Connect with us

General Hospital

UPDATE: Jonathan Jackson LEAVING General Hospital!

By Michael Fairman

Published

on

Courtesy/ABC

Courtesy/ABC

Shocking news today first out of Soap Opera Digest! It looks like four-time Daytime Emmy winner Jonathan Jackson (Lucky) will be leaving General Hospital in early 2012.

According to SOD, “While the show would not confirm, insiders say that it’s a done deal. There’s no word yet if the show plans to recast.

UPDATE from TV Guide late today! Jonathan will shoot his final scenes as Lucky Spencer on November 17.  Word from the set is that the beloved and acclaimed actor is exhausted from a heavy work schedule and months of a harrowing storylines that have included the death of Lucky’s child and the character’s addiction to drugs.  Sources say Jackson had attempted to get GH execs to lighten his schedule with no luck. He also wanted to be romantically reteamed with Rebecca Herbst (Liz) but struck out there, too. The actor has already completed his final scenes with TV dad Tony Geary (Luke). Look for Jackson to be off the air by mid-to-late December.”

With Jackson is leaving that will make another signiifcant blow to the cast which is known for its unbelievable acting chops and performances as GH moves into 2012 a key year as to whether the show has legs and a future with the alphabet network or will be on the chopping block.

Stay tuned for more on developments on Jackson leaving Port Charles as they become available!

Click to comment

0 Comments
oldest
newest

Heaven forbid ABC and GH give Jonathan what he has been requesting and thus by default also give fans what they would want…like a reunion of a beloved (and very beleaguered) couple. Because that might just draw fans to the show and increase ratings which doesn’t help their soap-killing plans when trying to rid themselves of their daytime drama.

Much better to only give the fans what they want after the official cancellation announcement has been made.

i’m really sad to see jonathan go, agian this proves GH doesn’t care one way or the other who stays and goes. GH should be trying so hard to be the best they can be yet instead they keep proving time and time again that they don’t care, and if the people who run the show don’t care then how do they expect us to?, what was the point of bringing jonathan back if it wasn’t to reteam him w/ rebecca? they could’ve done a wonderfull compelling quadrangle along w/ sam and jason yet, the show keeps doing the opposite of what fans are begging them to do. they must think we are morons, because no matter what we ask for or beg for we end up getting the opposite!..

This is another blow to the beleaguered show. First we hear that Genie probably won’t be back and now JJ is gone. I can’t blame him for wanting to lighten the load, and I wish him well.

he will be missed…

Funny that Jill Farren Phelps (the executive producer) did the same thing she did to Beverly McKinsey (Alexandra on Guiding Light) when she worked on GL back in 1992. Beverly didn’t like being in a storyline where she was so mean to her onscreen son and his fiancee and she expressed it and it fell on deaf ears. So Beverly gave her six weeks notice when she took her six week vacation lol.
With Frons, JFP and Guza and Wolf running the show no wonder GH is a sinking ship and has been for a while now.

I’m sadden that he is leaving. He is a very talented actor. I’ve been watching GH for 30 years now. I just don’t understand why GH is doing what they are doing now with their storylines and letting excellent actors go or fire them. It is very sad to see this great show go down hill lately.

There is only one thing to say, GREG VAUGHAN.

I absolutely, 100% agree! Bring Greg Vaughn back as Lucky. Jonathan Jackson was great before he left the first time. Ever since he came back, I simply cannot stomach watching him in any scene. He was a fantastic young Lucky but stinks to high heaven as an adult Lucky.

Sorry, I won’t miss him but wish him the very best!

Will he be off the air in early 2012 or mid-december??? Kind of confusing…

Thank goodness. He seemed too off-put for the role, IMO.

BRING BACK GREG VAUGHAN!!! HE WAS LUCKY SPENCER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hate to admit but i’d rather see lucky gone than see him back with his cheating ex-wife. lucky deserves better. i have loved lucky for a long time – good lucky jj!

lucky is such a great character!! I am sad to see he is leaving

my heart is very saddened by this devastating news about jonathan – i remember his first scene on gh when he still a kid – gh is loosing such an extraordinary actor who is one of the best if not the best males actors in daytime right now – what are they thinking??
i know he will land on his feet and be awesome in whatever he does next in his carrer – i am so disappointed that tiic &tptb let this happen……….

i meant was still a kid..

This is sad news. Jackson really works as Geary’s son. Such a perfect cast. He will be missed but stories go on. That is nature of daytime drama. Maybe the previousl replacement will be available. He did a very good job, too. Issues with GH are with the web, yes, but with the writing. This is not the show I enjoyed years ago. Too much mob and darkness now. Lighten up and find the joy in Port Charles, please!

Well, the man knows a sinking ship when he sees one. I never could figure out why he came back he has his band, doing films he was doing fine. I don’t think they will recast because I think TG will retire and I heard the actress who plays Lulu is considering leaving.

Oh, Lord – don’t bring Greg Vaughn back… as much as I enjoy him as an actor his version of Lucky was washed out and whiny!!

Surely this can’t be a surprise? It was leaked out last spring he was going to be done my Christmas time.
Whose next?? Robin?? I think so.

I just can’t figure out why JJ stayed with the trainwreck that is now GH THIS long. Best wishes to him. As for those who think that GV should return, I wouldn’t wish this show on my worst enemy, let alone a great guy like him. Besides, GV is working pretty steadily now and, unless I heard wrong, he’s landed a primetime series for sometime in the new year.

I didn’t really want to see him back with Liz after all they’d put between them but if he thought it was a good idea, I think he’s smart, knows his character and they should have listened to him. Or at least calmed down on victimizing his character so much, he’s probably exhausted.

If the show was more balance, and they gave all the actors something to do, then actors like jonathan, wouldn’t feel burn out . Its sad that the show isn’t willing to give him less to do,if thats what he wants for now. How bout giving someone else a little attention? Whats sad is that GH has such great history, and great actors, if they only had great people running it, then this show would be the easiest to fix. Theres no reason why GH shouldn’t be great, and enjoying the kind of high oltl is experiencing, but then oltl has been cancelled, so its kind of sad that ABC is killing their soaps.

Very sad to see him go. Give him what he wants so he will reconsider. GH cannot afford to lose him without the show taking a hit. Liz should return to Lucky after she’s finished being distracted by Matt. Jackson and Herbst are great together. GH needs both if it hopes to continue.

He was the original and the very best Lucky. I hope he just takes a rest and comes back for I love both the character and the actor.

I would be happy about his leaving if they would bring back Greg Vaughn! Jonathan is too much of a whimp for me!

JJ was the BEST lucky spencer, it’s so sad that he’s leaving. WHY couldn’t GH listen to him? He knows this character better than anyone. GH was great back in the 90’s…now it just SUCKS! I loved the Spencer Family but now all the great actors keep leaving. Maybe GH needs to take a hint…listen to the actors, they know what will work and what wont because they actually listen to the fans!

General Hospital

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

Published

on

By

Dominic Zamprogna

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?”

Dom and Liz

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.

Continue Reading

General Hospital

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

Published

on

By

Patrick J. Gibbons

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.

Continue Reading

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)

Published

on

By

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.”

Chad Duell

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.

Continue Reading

Video Du Jour

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

Recent Comments

Power Performance

Heather Tom

The Bold and the Beautiful

Airdate: 7-24-2026

Popular

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x