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GH’s Steve Burton & Bradford Anderson Give The Lowdown on Their New Series ‘7 Questions’ & Their Creative Partnership

Photo: ABC

What started out as an unlikely on-screen pairing and friendship several years ago on the daytime drama, General Hospital has flourished, and become something even much greater than that. Knowing they struck gold with their characters being the antithesis of each other – one’s a hit man for God sakes, and the other an awkward computer geek, Steve Burton (Jason) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) began to conjure up how they could parlay their on-screen and off-screen friendship into other creative avenues.

As fans of the popular soap stars know, these guys travel around the country performing their comedy act, Stone Cold and the Jackal to packed houses. They have a weekly podcast, now on the Podcast One network, That’s Awesome and have also been concentrating on delivering even more content to their audience via their You Tube page, with their latest collaboration 7 Questions with Steve and Brad; where the two take on some questions and answer them with some clever elements wrapped up inside of each installment.

Not a week can go by without Steve and Bradford releasing something new to whet the appetite and keep engaged their enduring fan base. While everyone is facing together the disruptions in our normal everyday lives due to the coronavirus pandemic, Steve and Bradford are using this time wisely to expand their reach while creating even more fun content within their wheelhouse.  So, who know what could be next, right?

Michael Fairman TV chatted with Steve and Bradford to get the Intel on their success, their new You Tube series via their page, and more.  And of course, we couldn’t let this opportunity go by without putting them in the hot seat and asking our own ‘7 Questions’.  Check out what they had to say below.

Courtesy/YouTube

How did the idea originally come about for 7 Questions with Steve and Brad?  What was the inspiration behind it?

BRADFORD: We want to put out as much content as we can and as much entertainment as we can for people, especially during this time.  We’ve done a lot of work on our Facebook page, and we realized that we make so many videos, why the heck aren’t we putting them on our YouTube page?  With that, Steve kind of had this idea. Steve will talk about his inspirations for the visual component of it, and it was kind of a no-brainer.

I just also would like to know whose idea it was to have the MTV-ish voice-over gal for the interstitials of ‘7 Questions’.  That’s one of my favorite parts, by the way!

STEVE:  That’s me! I’m a kid of the 80s.  I love the 80s.  It’s what our brand has been.  We use a lot of colors that are 80s, and that’s our demographic. They relate to it.  With ‘7 questions’, I had no idea what it was going to be, really.  Bradford and I talk multiple times a day, and we are always thinking of ideas. We do our podcast, “That’s Awesome!” and then, we do a bonus podcast now every week that is 15-20 minutes, and that we put it up on YouTube as well.  With the way things are, we want people to laugh and have fun.  Now, usually Bradford does all of the heavy lifting with the technology.  He edits the podcast, he uploads it, he does all of that stuff, and I’m like, “Let me just try it.”  So, I do the sound effects and graphics in these.  I’m laughing while I do it, so I’m hoping people laugh, too.

BRADFORD:  In the beginning, Steve kind of wanted to make it like a morning show, and it my head, I thought he meant like a morning TV show, so I was a little confused by that! (Laughs) What he meant was like a disc-jockey from the 80s on the radio – the kind of show where they use the silly horns when there is a joke, or a lot of ‘whiz-bang’ sound effect, and stuff like that.  It’s fun to see Steve’s creative self come out and play.

Cpurtesy/YouTube

STEVE: The ‘7 questions’ episode out now with Josh Swickard (Chase, GH), is amazing.  Well, it’s amazing because of the sound effects I put in of course, but it’s also amazing because Josh Swickard is on it. (Laughs)

Photo: PodcastOne

You guys have been able to get along so well it seems from your podcast, to your YouTube videos, to your regular on-screen relationship at GH, and then, you do comedy clubs appearances around the country together.  Why do you think it works so well between the two of you? 

BRADFORD:  That’s a good question.  I think we have very similar goals.  We understand each other’s instincts a little bit.  So, we can navigate.  Sometimes, I can tell when something is going to frustrate Steve.  I steer that around him, and he certainly does the same thing for me.  He knows what frustrates me, and he’ll take care of that.  The cool thing about us is that neither of us are combative people.  We never bring our outside crap into our relationship.  We’re not that kind of people.  We are very positive people, and I think that really helps.

