What memories of Nancy’s kitchen, the old Oakdale hospital, Bob and Lisa, Lisa and Grant, Lisa and…well, you get the picture. Golden days!

Congratulations to “General Hospital” on its 59 years, but a slight correction to the post. GH is the longest-running American soap opera ON TELEVISION. The distinction is important because “Guiding Light” remains the longest-running American soap opera overall. 72 years, starting on radio in 1937 before moving to TV. We loyal fans still miss it (but I’m very entertained by GH these days).

Yes and I watched that premier episode. I was immediately hooked by Jessie Brewer and Steve Hardy and Lucille March and even Phil Brewer. Those were the good old days. Happy Anniversary General Hospital and many, many more!!!!!!!!!!!!

LlAnview717
Just FYI. Lucille March, aka Lucille Wall played on two radio shows at the same time in the 40s thru the 50s. Probably wasn’t that hard to do as they were only on for 15 min.She played an attorney, reminds me of Alexes. Was called Portia Faces Life and she also played Lorenzo Jones wife Belle.

Kudos to the current cast members who’ve been part of the show for at least half of those 59 years…

Leslie Charleson
Kin Shriner
Genie Francis
Jackie Zeaman
Tristan Rogers
Finola Hughes
Kristina Wagner
Lynn Herring
John J York
Wally Kurth
Jon Lindstrom
& Maurice Bernard

Steve, thank you for that documentation. I like virtually all of the characters played by these actors, and their tenure is quite an achievement.

Wow. GH is only 4 months younger than myself! Hopefully more good years to come as GH remains the No 1 soap with writing. Just figure out what to do with Sonny and Carly please! And bring back Steve Burton as woke ABC made a big mistake.

I bet Sonny and Carly wish they looked like that old picture. Especially Sonny who seems to like and admire his grey hair and grizzled beard.

Hey Violet

Got to chime in and say that I usually appreciate when a performer embraces the gray. John York went natural and Mac still looks fantastic. Kudos to Benard for doing the same. On the female side, Jane Elliot rocks the gray/white.

Steve
I agree with you thoroughly, except for M.B and Michael on Y&R as he’s let it get so long and unbecoming. Sonny’s hair looks oily and sorry, but its nothing I’d want to run my fingers through, coupled with the nasty old beard. .Now take Gregory Harrison, and Michael E. Knight. They know how to sport that silver grey hair.

Violet, my friend, don’t get me started on Sonny’s recent appearance. It’s pretty sad when a confrontation with so lowly a character as Esme ends with our fearing for SONNY! That silly grin and Grizzly Adams look just ain’t working for him.

Congratulations! So happy GH is still going strong. I started watching It from the beginning, when I was in high school, and the story line was about Angie and Eddie. Loved Jessie, Phil, Steve and all the others. Especially, Audrey’s sassy-mouthed sister, Lucille. It got me through both, the good and challenging times. Loved it even when the writing wasn’t always stellar. Will continue to watch as long as it continues.

Happy Birthday General Hospital started watching soaps sence I was 9 my dad committed suicide my mother had my brother 2 weeks later so we moved to Michigan to live with my grandparents. My grandpa got me into soaps. I’m 70 and still watching so happy birthday many many more.

Lynn
So glad you had the Soaps to help you through such a bad time. They have been there for me most of my life and are like extended family. I’ve tried to stay loyal to most of them save DOOL which I’ve gone without watching due to the crazy Devil story line they have been pursuing for months.Maybe some day they will get back to normal, I miss the real show.r

Did anyone else not get the show today, the 14th? I had to watch it on Utube. If you missed it, nothing happened, boring.
B&B was not shown yesterday and thought we’d see the rooftop scenes with Sheila and Taylor today,, Wrong! They just showed Thurs.show.

Violet
I’ve had this issue a few times (always on the 2nd day after a preemption). It seems ABC, or whoever controls the DVR listing, makes an adjustment on the 1st day after (in this case Wednesday) so that records, but the 2nd day after (Thursday), the DVR thinks is a repeat because it had the same description as the original Wednesday show.

Confusing and annoying indeed. I catch it on the ABC app on those days (and “suffer” through commercials).

I’ve had the same issue, Steve. I tried revising the recording instructions to record all episodes, first run AND repeats. That works for Y&R but for some reason, not with GH. Go figure.

Steve
Thanks so much. I’ve been calling my Cable Co. when this happens blaming them.My goodness, how did you ever figure all that out?

