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One Life to Live's Erika Slezak Makes Statement On The Passing Of Longtime Co-Star Patricia Elliott

By Michael Fairman

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Photo Credit: Sue Coflin/Max Photos

Photo Credit: Sue Coflin/Max Photos

On Monday, the daytime television industry learned of the passing of the extraordinarily talented, Patricia Elliott.   Best known on television for her role as OLTL’s Renee Divine Buchanan (an ex-madam whose heart, no matter what, always belonged to one man, Asa Buchanan), and her acclaimed performances on Broadway, died at the age of 77 from cancer.

Elliott’s longtime One Life to Live co-star was six-time Daytime Emmy winner, Erika Slezak (Viki).  In Llanview,  Renee and Viki always crossed paths, and certainly when they were dealing with the troubles of the Buchanan men in their lives.

On her website, Slezak shared her sentiments: “My dear friend and colleague Patricia Elliott passed away from a very rare cancer on Sunday. Pat was a wonderful, kind, generous soul, with a wicked sense of humor and a great deal of talent. She was a friend, and a woman to whom I always turned when I had questions or needed advice. I will miss her and I wish her peace and quiet now, which is what she always looked for.”

Photo Credit: Sue Coflin/MaxPhotos

In addition in her annual holiday letter to her fan club, Erika reflected back on 2015 as to her time with her family and away from show business:  “All I know is that I am enjoying myself.  If work comes along, and it’s good and interesting, I would probably be happy to do it, but so far, nothing interesting has shown up. So that’s just fine by me.”

Share your thoughts in the comment section below on  Erika’s statement on the loss of her dear friend and colleague, Patricia Elliott, and what Erika related about the status of finding a role she would be up for playing, and she would enjoy doing.

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32 Comments
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She will be missed but not forgotten she was a great lady and I lover and her on one lifte to live

We miss you Erika and so sorry for your loss,our thoughts and prayers are with you

Agreed! May Nate (Al Holden/Michael McBain), David Canary (Adam/ Stewart Chandler and now Patricia Elliot (Renée Divine Buchanan) All rest in Peace!

Nothing would make me happier than to see the talented Erika Slezak back on television. Preferably opposite the fabulous Robin Strasser. So sad that we are having to say goodbye to Patricia Elliott. One Life to Live was full of amazing ladies!

Patricia Elliott’s passing is a sad event; she was a wonderful actor. I wish I had seen her perform on the stage. It’s been a sad year for fans of OLTL and AMC as well. I miss Erika Slezak and would love to see her on GH – perhaps a long lost Cassadine ?

I will also miss Me. Elliott. She was wonderful on oltl. I would LOVE to see ES on tv anywhere. She would make a wonderful hospital administrator for GH! I could see her going head to head with olbrerch and being a stern but fair matriarch. Maybe she could be a long lost Hardy. Steve’s sister????

I don’t know what the legal ramifications would be, but if ERIKA SLEZAK were to come to General Hospital I would watch it (I currently do not) – I would wish that she could come back as Victoria Lord from Landview and that they would eventually incorporate more Landview residents. But, since none of us seem to know what the current “rights” status is to characters from One Life to Live (or All My Children) I suppose that won’t happen. I think an actress as great as she is should be working. But, as I said, I don’t know if Prospect Park or ABC-TV holds the rights to the characters. To my way of viewing the situation, if Prospect Park had only stayed out of the situation maybe some of these characters could have done a “cross over” or two appearance on General Hospital.
Does anyone know what the current rights status is?

I miss you Erika so very much as well as others from OLTL. My heart broke when you gave the speach at the very end of the show. You are one beautiful woman besides being a terrific actress too. I wish abc would settle the darn law suit so if you and the cast would come back and do us the honor of visiting us in our homes once again. You were always like a family member.
Your letter to your fans was classy as ever and yes, Patricia Elliot will definitely be missed. I loved her as Renée and thought she was the bread that held Asa together. The Soap World has lost three is a very short time staring with Nathaniel then AMC’s David Canary and now Patricia too. This has been a very sad month or so.

I love you Erika and I have many memories of you too.

Sincerely, Joe

A long lost Hardy would be perfect 🙂 Loved having you and the entire cast of OLTL over the years in my living room. Would love for it to become a reality again one day soon.

i would love to see erika slezak back on daytime – however i watch all four remaining soaps and none of the writing teams would be able to do her phenomenal acting skills justice …….this is just my opinion

I have to disagree. I think she could be on B&B… a partner for John McCook? Could that work for you?

oh yes i could definitely see her paired with john mccook but tptb/writers will have to be more creative with their style of writing……………
happy holidays chris milligan!

Would love to see Erika Slezak on Young and The Restless. Maybe a long lost sister to Victor Newman. One who will be his good side!

