General Hospital
PLANET 360: Celebrates GH 50! Who Is The Greatest EP Of All-Time? What Was Most Pivotal Moment?
Courtesy/HallmarkMovieChannel
Coming up this Friday on The Hallmark MOVIE Channel’s weekly entertainment news series, Planet 360, the popular “Soap Dish” segment this week is all about celebrating General Hospital’s 50th anniversary … next week! On-Air On-Soaps got the first look exclusive on the latest edition.
Taking a look back at the greatest executive producers of the series, and some of the greatest Port Charles moments of all-time are “Soap Dish” panel co-hosts and soap favorites, Lilly Melgar, Matthew Ashford, and Martha Madison!
Melgar, who appeared on GH as Lily Rivera Corinthos, weighed-in that Wendy Riche was one of the top EP’s on the list stating: “As far as Ricky Martin (Ex-Miquel) and I were concerned, we were daytime’s first Latin couple which was pretty groundbreaking at the time. I know the fans that we had referred to that time as the second golden era of General Hospital. ”
In terms of current GH wunderkind, Frank Valentini, Melgar says the man is truly delivering a very special golden anniversary for fans of the show noting, “Now he’s bringing back the core favorites: Luke and Laura, Tristan Rogers, Ian Buchanan. All of these people have this innate chemistry that worked so many years ago. You put it back together with a good storyline, it’s going to work!”
As far as what were the Most Pivotal Moments in the history of General Hospital, the Planet360 panel weighed in with Luke and Laura’s wedding, and of course, the “clink/boom” heard around the world which refers in part to when Lilly Melgar’s character of Lily died in a car explosion!
Watch the GH Soap Dish segment after the jump, then let us know, who do you think is the greatest executive producer of GH of all-time? Gloria Monty? Wendy Riche? Frank Valentini? Someone else? And, what do you feel was one of the Most Pivotal Moments in GH history? Let us know as we move closer to the big 5-0!
Breaking News
Kelly Thiebaud Departing General Hospital and Heading Back to ‘Station 19’
Kelly Thiebaud is now set to reprise her role of Eva Vasquez, on ABC’s primetime drama, Station 19 and thus the Daytime Emmy winner will exit her role as Dr. Britt Westbourne on General Hospital.
According to Deadline, Thiebaud will be part of the cast for the series 6th season, which premieres on October 6th.
Photo: ABC
Previously, Kelly appeared on the show’s 3rd season when in story, as the widow of firefighter Rigo Vasquez (Rigo Sanchez), she had an affair with her husband’s colleague Jack Gibson (Grey Damon) that resulted in total chaos.
In a tease for Thiebaud’s return, ABC shared, “Misery loves company and Eva finds solace with someone from her past.”
Kelly has played GH’s Britt on and off since 2012. She won her first Daytime Emmy this past June for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance.
Look for Kelly to exit her GH role in November, while a rep for the soap shared that the actress will be leaving by year’s end.
What do you think of Kelly going to Station 19 and departing General Hospital? How do you think GH will deal with her exit? Will tragedy befall Britt with her living with Huntington’s Disease? Will she be written-off the canvas, leaving the door open for her return?
Share your thoughts in the comment section, but first check out our conversation with Kelly from a year ago and then backstage at the Daytime Emmys following her victory,
General Hospital
GH’s Brook Kerr and Tabyana Ali Talk On: Trina’s Trial, Spencer and Rory, And Their On-Screen Mother/Daughter Relationship
Currently, General Hospital fans are awaiting the verdict in Trina’s trial and just what lengths her mother will go to in order to secure her freedom! With the story playing out on-air, Michael Farman chatted in a new virtual interview with the two women central to the story; Brook Kerr (Portia) and Tabyana Ali (Trina).
As viewers know, Trina was set-up by Esme Prince (Avery Pohl), to make it appear that she taped her best friends, Cameron (William Lipton) and Josslyn (Eden McCoy) having sex, and then posted the video from her phone, so it went viral.