This is why I’m happy we have Hulu in Hell, and I just happened to catch their “Black Friday” special last November so I’m only paying $1/month for a full year. No more worries about news interruptions… unless they preempt the whole show….. though I’m not entirely sure that there should have been a national pre-emption because of what was essentially a local news story in NYC

Iam realizing they inserted those scenes into today’s show and think I might change my mind about Sheila saving Taylor’s dumb butt! It’s nice to be grateful for having had someone save your life, and then to throw all your brains out in the process is beyond me. I wonder if Taylor will stand up for her when she finds out she tried to murder her daughter, after killing her own son.

Since Jason left and sonny has turned soft towards nina the show is getting boring. I have watched it for 50 years and now I am wondering if it is worth my while for first time I have fell asleep watching it this week. Bring the sunny jason duo drama back

General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Sonny Tells Dante, “I Don’t Want a Son Like You,” While Michael Tells Brook Lynn to Bide Her Time Till Chase and Willow Have an Affair

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Sonny, Dante, Michael, Brook Lynn General Hospital

On the Thursday, October 1 episode of General Hospital, both Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Michael Corinthos (Rory Gibson) had some things to say and what they had to say didn’t go over well with whom they were talking to!

Sonny had a confrontation with his son, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), while Michael leveled with Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) over Chase (Josh Swickard).

GH is setting up a scenario where everyone is going to make it look like Sonny was responsible for having Sidwell (Carlo Rota) beat up in Pentonville; while viewers already know Ava (Maura West) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) were behind it.

Sonny and Dante

Courtesy/ABC

A VISIT WITH DAD

Now, Dante comes to Sonny’s house. He wants to know straight up from his dad if he ordered the attack at Pentonville. Sonny flatly denies any culpability or responsibility, but Dante refuses to believe him.

Dante informs Sonny he has video footage of Sully and Vito at the prison. Sonny explains to Dante he doesn’t know why Sully beat up both Curtis and Dante. Things escalated when Sonny was deeply hurt that Dante refused to believe him. Dante says he was disappointed that his father didn’t respect him enough to be truthful with him!

Sonny asks Dante to consider that he was being set up. He says all he did was to tell Vito to instruct Sully to keep a watchful eye on Sidwell, not to harm him. No matter what Sonny said, Dante continued hammering him with how he knew deep down, even though he said he left the mob, he had to finish off Sidwell for himself.

Next, Sonny explains everything he has ever done was to provide for and to protect his family. Dante fired back that he doesn’t want to deal anymore with Sonny’s half-baked truths. As the two men argue, Gio (Giovanni Mazza) shows up at Sonny’s front door and overhears Sonny losing his temper and shouting at Dante, “Get out of my house! I don’t want a son like you!”  The scenes featured an excellent performance by Maurice Benard.

Michael and Brook Lynn

Courtesy/ABC

MICHAEL THE MANIPULATOR

While this is going down, outside the Quartermaine boathouse, Brook Lynn opens up to Michael about living at the Q’s with Chase being there, since he only came back due to legal advice from his lawyer, Monet Mitchell (Blythe Howard).

Brook Lynn questioned whether they should get legally separate. Michael insisted that would be a big mistake. When she asks why, Michael tells Brook Lynn to bide her time until Chase and Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) have an affair; then she’d have full custody of Phoebe.

An angered Brook Lynn pushed Michael into the water and accuses him of moving Willow back into the gatehouse with intent on putting Chase and Willow in closer proximity and sacrificing Brook Lynn’s family in the process.  As the two cousins bicker, Chase shows up asking Brook Lynn if she is OK. Michael punctuates their talk with “You know, I’m right.”

CURTIS FIGURES OUT A WAY TO GET OUT OF THE SLAMMER

At GH, Willow visits Curtis (Donnell Turner) in his hospital room. Curtis wants Willow to get him pardoned and keep him out of jail, and in return, he will help her nail Sonny.

Next, Willow tells Dr. Tristan Roberts (Dean Geyer) she wants Curtis held for observation for three more days. He agrees to do so under one condition, that she understands that he may need to call in a favor from a congresswoman.

So, what did you think of how Dante accused his father and refused to believe Sonny’s answers? Is this the end of their father and son relationship for good? Is Michael the most manipulative person of all, except for Willow? Do the two deserve each other? Do you want Chase and Willow to have an affair? And what of Curtis? Does he have many redeeming qualities left? Share your thoughts via the comment section,  but first check out the talk Michael had with Brook Lynn.

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General Hospital

GH Alum Tajh Bellow and Y&R Alum Loren Lott Star in New Tiktok and Microdrama ‘Love Island’ Spoof

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Tajh Bellow and Loren Lott

Two soap opera alums very familiar to fans of General Hospital and The Young and the Restless are paired together in a new short-form digital series from none other than Issa Rae’s production entity HOORAE Digital.

