General Hospital
Ron Carlivati Interview – General Hospital – Paley Center For Media
General Hospital head writer, Ron Carlivati spoke with Michael Fairman at the Paley Center For Media in Beverly Hills GH 50th celebration about crafting the shows 50th anniversary episode, bringing back all-time favorites and The Nurses’ Ball. In addition, Carlivati gives a tease and some insight into the complex returns of Michael Easton, Kristen Alderson and Roger Howarth. Plus, the story behind resurrecting Stavros Cassadine, and ushering in the new Lulu!
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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?”

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

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.
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)

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.”

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.
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awesome interview michael!
i agree!
I am totally in love with Gh and cannot wait until he next episode everyday.This show is on fire.
Same thoughts here!
Sorry. His “moment” was a joke to me. And the “Big 3”? Seriously? Guess I don’t share Mr. Fairman’s admiration for this writing team.
I agree, why are they the Big 3?? Who cares if they are there or not/
Big 3? Apparently he means the Big 3 who are gonna hog up all the airtime from the GH actors when they get back? FV/RC fought tooth and nail to get back ME, RH and KA but they didn’t bother to fight to keep Burton. The pets are back.
Big 3 as in the ones Prospect Park is citing in suing GH and ABC for damages, I guess.
Wow. Meow. You may not like them, but a lot of people do. If they weren’t popular, there wouldn’t have been a brouhaha about them or the characters roiling and boiling for the past three months.
The denial, it burns…
Popular? You don’t know that. You know that for a fact? There was a big brouhaha because they are FV’s pets and he likes writing for them, not the GH actors. HA Steve Burton was way more popular than these three clowns so why wasn’t there a fight to keep him? They wanted him out that’s why.
They r suing for the charaters they played…not exactly for the actors! And if pp wants any of these actors…they could keep the characters off the canvas until the actors are avaiable…thats if they want to return to OLTL.
Loved the interview… thank you Michael!!! Loving Ron’s loyalty to GH and that he is a true fan! He sounds like he is having fun!!! He’s doing a great job! Thanks Ron!!!
The big 3? As if those transplants the starts of the show. Disgusted to hear anybody refer to them as the big 3!
Sorry you feel that way…..is it that time of the month? Maybe you should watch something else.
Nasty.
Sorry you’re such a b! tch! I guess I can’t have an opinion of my own with out you making a time of the month comment. I watch for the big 15, You know the actual GH stars, same as 90% of the audience and I’ll continue to enjoy them just fine despite the little 3.
Pay no attention to negative replies like Judys…i may not agree with your reply but i wouldnt include a tasteless remark just because you dislike something and i disagree unless they say it first…
You can’t make everyone happy. *rolls eyes*
Kudos to RC and FV for doing a fantastic job.
If Mr. Fairman were ever to interview Mr. Valentini, could he inquire as to whether there is ever manipulation of posts and likes on Facebook? There have been anecdotal reports of deleting posts and buying likes to support storylines. I wonder if Mr. Valentini has any comment on this.
Yes!! My post about Sabrina have been deleted on facebook. I totally believe they manipulate facebook posts in favor of storylines or characters (sabrina) they like. Also some of the post on facebook about Sabrina, when you click on some of the ppl making these post, their fb page has no information and was just made.
thanks Michael for the interview. the 50th Anniversary episode was the best! I love love GH now. Don’t want to miss even one day
Kelly Monaco fans are not happy. Her airtime has been almost zero on this show since Steve left. I will not count that ridiculous vampire crap. So it looks like Sam is stuck taking care of Rafe to introduce the Rafe/Clay storyline in May with Sam being used as a prop. According to FV/RC, Kelly is okay to be used promoting GH, but not good enough for airtime.
Yep, that’s it exactly. She’s never, ever, ever going to have a storyline again, and will henceforth be used only when the morning shows need a spokesperson.
Give me a break. The writer are rotating storylines so that everyone gets an opportunity to be in the spotlight with their own front-burner story. Right now, Kelly is backburnered, and she will rotate back around again later.
That’s the beauty of soap/anthology storytelling. Everyone gets a chance to shine, and different stories get to be told.
good reply
Agree with most of what you said in your two posts Pen. Glad to hear you think ME will not be a recast for Jason Morgan… there’s been a lot of references to Jason and hopefully it is because he’s a missed character… he and SB! Yes… I am an SB fan and proud of it! I will still keep hoping someday he comes back as Jason Quartermaine… lots of great stuff that could be done with that.
I agree with the back burner / front burner of storylines and characters and that is part of it but setting the table so to speak for new story lines sometimes means stepping back and layering in different complexities and that is what is going on here! Kelly will be back in the midst of a lot of story very soon!
I personally don’t miss Jason or SB, but that’s my personal view; I understand others do miss him. But I don’t think they plan to bring him back anytime soon.