Hello Erika,
I am so sorry to hear of the passing of your friend Patricia. I loved her on OLTL. I still miss OLTL. But I understand stand that you’re enjoying this time off. When something does come along that you would be interested in doing please let your fans know. I wish you & your family a very Merry Christmas & a blessed New Year.
Cathy

Erika, I would be thrilled to see you on the screen once more, but until then, enjoy your retirement, and have a wonderful holiday season. Miss seeing you on OLTL.

I loved One Life to Life! I’m so sorry to here of “Renee” passing. May she rest in peace! The world has lost an amazing actress.

So sorry to hear this news. Reminds me again how much I miss this show. RIP Pat Elliot you will be missed.

Sympathies and blessings to all that had Patricia Elliot as a part of their lives. She portrayed the character of Renee as one whose loyalty as/to the Buchanans was unquestionable and unwaivering. I always enjoyed seeing her on the screen.

I’ve hoped for sometime that a smart soap would tap into Erika Slezak’s talents, she was a huge force in the success of OLTL. I do hope to see her cast in a role worthy of her talents soon. Another key family of strength is needed in Port Charles as the Quartermains keep crumbling and keep trying to rebuild over and over again.

So sad to learn of Ms. Elliott’s passing. Asa met his match only once and it was Renee. As for Ms. Slezak, I think GH needs a Chairman of the Board to battle Olbrecht…and maybe Tracy.

Patricia Elliott was a fine actress and she will be missed!!!!! additionally i have to say i truly miss OLTL it was my favorite soap and Llandview was full of crazy residents.

Very classy statement from a very classy lady. You are missed very much. I would love to see you on the screen again, until then enjoy your time with your family.

Yes i just heard yesterday, and it sent chills down my back, i loved her on OLTL for many yrs. She will be missed. RIP

I love Erica and of course Patricia and One Life to Live and miss it all! Maybe we can just make a whole new soap with Vickie’ new neighbor Erica? Pineview with all the old characters we can get back. Llandview was wiped out by a flood and Pine Valley was wiped out by a tornado and all survivors develop a new town called Pineview . How cool would that be??? Love you all and Merry Christmas

I love it 🙂

As a former actor, I know the bonds that are made after a short run of any play. Acting is an incredibly bonding experience, I can’t imagine what it would be like after decades! Ms. Slezak has had a great loss that few could understand. I’m sorry for you and all your cast,ages.

Together you all filled many peoples days with wonderful stories for many years.

I wish this section had a like button

Thank you.. Wishing you a happy new year.

Ms. Slezak, I miss you and OLTL so much. I keep hoping that ABC will wise up and bring you and the show back to my TV. I enjoyed the show from 1967 when I came back from Germany with my family, until those dunderheads took it off. I am glad to know that you are enjoying life with your family. I wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS & THE ALL THE BEST IS THE COMING YEAR. Thank you again for all the hours of entertainment. I won’t forget.

She will be miss I sure will miss her on one life to live she was a good person

I have been watching since the 60’s also. Sure do miss these shows.

Patricia’s mother and my mother were business partners in the 60’s and 70’s. Patricia was the older contemporary I looked up to with sparkling eyes. We stayed in touch through the years and became very close when our parents started dying. I stayed in her darling coach house apartment in Chelsea several times, late in her career, and her stories always delighted me. She could sure tell ’em! I am so sorry to hear that she is gone, and hope she did not suffer much.

God Bless You & Rest In Peace, Patricia Elliott! <3 🙂

General Hospital

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

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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.

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Beyond the Gates

‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Mike Manning Lands Role in Indie Horror Feature ‘Deify’

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Mike Manning

While Smitty tries to hold the fort down in his marriage to congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon)  and their two teenaged children, Samantha (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) on Beyond the Gates, Emmy-winner Mike Manning has also landed another feature film role.

According to Deadline, Manning has joined the cast of Deify with 6 other new cast members for the indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which was previously announced last week.

Joining Manning as the latest cast addition are: Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Greene,  Casey Harnett, Kirk Avecdo, Anji White, anf Nicholas Chimera who’s directing the pic also has a part in the film.

WHAT’S THE STORY OF DEIFY?

Taking to his Instagram with the news of his casting, Manning shared, “A movie about a cult? What could possibly go wrong? Come for the enlightenment. Stay because they won’t let you leave. DEIFY is coming…”

The movie is currently shooting in Chicago and in story, “a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.”

MIKE MANNING IS A DAYTIME EMMY NOMINEE

In addition, the multi-talented Manning is a producer on the feature. Previously, Mike was nominated last month in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He previously won an Emmy for his role on The Bay and for being a producer on the digital drama.

Mike’s previous credits include the role of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives and the Manny on This Is Us, plus various primetime and screen credits.

So intrigued to find what role Mike will play in the upcoming horror/cult film, Deify? Enjoying him as Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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General Hospital

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

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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.

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