STEVE:  It’s always dangerous to get into business with friends.  That’s the first thing I can say because in the past that’s happened to me, and it hasn’t worked out.  I think Bradford and I just have a great mutual respect for each other.  I don’t want to say that it’s almost like a marriage, but it kind of is, because we are together so much.  We work together, we talk every day, and we are always collaborating on things.  There are always things that come up.  Most people wouldn’t even know the stuff that comes up with the podcast or with the live shows, and it takes a really special partnership to forge through that and still have fun.  That’s what the key is because I know plenty of people who are in business relationships who aren’t happy.  They’re just doing it for business.  If we ever get to that point, he and I just need to walk away.  It’s just a really great relationship where we are continually pushing each other, and where we are continually growing.  I never have to worry about what he is doing, and he never has to worry about what I am doing.

Photo: JimWarren

BRADFORD:  That’s a really big deal.  I’ve never even thought about that because we’ve never had a ‘come to Jesus’ moment where it’s like, “Hey man, you’ve really got to start pulling your weight here.” (Laughs)

Ok guys, I have a lighting round of ‘7 Questions’ for you.  Here we go! Question number 1! What one word describes your initial impression of each other when you first met?

BRADFORD:  “Muscle-y”

STEVE:  That’s not a word, dude!

BRADFORD:   It is.  I made it.

Steve, what’s your one-word initial impression of Bradford when you first met him?

STEVE: “Interesting…”  Can it have an ellipsis after it?

Photo: SBurtonIG

Question number 2: When rehearsing your comedy show, which one of you has the most trouble remembering what comes next?

BRADFORD:  I’m going to say Steve, but there is a caveat.  The way that his set is designed, he does about 20 minutes of just talking.  Mine is song, talk, song.  So, there’s an order for mine… but for Steve, remembering half an hour’s worth of stories is hard.  That’s what I would say.

STEVE:  I would say me, too.  We are both pretty on it with our structure and what comes next pretty naturally, but there’re times when Bradford is like, “Hey, over here.”  What the audience doesn’t see is I go, “Oh yeah!  Hey!”

BRADFORD:  But we’ve been doing this for so long that we’ve both had our senior moments.  Neither of us is immune to a hiccup here and there.

Question 3: You both are super-high energy guys. After your performances, who has more trouble decompressing and coming down to earth after the adrenaline rush of playing in front of a crowd?

BRADFORD:  I can sleep anywhere at any time… so can Steve.

STEVE:  Usually, I can sleep anywhere, but after a show, I’m hyped!  I’m like, “Let’s go!  Where are we going?” Bradford’s like, “Give me a glass of wine, and a nice meal, and I’m going to bed,” and I’m like, “Oh, no, you’re not.  You’re not going anywhere near a bed!  We’re going out.”

BRADFORD:  Part of the problem is that we drink a Five-Hour Energy before the show, and our show is only 3 hours.  There’s that extra 2 hours. (Laughs)

Photo: BAndersonIG

Question 4:  What do your wives; Kiera and Sheree think of your ‘7 Questions’ and your comedy show? 

BRADFORD:  I was nervous the first time my wife came to our comedy show, because she’s actually a pretty talented comedian.  She knows comedic timing really well.  The first time Kiera ever saw our act was when she helped us do a GH Fan Club Weekend show.  She told me afterwards, “I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I had kind of low expectations, and you guys are hilarious.”  You know, I was a guy who kind of waited for the phone to ring because that’s what the life of an actor kind of just tends to be, and now what’s been so wonderful for me is becoming a creator, becoming a collaborator, and how it has really just changed my approach to work in general.  So, my wife is proud of me, and thankful to Steve for that.

What does your wife think, Steve?

STEVE:  My wife saw 7 Questions, and she loves that.   She’s seen some comedy bits that I have shown her on my phone, but she hasn’t seen a full comedy show yet.

Photo: JPI

Does Sheree like the comedic side of you?