I also think the reasons he’s being referenced now is to allow Sam a final mourning and goodbye, as it were, before she moves on (with, I again devoutly hope, ME’s character, if the story works).
Give me a break…..Everyone DOES NOT get a chance to shine. What happened with Reeves and Barash? Where was their chance? I’m sure their fans were happy that they got squeezed right out of GH. This Clay/Rafe story coming will be about Clay and Rafe not Sam. Easton is one of FV’s pets and apparently FV will try anything to get his pets (ME, KA, RH) back but didn’t bother to keep SB from leaving. The mob is gone but yet Maurice is already whining he wants to see more mob stuff. Hes gonna wait along time for that. Sam involved in TWO stories? Rafe and dad stuff? That’s not fair to the other actors,is it? HA I’ll have to see to believe there will be a Sam’s dad storyline. With ME, KA and RH coming back I don’t see it.
I disagree Betty… the fact that she is taking Rafe is all a part of a new storyline with ME coming back. I am so hoping he is not being recast as Jason Morgan… but someone else that will be involved with Sam and Danny and Rafe. The whole notion that they explored with Steven Clay being Rafe’s real bio father is going to be played out further by ME either as a relation of Steven Clay, or Steven Clay or someone who just looks like Rafe could be his father. She will have a big story very soon!
There’s also the storyline involving the reveal of her father’s identity, as well as the story with ME.
I’ll say right now — he’s not going to play Jason Morgan. For one thing, neither he nor the writers are insane enough to even attempt such a boneheaded move. It would be ridiculous, terrible storytelling. Not to mention, what actor would want to step into a character so closely identified with a certain actor? Not Easton. He had the chance to do that once and (wisely) turned it down. He’s too good an actor for that, and besides, what would then happen if Burton returned (which is unlikely)? They’d have to go through all the character bullcrap all over again.
Anyway, back to Sam: yes, the guardianship of Rafe is setup for at least one frontburner storyline for her that I devoutly hope involves Easton’s character closely. Her paternity will be another.
Frankly Im ticked off and not amused. I do NOT see Michael Easton as all that important nor bringing KA back.
The producer failed however to bring back the most interesting of Cassadines Stefan. Obviously he is catering to his OLTL crew and stomped on the hearts and minds of those who followed this program. Stefan unlike the frozen popsicle is not a cartoon but interesting with good bad and shades of grey. Shame on this producer for ignoring some genuine talent and characters of interest. Nothing was hotter than watching Stefan and Helena intertwine and the story of Helena’s maltreatment of her son was never explored and should be.
Until this is corrected, Im not amused.
What if Micheal Easton came back as Stefan? I doubt he will…but i was wondering ‘what if?’ he did? KA is most likely to play a character with better connections to the show like Scott Baldwins daughter Serena. I think FV and RC liked working with these actors on OLTL and wanted to continue working with them on GH. Id feel the same with people iv liked and would want to work with them again!
I’m sure the production is falling over themselves to accommodate your directive.
FYI, Robert Kelker-Kelly agreed to come back for this short stint only — he’s retired and flies planes now. Perhaps at some later juncture he might change his mind and be available if a Stavros story arc happens, but until and if it does, I think it’s really cool that he was there for the time he was.
At any rate, it’s a story that isn’t going to be told for the moment, and there are plenty of other stories to unfurl. It’s too bad you’ll be unamused, but then…you can’t please everyone, can you?
I have an idea, why not backburn Laura Wright and Maurice for a few months. Right? It’s only fair to give other actors their fair chance. Let’s rotate those storylines. HA, yea, right.
Just watched the 50th anniversary episode again and it truly was perfect!!! Thank you so much RON!!! Thank you so much GH… 50 years looks great and I hope there will be 50 more!!! So well done!!! Emmy worthy for sure!!! Thank you again Michael for having ths episode here for us to come back to again and again!!! Loved it!!!
How come Lulu has amnesia and cant remember her family, doctor, friends and the baby but can remember everything else? She knows she can go to a bar…so does she remember her age? She remembers how to talk, go to the bathroom, put on makeup, brush her hair ect? Dante shouldnt be so desperate! He should be grateful Lulus alive and show some compassion knowing Lulu has amnesia and stop trying to rush her…her memory will not return that quickly…at least not in the soap world!
No where else to say this… but…WELL DONE!!!… RC and other writers on the handling of the Luke and Laura relationship scenes on Tuesday’s show!!! While I am a HUGE Luke and Laura fan… it was really well done!!! Handled beautiflly with so much love and care of two iconic and favorite chracters!!! Now at least Luke can be with Tracy!!! I just wish it weren’t Scottie for Laura… maybe she will wise up someday or maybe somewhere down the way Luke and Laura will fit back together again… we can hope! Again beautifully handled in every way!!! Congratulations RC and company!!!
I love Frank and Ron! They are great, and am a big One Life fan. I heard One Life was nominated for best show for the episode that aired Jan 12, 2012, and if I am not mistaken, current One Life EP, Jenifer Pepperman directed that episode, how come no one mentioned that?