Photo: ABC
During the conversation for You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel, Tabyana and Brook weigh-in on what’s gone down at the trial including; how Spencer Cassadine came forward with an alibi for Trina, plus how Portia may put her medical career at risk if she brings Esme’s partner in crime, Oz, out of his coma to get the evidence they need to point the finger on Esme.
In addition, Tabyana and Brook share their thoughts on the men in Trina’s life: Spencer Cassadine (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) and Rory Cabrera (Michael Blake Kruse), and how the #Sprina has a life of its own on social media.
Courtesy/ABC
Brook also shares dishes on Portia’s romantic relationship with Curtis (Donnell Turner), plus the recent noteworthy scenes between Portia and Stella (Vernee Watson), where GH shed light on a mother’s concern; that racial injustice could factor in to the jury’s decision in Trina’s case.
Photo: ABC
Tabyana also discusses working alongside GH co-stars, Maura West (Ava) and Carolyn Hennesy (Diane), and what it was like taking over the role of Trina from popular fan favorite, Sydney Mikayla.
Photo: ABC
Check out the full chat with Brook and Tabyana below.
Do you want Trina to end up with Spencer or Rory? Will the jury exonerate Trina? What was your favorite part of the conversation with Brook and Tabyana? Let us know in the comment section.
General Hospital
Kin Shriner Celebrates 45-Year Milestone as General Hospital’s Scott Baldwin
What would General Hospital be without Kin Shriner, who has always played Scott Baldwin to the hilt with unique style and acting chops? Today on August 2nd, Kin marks his 45th anniversary with the ABC daytime drama series, and the series just would never be the same without his four decades plus of performances, making him an enduring fan favorite.
Shriner debuted on GH back on this date in 1977. Scott’s love story with Laura (Genie Francis) would begin to set a new trajectory for GH. Later, when Laura married Luke (Tony Geary) in 1981, and Scott made a shocking appearance at the reception and caught the bouquet, the character turned to the dark side which started a new era of story for Scott/Laura/Luke and more.
Photo: ABC
Scott is the stepson of attorney, Lee Baldwin (the late Peter Hansen) and Dr. Gail Adamson (the late Susan Brown); although through the years they tangled over differences, the family loved and cared for one another.
Photo: ABC
In more recent years, Scott’s legal eagle courtroom antics are always a must-see for viewers, as well as any time Shriner gets to show Scott’s emotional side, such as the time he learned his son Franco (Roger Howarth) had died.
Photo: ABC
Kin’s scenes with his current on-screen love interest, Kathleen Gati (Liesl) are always a delight for GH fans, as well.
In addition to his General Hospital run, Shriner appeared as Scott in the GH spinoff; Port Charles from 1997-2000 and again in 2001.
Photo: ABC
Share your congratulations to Kin on his 45th anniversary in the comment section, and then let us know what has been your favorite Scott Baldwin scene through the years.
But first, in case you missed it, check out our interview last year with Kin on the Michael Fairman Channel below.
B&B’s Kimberlin Brown Shows How-To Do The Sheila ‘Makeover’
Kelly Thiebaud Departing General Hospital and Heading Back to ‘Station 19’
Rena Sofer Wraps Her 9-Year Run as Quinn and Exits B&B
Y&R Cast Zuleyka Silver In New Role
Denise Boutte Temporarily Fills-In For Leigh-Ann Rose as Y&R’s Imani
B&B’s Matthew Atkinson On Gaining Custody of Douglas: “Thomas Just Wants to Take His Rightful Place”
AW and OLTL Alum, Robyn Griggs Dead at 49
Anne Heche, ‘Another World’ Alum and TV and Film Star, Dead at 53
GH’s Brook Kerr and Tabyana Ali Talk On: Trina’s Trial, Spencer and Rory, And Their On-Screen Mother/Daughter Relationship
Anne Heche ‘Not Expected to Survive’; Suffered Severe Brain Injury From Fiery Crash
Rena Sofer Wraps Her 9-Year Run as Quinn and Exits B&B
Kelly Thiebaud Departing General Hospital and Heading Back to ‘Station 19’
Y&R Cast Zuleyka Silver In New Role
AW and OLTL Alum, Robyn Griggs Dead at 49
Denise Boutte Temporarily Fills-In For Leigh-Ann Rose as Y&R’s Imani
B&B’s Matthew Atkinson On Gaining Custody of Douglas: “Thomas Just Wants to Take His Rightful Place”
Anne Heche, ‘Another World’ Alum and TV and Film Star, Dead at 53
Anne Heche ‘Not Expected to Survive’; Suffered Severe Brain Injury From Fiery Crash
GH’s Brook Kerr and Tabyana Ali Talk On: Trina’s Trial, Spencer and Rory, And Their On-Screen Mother/Daughter Relationship
B&B’s Kimberlin Brown Shows How-To Do The Sheila ‘Makeover’
B&B’s Kimberlin Brown Shows How-To Do The Sheila ‘Makeover’
B&B’s Matthew Atkinson On Gaining Custody of Douglas: “Thomas Just Wants to Take His Rightful Place”
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL PREVIEW: Sheila Stunner … Is She Dead?