STEVE:  Yeah, I don’t know if most people know that I may have a sense of humor because literally when we go to the shows, people are looking at me like I’m an alien like, “What the hell is going on up there?”

Right! It’s such a departure from what they envision as this image of you from your role on General Hospital to when they see you do something different. 

STEVE:  Right.  I’ve always kind of been kind of high-energy, and I don’t want to say funny, but I at least have a sense of humor and can crack jokes.  That was one of the first things that kind of connected my wife and me.

BRADFORD:  On stage, Steve’s a great storyteller, but what we’ve done over the last couple of years is really try to hone those stories in a specific way, like really make sure that the timing is there, that the setup is there, and all of that.  I think at the beginning, both of us were a little self-conscious about that because it was new to us.  I could sing a song and not be self-conscious about it because that’s what I did for most of my life.  This is new to us, and what I have loved seeing over the last couple of years, is Steve’s growth as a performer.

STEVE:  Thank you, buddy.

Photo: SBurtonInstagram

Question 5:  Do your kids understand what you do for a living? What do they think that you do?

STEVE:  My kids aren’t sure.  My daughter who is 16, she gets it.  My son, he hasn’t seen a lot of scenes from GH, but I showed him once he was able to understand some and he was like, “What do you do?”  I said, “I’m the Fonzie of daytime.”  He said, “Who’s Fonzie?”  (Laughs)  My 5-year-old really doesn’t know.  She thinks I go on the road more than I go to work.  She’s like, “Oh, are you doing your thing with Bradford?” She sees me working on my stuff with Bradford, and she’ll be like, “7 questions with Steve and Brad!”  She’ll walk around the house and say that.

Photo: BAndersonIG

BRADFORD:  My 8-year-old, Juna knows that I’m on TV.  There’s been a couple of times when we have been watching the news over the last couple of weeks, and the California governor will have press conferences, and it will then cut right into General Hospital, and there was one time that it just cut into me.  It’s been a long time since they’ve seen me on the television.  So that was cool.  There are a couple teachers at their school who are fans of the show, so that gives the kids a bit of a chuckle.  Juna will say to my 5-year-old, Finola, “Hey, Finola, come over here.  We’re going to be on dad’s podcast.”  So, anything technical, any video, she calls “a podcast”.  She doesn’t quite get that part of it.  She probably thinks YouTube, and everything is a podcast. (Laughs)

Photo: NBC

Question 6: If you guys could go on any late night TV talk show together, which show would it be and why?

STEVE:  My sensibility would be The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.

BRADFORD:  I would probably say Jimmy Fallon too, although I love Jimmy Kimmel because he’s on ABC.  Also, our sense of humor is pretty dumb, and Fallon’s sense of humor is pretty dumb.  So, I think our senses of humor match up with him better than anyone else, probably.

Photo: JPI

Question 7: On soaps, do you think more comedy should be injected into them?

STEVE:  Let me answer this, because when Bradford came on as Spinelli, he turned it into the comedy relief in a lot of ways.  We didn’t have a lot of comedy on the show.  Back in the day, you had some people like Steven Kay, who played Reginald, and you had people who had some comedic moments, but Bradford really kind of came in and was that.  People knew that once Spinelli was on the screen, something funny could happen.  Just with his encounter with somebody, or how he was going to try to approach me, or hug me, or how he was going to try to figure something out and spaz out, and people love that.  I think there needs to be comedy on a daytime drama.  There is so much heaviness all of the time usually, and that’s why I think Bradford (obviously he is a fantastic actor) is able to stay on for so long because he brought something new, something different to the table, and that’s what made him so valuable.

BRADFORD:  Thank you, Steve!  I think the best way for comedy to happen in daytime is through the organic instincts of each individual actor because the times where soaps try to be funny is where it doesn’t work sometimes.  That’s kind of a rule anywhere!  The best comedy is where it is found rather than planned.  So, when you look at someone like, for instance, Steve, when he moved the fuzzy balls the other day, that is the best kind of humor in our show because that is something that his character would do anyway, it showed a little bit of Steve’s personality, which I love, and it was just a little moment of levity.  You look at actors like Roger Howarth (Franco), Michelle Stafford (Phyllis, Y&R), or Maura West (Ava, GH), everyone that finds moments in their performance to do something that maybe wasn’t planned; it lets the audience breathe a bit.  That’s where I find that the best comedy is in soaps.