Look for Tajh Bellow (ex-TJ Ashford, GH)) and Loren Lott (ex-Ana Hamilton, Y&R) as part of the cast of  The Compatibility Experiment, premiering on October 14, 2026, exclusively on TikTok and its companion microdrama platform, PineDrama.

In the video teaser, it appears that Bellow and Lott play a couple, Kelvin and Camila, set in a Love Island reality show-esque environment trying to win the one million dollar cash prize, only what could go wrong?

The Compatibility Experiment

Photo: HOORAE

The Compatibility Experiment loglines share that it brings a fast-paced, relationship-focused reality check—much like Love Island with a twist. The show takes a participant’s current relationship, introduces them to a potentially more compatible partner, and forces them to navigate the differences with life-changing money on the line.

The new series is part of a groundbreaking content deal between HOORAE Digital and TikTok to develop premium short-form storytelling. The ensemble cast also features; Ayona, Reggie Luck, JaNa Craig, Tosin Morohunfola, Jessica Jacoby, Georgia Warner, and Nick Cassidy.

General Hospital fans know Tajh Bellow for his performances as TJ Ashford, and who earned two Daytime Emmy nominations along the way during his run. Bellow took over the role in 2018 and last appeared on the ABC daytime drama series in December of 2024.

Loren Lott first appeared as Devon’s (Bryton James) sister Ana Hamilton on The Young and the Restless from 2018 to 2019; making a brief return in 2024. She has continued to perform on the stage and screen with recent credits including: Bel-Air, Cherish the Day, and All American: Homecoming.

Check out the trailer for The Compatibility Experiment below and let us know what you think of its concept and if you are glad to see Tajh and Loren again? Hoping they might return to daytime in their GH and Y&R roles at some point in the future? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Ava and Drew Revealed to be Behind Framing Sonny for Sidwell’s Prison Beatdown

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Drew and Ava

If you thought that the person responsible for the Pentonville brawl that saw Sidwell (Carlo Rota) and Curtis (Donnell Turner) taken to General Hospital was Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) or even Sidwell himself, you were dead wrong! On the Wednesday, September 30 episode of GH, it turned out that the culprits were actually Ava (Maura West) and Drew (Cameron Mathison).

In story, Drew apparently bankrolled the attack on Sidwell and framing Sonny. He told Ava their planned worked (she came up with it!) but was horrified when Drew informed her that Curtis got caught in the crosshairs. Ava is visibly upset because of her longtime friendship with Curtis’ daughter, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali). Drew tried to make Ava see the bright side. Curtis was witness to it and his presence will cast doubt on Sonny’s claims to that he had gotten out of the mob and gone legit.

Later, Vito shows up at Drew’s. They informed him that his guy on the inside of the slammer made a big mistake by hurting their friend and ordered him to leave town.

Maura West

Courtesy/ABC

BOATHOUSE BRAWL

In other major developments, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) and Rocco (Finn Carr) have a blow out fight as Danny blames his “brother” for the reason Charlotte was sent off to boarding school.

Rocco told off Danny for Charlotte’s (Bluesy Burke) reckless behavior and he explains he had to protect his sister. He went in on Danny saying that his mother Lulu (Alexa Havins) has been right to send Charlotte to boarding school and far away from Danny.

However, Rocco went a bit too far when he shouted, “And if your mom was alive, she would send you away too!” Next, Danny punched out Rocco, leading to a terrible brawl. An angered Danny yells at Rocco to, “Stay away from me and everyone in my family. And don’t you ever mention my mom again!” Danny storms off.

Rocco

Courtesy/ABC

Now alone outside the boathouse, Rocco flashes back to his first kiss with Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarksi), hoping that his fight with Danny will not escalate and ruin their budding romance. Meanwhile, a bloodied-mouth Danny heads over to Sonny’s and Jason (Steve Burton) is there at the same time. He then admits that he has a bad fight with Rocco and they are both beaten up.

WILL SCOUT WISE UP?

At the end of the episode, Scout, who had a fight with Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) over Drew, and who keeps telling everyone how good a man her dad truly is, comes upon a suspicious scene.

Scout hides behind the wall outside Drew’s. She sees her dad, Ava and Vito talking. Next, Scout seems to overhear Vito assuring Drew and Ava that their business dealings are done, and he’ll be leaving Port Charles for good.

So, what did you think of the reveal that Ava and Drew were behind framing Sonny for the prison beatdown of Sidwell (and Curtis)? Do you think Danny and Rocco’s relationship can be repaired, or do you think the teenagers will continue to be at each other’s throats? Finally, do you hope Scout gets a clue and stops thinking her dad walks on air? Weigh-in via the comment section, but first check out how Ava and Drew conspired below.

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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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