Anne Heche in Critical Condition After Fiery Car Crash
Y&R’s Christian LeBlanc Shares Emotional and Heartfelt Message to Fans and Colleagues
DAYS Brandon Barash On Stefan’s Resurrection: “You’ll See Some Revenge, Corporate Takeovers, Losing a Memory … Maybe Gaining of Memories”
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: What Did You Think of Steffy and Finn’s Highly-Anticipated Reunion?
Kin Shriner Celebrates 45-Year Milestone as General Hospital’s Scott Baldwin
B&B’s Tanner Novlan on Steffy & Finn’s Reunion Scenes: “It’s Very Cool and I Think ‘Sinn’ Fans Are Going to be Over the Moon with the Payoff”
General Hospital’s Maura West Delivers The ‘Power Performance of the Week’
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Breaking NewsAugust 17, 2022Rena Sofer Wraps Her 9-Year Run as Quinn and Exits B&B
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Breaking NewsAugust 17, 2022Kelly Thiebaud Departing General Hospital and Heading Back to ‘Station 19’
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NewsAugust 16, 2022Y&R Cast Zuleyka Silver In New Role
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Breaking NewsAugust 13, 2022AW and OLTL Alum, Robyn Griggs Dead at 49
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Breaking NewsAugust 15, 2022Denise Boutte Temporarily Fills-In For Leigh-Ann Rose as Y&R’s Imani
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NewsAugust 15, 2022B&B’s Matthew Atkinson On Gaining Custody of Douglas: “Thomas Just Wants to Take His Rightful Place”
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Breaking NewsAugust 12, 2022Anne Heche, ‘Another World’ Alum and TV and Film Star, Dead at 53
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Breaking NewsAugust 11, 2022Anne Heche ‘Not Expected to Survive’; Suffered Severe Brain Injury From Fiery Crash
Jill Farren Phelps was the best EP. She did so many wonderful things with the show.. She brought on the Nurses Ball. There was Monica’s breast cancer and BJ’s heart. She reintroduced Luke and Laura as well as the Cassadines. There were so many… Oh, wait a minute. That was Wendy Riche.
Jill was the one who drove a bus through the Nurses Ball, brought the mob to the forefront, and fired Anna Lee, Braud Maule, Stuart Damon, Rachel Ames, Jackie Zeman, Shell Kepling, along with so many others.
Never mind.
Where’s my “like” button when I need it? LOL!
David you had me going there!
lol, you had me there for a moment.
Haha so true ..so very true
love it david…sound like me sometimes with that humor…or sarcasm…lol
Oh my gosh, I thought you were serious when I read your first sentence. lol. This was incredible!
nice delivery…
My answer to top EP would have to be Gloria Monty for turning the show around and making it the Action Adventure soap I loved. As for pivotal moment it has to be for me Robert Scorpio’s secret wife and the introduction of Anna Devane who I consider one of daytimes greatest heroines as played by the amazing Finola Hughes! Monty did a fantastic job writing Robert and Anna’s backstory, their romance, marriage and tragic breakup in flashback; to this day it is one of my favorite stories on GH. Happy 50th GH here is to 50 more!