Photo: JPI

Bonus question 8! Surprise! Which comedians have influenced you … and which actors have influenced you the most?

STEVE:  Oh, I love Jim Gaffigan.  I love Sebastian Maniscalco.  There are a lot of guys out there.  Acting wise, I’m a huge fan of Tom Cruise, and I’ll tell you why.  From what I know the guy’s work ethic is like nobody else’s.  That’s what always inspires me.  I’m like, here’s a guy who has made 500 million dollars and still gives 120% to this day!  So, there’s a ton of actors that I could pick, but Tom Cruise delivers.  Every performance that guy has done has been amazing.

Courtesy/Amazon

BRADFORD:  For me, it didn’t occur to me until later, especially thinking about my comedic influences as a kid.  What I love about GH and the way that they film is that I really can use my whole body.  It’s not just a shoulder-up kind of show.  They have four cameras.  They can catch pretty much anything that you’re doing.  So, I realized that when I think about the way I use my body that I was influenced a lot by Don Knotts.  When you see something on his face (and granted his facial expressions were amazing and huge) you also saw it in his whole body.   Not only do I love Don Knotts, but I also love Donald O’Connor from Singin’ in the Rain.  Now as for an actor, I’ve always talked about Gary Oldman, because I love character actors who, if they weren’t playing a character and they were just themselves, you don’t know what that looks like. You only know them as the characters they play, because every character they play is different.  , If you look at Gary Oldman in The Professional, he is playing a villain there, but he’s this Russian guy with slicked back hair, and then, you see him play Commissioner Gordon in Batman with a flawless Chicago accent, and then, you hear him talk and you’re like, “Oh, he’s from England.  He’s a British actor.  I had no idea.”  That’s what I love.  His physicality, his voice, everything is built from the ground up when he plays a character.  A comic that I love to watch is John Mulaney.  Even though he’s like a preppy little guy that says crazy things, it’s very smart, and I just love his style.

In closing, here we are in the middle of this COVID-19 pandemic, what would you say to your fans, some of who, may feel lost, isolated, worried, etc?

BRADFORD:  I would say watch General Hospital!  At a time like this, routine is very important.  One of the great things about General Hospital is that it is part of peoples’ routines.  It’s not just a plug to watch our show, but it’s something that is comforting in that it is there.  Then, outside of that, you know, we try to provide not just entertainment but connection too.  That’s what we are there for.  We’ve been going live a lot on our Facebook page, on our YouTube page, and our reason for that is that we know people are available, and people can actually talk to us in real time, and as I said, we are trying to create moments of connection.

STEVE:  The best compliment that we get is, “We had so much fun.” or “Oh, you guys made my day.”  I try to answer all the You Tube comments we get, and many of them are similar right now like, “Man, I needed to laugh today.  Thank you for putting this up.”  Obviously, we are all dealing with something crazy right now with this pandemic, but just to give someone even 10 minutes on 7 Questions where they can laugh 3 or 4 times and then go back to whatever they were doing, that’s really what matters to us.

So, what do you think of Steve and Bradford’s new You  Tube show ‘7 Questions with Steve and Brad’?  Have you seen their live comedy club appearances, and if so, what did you think of it?  Do you enjoy seeing GH”s Jason and Spinelli in scenes and hijinks together in Port Charles? Comment below.

 

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I love both these guys, and agree with a lot they had to say.
I got the biggest laugh the other day when Jason/Steve shoved that stupid Moss planter thing aside, as Bradford pointed out.
It was subtle in one way, but so funny. They make a great team, off and on GH.

What made it so funny was that Jason showed an actual real feeling about that thing moss on the kitchen counter! And the way he pushed it away then looked back at it like…what the heck is it anyway! Priceless! Lol

I love them both! GH needs Steve and Bradford they add so much to the show and they make it so much
better.

just read this interview – those guys are terrific – will start this 7 Questions today

The antics and camaraderie between Bradford and Steve is apparent on GH. They meld together and one works off the other. They bring needed humor to the drama on the show. I saw them live at a comedy club in Boston. They were hilarious and worked the crowd together. Bradford’s dad and family members were there also in the audience. After all , Bradford is a New Englander. Thanks for a fun interesting interview.

