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James Franco's Mom, Betsy Franco Makes A Return To General Hospital!

By Michael Fairman

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Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

Photo Credit: HutchinsPhoto.com

So the rumors of this were once again proven true! Betsy Franco, the mother of motion picture star James Franco (who was the actor who portrayed the original “Franco” on General Hospital) is returning to the ABC soap opera for an appearance!

According to a GH rep who informed Soap Opera Digest, you can look for Betsy to be reprising the role of Franco’s adoptive mother, also known as Betsy, but who as fans recall was also went by the name of Karen!

Betsy was first seen in 2010 on GH, and she reprised her role again in 2013.  It shall be interesting to see if Roger Howarth (the current “Franco”) shares scenes with James Franco’s mom!  Could Betsy end up hiding out with Ava and Sonny or Morgan’s baby, now kidnapped by Franco and Nina (Michelle Stafford)?  

What do you think of the casting news?  What do you think brings Betsy Franco back to GH? Comment below!

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wow luv it!!
RC and team always add more meat to the stew to make it awesome..
Betsy Franco!! This will be good..
GH gathers no moss!! exciting stuff ahead !! .. gotta luv it !!

She was awEpsom before so I have no doubt she’ll be again

What a stupid idea. Moreover, the woman is no actor. She cannot act. Why, why why? This is the worst example of stunt casting ever. It makes no sense and will not help ratings nor will it help propel a good character driven storyline.

ohhh Harry.. No cookies for you!
she is simply a guest appearance, a story tool ..
There is purpose for her appearance, we just have to wait for it, again, she is story tool..
And–
it will be fun, !!
Something different, and nothing much to with rating as she is not a famous person nor an actor.. But she is a ”purpose” :)… lol

Well, it doesn’t make any sense. She can’t act. Her scenes with her son were embarrassing to the say the least.
And if this were Y&R pulling this stunt casting you’d say the same.

Harry,
She doesn’t have be an actor, she just needs to entertain me and she will.. I’m sure I will have a giggle or two watching her..she is only a guest probably a couple of scenes..
She is apparently needed for this story, she does have a purpose for the story..
It will be good.. I’m looking forward to seeing just why she was brought in, that is what is important 🙂
I can’t wait to see her with Roger/Franco..
that will be awesome; her and Roger! LOL!! that could be a riot..

And– Y&R people do not have the moxie to even pull a stunt, they are so stale they are moldy.. LOL

Harry…agree…she’s no actress. At the time she piqued my curiosity just because she was James Franco’s mom and I liked him….and I know he’s all about being outlandish and experimental. I guess he had enough clout that they wen with what was probably his suggestion at the time to hire her. At this point she’s probably coming back for continuity; probably a very small role; not worth a recast. It’ll be fine…

@Su0000 The tptb would kill for the ratings of the “stale” and “moldy” Y&R even in amongst the younger viewers Y&R beats GH. 🙂

Well it makes me think James Franco is going to be there also. Not my favorite, but it would get RoHo out of being Franco and could expose him as someone else. I’d like it better because I love RoHo & think Franco is the worst character ever. Not RoHo’s Franco. Just Franco in general.

It will more likely be her just hiding Nina, Franco, & baby Corinthos.

In other news, Kelly Monaco tweeted out a pic of her & BM (Jake) yesterday morning on set reading lines together it seemed. He cut his hair all off again & spiked it like SB’s Jason, it seems, and he’s wearing a black t-shirt. YIKES!! I hope they are effing with us and that was a joke! I do NOT want the 2nd worst character ever, Jason Morgan, to take over GH again. Just NO!!!!!!!!!!!

LOL—Since when does someone need know how to act to be on a soap? I think everyone on this site can rattle off a dozen or more names that worked on a soap, or are presently on a soap that fit that bill—-

She was already been on as this character’s mother, sure at the time, her real son playing he adoptive so might had something to do with her getting the part– but regardless, if they need Franco’s adoptive mom to be part of the story it only makes sense to get the person who played her before. She won’t be on long and she can’t be any worse than some ‘actors’ I’ve seen over the years on soap.

Nope she is appearing to inform everyone that this Franco is really an imposter that he is really Todd Manning from Lllanview!

sigh You’re probably right, Kay.
Again, strenuous measures are being made to remedy mistakes of the past.
The handy dandy brain tumor didn’t do the trick so let’s try a case of mistaken identity.

lol
The brain tumor made Franco a serial killer..It made Franco do horrible things.,
Heather’s DNA made Franco ”odd” ..
the only thing Franco has done wrong is help Nina kidnap ava’s baby, yet he is not the actual kidnapper/not his deed/plan..
Franco is crime free…
What he did at the wedding was from Heather’s DNA.. lol
and not a crime, nobody died ..

Franco is not killing anybodt hw how ever coniving

LOL the last sentence came from Dragon auto correct or something..
I dont know what it is… lol …

K/Kay, I think this Franco was exposed as Todd Manning a long time ago 🙂 This is just a way to get attention, nothing more, nothing less. There will be no major reason to have her on, there will be no big reveal, and even so, it would not need her to deliver it. This is how TPTB generate interest in the show and it’s pretty tiring. I wouldn’t mind things like this if the primary focus of the show was on good writing and storytelling, but it is not, so we get this kind of stuff instead.

Actually I was being sarcastic about RC and his writing but considering the response I am getting back maybe he would pull this. With this bunch never say never!

Why doesnt Roger Howarth’s mother play Betsy?

Glad she’s back. I hope she stays.

No offense to the real Franco but I could care less about NuFranco. I hope she takes him home with her.

General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Carly and Lulu Make Plans to Rescue Their Children; Anna Looks Determined to Secure Her Freedom

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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.

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General Hospital

Maurice Benard Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ Writers; Teases Upcoming Sonny Scenes with Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric

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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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A post shared by Maurice Benard (@mauricebenard)

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Announces Upcoming Release of His First Single, ‘If You Need Me’

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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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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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Finn Carr & Dominic Zamprogna as Rocco & Dante

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