I couldn’t agree more! Anna was such a groundbreaking character, in daytime OR nighttime! Its just frustrating that so many soaps and primetime shows always have the man rescuing the woman, even in 2013! Anna could always hold her own. Now if they would just bring Robert Scorpio out of that coma… And while Ms. Monty re-invented the soap opera genre, one must give props to Frank Valentini and Ron Carlivati who have revitalized the show. A year ago I was saying I wished they would just cancel the show already because I was watching it out of loyalty, not… Read more »
Couldn’t agree more with your post, Jake, especially about Frank and Ron. Before they were brought on, I could barely get through one episode a week of GH and now I can’t wait to watch it every single day! They have me gasping and crying and laughing, all of the actions a soap opera should evoke in a fan. I could not be more impressed and I think Frank has rightly earned him name beingg thrown in with the likes of Gloria Monty and other amazing EPs for this show.
Love, love, LOVE…did I mention love Wendy Riche. Her vision of GH was a brilliant balance of heart, humor, action, mystery, and romance. Riche valued the vets and gave us iconic newbies like Brenda, Sonny, Jax, Lois, and Jagger. The BJ/Maxie storyline and Stone having AIDS were brilliantly done. I also applaud Riche’s first tenure with Bob Guza (!) who brought on Nikolas and Stefan (and i just read that Genie Francis had a hand in coming up with that whole idea). I was heartbroken when ABC fired her for Phelps, who totally put a knife in the heart of… Read more »
i never heard that Wendy Riche got fired, i thought she just quit, wow, and for JfF oh god, what a curse.
Gloria Monty, Frank Valenti Wendy Riche, and the first one(4got the name) when the show began who helped make it an instant hit.
Selig J. Seligman (1963) or James Young (1963–75)?
Thanks for reply…those names do sound familiar.
Has gh ever had an exec producer who was a racial minority? Has any day soap and “reality soap” ever had a racial minority exec producer? The only racial minority exec producer for night soaps is grey’s and scandal’s shonda rimes. Yet there’s obviously a lot of exec producers from day soaps and reality soaps and night soaps and night dramas who are openly gay white males of course. Most pivotal moment would be steve burton leaving and immediately jumping to farren phelps’ y&r. It was obvious that cbs stuck it to gh w/ the reception that was given on… Read more »
Gloria, Wendy and Frank ! Jill Phelps ruined the show !
Lily and Miguel had fans????? Riche’s era was wonderful, but Lily and Miguel wouldn’t even be in the top 20 reasons why that era was so great!
she also claims that lily and miguel were the first latin supercouple, really? what are Brenda and Sonny? they sure aint anglo.
i’m going for all three, Gloria Monty, Wendy Riche, and Frank Valentini. Gloria first because she made GH the legend that it is. Wendy made GH critically acclaim with multiple emmy wins and Frank because he’s now bringing the show back to life after The worst EP Jill FÅREN PHELPS DESTROYED IT
Primary credit should go to Gloria Monty for reviving a show that literally had 13 weeks to live before ABC was going to cancel it. She made many changes with the show’s production style and casting. that, and Doug Marland’s writing brought GH skyrocketing in the ratngs within a year. The greatest moment? Luke & Laura’s wedding- what else? Then, the “B.J’s Heart” story, followed by the “Click/Boom” episode from Feb. ’96 when Jax & Brenda got married, and toasted each other at the same moment Sonny’s car blew up with Lily inside- the ONLY good thing Bob Guza (or… Read more »
Oops- I meant the first GH era of 1963-72- you get the idea!
Gloria Monty of course. Her vision brought the entire daytime genre into the modern era. She demonstrated that action/adventure stories work in daytime along with romance/relationship stories. Under her leadership they modernized the sets, did location shoots and improved the production value of daytime television. She, and Agnes Nixon with AMC and OLTL, created and led the daytime drama that resonated with the young people of that generation.