General Hospital

Nancy Lee Grahn’s Star-Studded ALS Fundraiser Reveals “I’ll Be There” Video Featuring Soap Opera Notables

Talk about your impressive line-up! It’s a soap fans dream and for a great cause. General Hospital’s Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) is prepping her one-night only ALS fundraiser which will feature many of her friends and co-stars.

The benefit is set for May 4th in Glendale, California. Slated to participate are Genie Francis, Jane Elliot, Peter Bergman, Maurice Benard, Eileen Davidson, Thorsten Kaye, Michelle Stafford, Stephen Nichols, Rena Sofer, Jason Thompson, Kelly Monaco, Melissa Claire Egan, Maura West, Kristina Wagner, Gregory Harrison, Trevor St. John, Kate Mansi, Kirsten Storms, Cynthia Watros, and many others.

On Wednesday, Grahn took to her social media and released an “I’ll be there” video shout-out featuring, Monaco, Elliot, Bergman, Bernard, West, Harrison, St. John and more. In a touching and important moment in the new video, Michelle Strogny, who is battling ALS, is featured.

Photo: ABC

Previously, in speaking with Soap Opera Digest on the impetus of the event, Grahn recalled, “I was actually doing Zoom events during Covid and I met this woman that I just fell in love with, Michelle Strojny. At the time, Michelle had been living with ALS for four years. Now, it’s five years. She is a mom of a teenage son, she has the most wonderful husband, and she has been dealing with this [disease] for quite a while. And obviously, there isn’t a cure yet. It’s not survivable yet. But as she says, it’s not incurable. Nothing is; it’s underfunded. But anyway, I just really dug this woman. She is so grounded and filled with grace, and she spends all of her time working to raise money for the cause. We did a fundraiser for her last year and then I thought, ‘You know what? The soaps don’t ever get together to do something for charity.’ Collectively, we have this amazing community and we don’t collectively use it for a good cause, and I think it’s such an easy thing for us to do and we could potentially really make a difference.”

As GH viewers know, Gregory Harrison is playing the character of Gregory Chase, who is also battling ALS in a touching storyline that is currently playing out shedding a light on this disease.

For information on Nancy’s event, including the stars who are s scheduled to participate click here. To purchase tickets to the event click here.

Check out the video featuring Nancy’s friends and co-stars below.  Now let us know, your thought son the line-up for the benefit and helping raise awareness and funds for ALS research via the comment section.

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Writer Shannon Peace Let Go, and Shares on Sprina: “One of My Only Regrets is to Not Have the Opportunity to Develop That ‘Ship’ Further”

As General Hospital’s new head writing team of Elizabeth Korte and Patrick Mulcahy gets off the ground and running, there are still changes a foot on the writing team.

Now comes word via breakdown writer Shannon Peace that she is no longer on contract with the long-running ABC soap heading into its 61st season. Peace shared a heartfelt message on her Instagram, thanking the fans, and the show for the opportunity and the importance of diversity in the writers room.

Peace began, “After almost 3 years on staff and 106 episodes penned, I am no longer on contract with General Hospital. Writing for this country’s longest running television serial drama has been an education of epic proportions; I will forever be grateful that I earned my WGA card on a daytime fixture that holds memories for so many.” (Peace pictured below with GH EP Frank Valentini and script writer, Charlotte Gibson from about ten months ago).

Photo: SPeaceIG

Shannon added “Even more importantly, as the sole Black breakdown writer (and only POC in the writers room) during my tenure, I pushed for vital interactions and discussions that prioritized inclusion, visibility, and representation”

The writer pointed to the example of vital interaction when in story, “Stella and Portia’s frank July 2022 conversation about the role race played in Esme’s framing of Trina is just one example of the impact I’m gratified to have had.”

Acknowledging former GH co-head writers was also part of Peace’s farewell expressing, “Appreciation to my former bosses, Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor – not only taking a chance on me, but for valuing my opinion and championing my voice.”

Courtesy/ABC

Many GH fans know that Peace was key to the development of the love story between Trina Robinson and Spencer Cassadine as played by Tabyana Ali and Nicholas Chavez. Shannon gave a special shout-out to ‘Sprina’ fans, “I also want to thank fans who were supportive of my work, especially the recognition of my love for ‘Sprina’. One of my only regrets is not having to develop that ‘ship’ further.”

She concludes her statement with,”In the aftermath of a historic writer’s strike that shed new light on the troubling ways writers are regarded in daytime, my sincere hope is that General Hospital recommits to valuing staff writer efforts and input, with a more intentional focus on diverse viewpoints — and thrives for another 60 years.”

Accompanying her post, Shannon added, “Thank you all for the love and support these last few years. I hope GH fans get all they hope for and more!”

So, what do you think about GH not renewing Shannon’s contract? Will there be more continued changes afoot? What do you think is the future of ‘Sprina’ anyway at this point as viewers wait to see if Nicholas Chavez officially returns to the show?  Comment below.

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General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Jason Learns Britt Died and Tells Anna He Has Been Working For Cates Since November 2021

On the Tuesday, March 26th of General Hospital, Anna (Finola Hughes) and the viewers learn about where Jason (Steve Burton) has been for over two and half years. However, Jason gets some news of his own.

Anna is visiting Jason at the PCPD interrogation room. She asks him if he shot Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), which he flatly denies. Anna believes him, but she tells Jason it doesn’t matter, because video footage shows him on the roof at the time of the shooting

When talk turns to Jason not willing to speak without his lawyer present, Anna can’t grasp why Jason would instead spend an hour alone talking with John Cates (Adam J. Harrington).

Photo: ABC

It is then that Anna brings up that John went by “Jagger” and that the two of them knew each other in high school. Jason doesn’t recall much of his time in high school following his brain injury, but then he gets furious realizing John knew about “Jason’s” past. That is when Jason slams the table and tells Anna, “I’ve been working for John Cates since November 2021.”

Next, Jason explains further that he has been working as an informant for the FBI. Anna wants to know how this came about and he tells her that after the tunnel collapsed, and he couldn’t make it to Britt (Kelly Thiebaud)… all of a sudden he sees Anna’s face drop.  Anna is the first person to tell him that Britt died and was murdered. She tells Jason the killer is in custody, but he continues to be shocked, overwhelmed with tears welling up in his eyes. Realizing he has to pivot to save his life, Jason continues telling Anna how he wound up working with John.

Jason explains that after the tunnel collapse in Greece, FBI agents grabbed him and placed him under arrest and took him to Quantico where he met John. At Quantico, John played a recording of RICO violations and offered Jason a deal if he agreed to be an informant against Pikeman, the illegal arms dealer.

Anna hears from Jason that he thinks Pikeman is selling illegal arms to anyone flagged by the NSA but has ties to the WSB which they needed a civilian to infiltrate their organization as a military soldier, a mercenary.

Jason tells Anna he was a part of the team brought into eliminate Sonny (Maurice Benard). Every time an attempt was made on Sonny’s life over the last two years, a different team was sent to do the job. Anna gets furious when she learns that John told Jason his job was to kill Sonny and she was with John at the warehouse that night. Jason ensured the sniper missed Sonny and left the rifle behind. However, they were supposed to meet an extraction team. Before he was shot, Dante saw it was Jason on the roof and when he turned around with his hands over his head, Dante was shot by the other guy. Jason says if Dante dies, he’ll be charged with capital murder and then will be useless to the FBI.

Photo: ABC

Meanwhile, John visits Bobbie’s and runs into Carly (Laura Wright). She learns Jason is in custody and is going to head to the PCPD. Before she does, Carly has some words with Cates when she learns not only does John have a vendetta against Sonny, but Jason too.  Carly tells John he should recuse himself from the case.

So, what did you think about the moment when Jason learned Britt died? What do you think of Jason’s return storyline thus far and what we learned about Jagger/Jason and more? Comment below. But first, check out a moment from today’s GH with Jason and Anna.

 

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