Hands down, the greatest GH EP in history is Gloria Monty. GH was under a cancellation notice when she saved it and brought it to #1. She kept the show #1 for almost a decade despite major actors leaving. She gave us adventure and love in the afternoon. She also created the Qs and 4 supercouples: Luke & Laura, Robert & Holly, Frisco & Felicia and Duke & Anna. I loved both Wendy and Frank as EPs, but no one can touch Gloria Monty.
My Favorite is Frank …Especially for saving it from cancelation and for the return of Lucy Coe!
Gloria Monty and her team of writers, hands down, the best ever. They knew how to find talent and write incredibly compelling adventure stories while at the same time show deep emotional character depth. No regime, including this one, comes even close to that level of talent.
Best moment ever for me : Carly and Tony in bed and Bobbie catches them! So soapy 😉
My favorite ep: Frank for the back to basics approach that has made it possible for us to wish for 50 more years. I will give a nod to Jill for one thing ; taking some risks. Im thinking of her decision to recast Carly with Tamara Braun ( the best Carly ever) and the risks she took with the mob… Most of tenure (ok like 90%) was terrible but she had a pair and that i wont deny.
It’s definitely Wendy Riche for me, she respected the iconic history of the 1980’s and blazed a new trail for GH with legendary stories like: BJ/Maxie’s Heart transplant story Robin and Stone Aids Story into the Jason and Robin love story Monica’s Breast Cancer The loss of Jason Quartermaine and creation of Jason Morgan Turning Ned Ashton into a Rockstar and giving us Ned and Lois Sonny and Brenda and the triangle with Jax which is IMO the best triangle in Daytime History The return of Luke and Laura and the introduction of Lucky Elizabeth Webber and the love story… Read more »
Great post!
General hospital best executive producer to me is frank valentini
I’m pretty sure we can all agree that the title of best GH executive producer goes to ANYONE but Jill Farren Phelps. lol.
I personally loved Wendy, Gloria, and now I am so proud of Frank Valentini that he makes the list as well. I believe these three truly understood the staples of not on General Hospital, but of this genre. These three are ones, if you read interviews and such, that are highly praised by actors and you can see why. They run a ship of success in both ratings and quality.
I’m going with Wendy Riche for the best because it was during her time with the show that I became a viewer with the Stone storyline, Jax, the Quartermaines, Carly, Jason, Robin, Sonny, Brenda, and of course the Spencer/Cassadine war. However, Frank Valentini is doing an amazing job with the show today and continues to surprise me with how General Hospital feels like a more balanced show with romance, comedy, drama, vets, and less mob violence (which is okay in smaller doses).
Matthew Ashford. ? Sexier… “darker”… Masculine… love the facial hair… a steamier edge to Jack.
to go along with his “acting” Talent. his comedic, and sensitive father portrayal…
DAYS ? bring him back.
this would be a rebirth…. of Jack…. instead of the bumbling… ??? i’ll get flack for this…
but… he’d generate a rebirth of JENN…. Oye! Jennifer and Daniel… are killing… DOOL.
Why are u writing about dool ? Who cares !!
Wendy Riche – I hated when they gave Robin Aids but over the course of the storyline it has been educational and very heart warming. Kudos to the aids story line.
What time will this be on?
Kudos to frank and RON for bringing back the old GH we know and love but they are ridding on the coat tails of someone else’s work. Wendy riche and Claire labine were the 2 best EP of all time. Gloria Monty was amazing yes but when she came back the second time she took away the history she built in her hay day and almost destroyed the show with the Eckertt family and back burning the vets. As for JFP and Guza they were a ticking time bomb to daytime . Claire Labine deserves a huge shout out due… Read more »
Phenomenal writing team but the trophy belongs to Wendy riche. And a little shout out to Brian frons get us head out of our ass u have destroyed daytime TV I don’t understand how ABC cuts u a weekly paycheck the only club u r President in is the talentless hack club u rate right up there with the weather men wrong on so many levels but still have a job.
Without Gloria Monti the show would never have attracted the audience it did. And aside from Luke and Laura’s on-the-run/wedding story line, Rick Springfield was a MAJOR reason young people tuned in and turned onto GH in numbers never seen before. Richard Dean Anderson aka MacGyver was pretty hot as Dr Jeff Webber in mid-70’s!