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Sonny and Carly Name Their Baby “Donna” As GH Pays Tribute To Beloved Make-Up Artist Donna Messina

By Michael Fairman

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Courtesy/ABC

Monday’s General Hospital brought with it a touching reveal, as the ABC daytime drama series honored the late Donna Messina who was an integral part of the GH family from 1983-2018 until her death.  Messina was the beloved make-up artist behind the scenes, who every actor came to know and love.

In story, Carly (Laura Wright) undergoes her c-section with Sonny (Maurice Benard) by her side to bring her new little bundle of joy into the world.  The baby is delivered and it’s a Corinthos baby girl!

Next, the doctors have to perform surgery on her due to the baby’s condition of spina bifada.  Before she is taken away, Sonny and Carly reveal her name is “Donna”.  While “Donna” is in surgery, and Carly is resting, Michael (Chad Duell), Joss (Eden McCoy) and Kristina (Lexi Ainsworth) come to see her along with Sonny.  It is there that Sonny and Carly inform the kids that they have a baby sister … and she is named “Donna’.

That set the stage for a heart-tugging monologue by Maurice Benard, who explains that the baby was named after Donna Messina from the old neighborhood – an homage to the real Donna and her qualities – and also Benard’s treasured friendship with her.

Sonny says of Donna: “She was kind and loyal and she knew how to keep a secret – you could talk to her about anything and your problems, who you love, your fears.  She would just listen, and she wouldn’t judge and she wouldn’t tell a soul.  She was tough as nails and she had no patience for fools.  And if you were annoying, she would get in your face.  She hated bullies, no matter young or old, it didn’t matter. And she was fearless, but most of all she was kind, loyal, and generous.  One of the greatest things about her was that she could always make you smile, no matter how you’re feeling. That was just the way she was.”

Messina lost her battle to cancer in December of 2018.

So, what did you think about how GH wrote in to the story their love for Donna?  Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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I thank that is wonderful and is a beautiful thing to do for there friend It shows how much they cared for her.

What a nice tribute to Donna! She will
Never be forgotten by the GH cast.

Donna. Thats cool, they went traditional instead of soapy!

I love the tribute to donna.

Beautiful tribute!!

very nice

I think that Donna was a very lucky lady, when alive to have the love, respect and admiration of all these people and how appreciative they were of what she gave them to honor her in this way. I was so sure they would name the baby Morgan, boy or girl.

The actors weren’t all that in the birthing scenes, but the writing and delivery from MB about Donna was a real unique and touching tribute to this lady.

Totally loved that ! The way it was portrayed made me think “Donna” must be a real person, so thanks to MFTV for the explanation. Well done, GH.

Such a beautiful tribute! Well done!

They didn’t need another child this is bogus!!!

Technically, this is their only child. Morgan is dead, and Michael is not theirs. He is hers and AJ’s. Sonny kidnapped Michael and illegally adopted him. That does not make him Michael’s father…it makes him his abductor. Can soap writers REALLY not think of any other storylines for women besides pregnancies?? DAYS takes the cake right now, with Kristen being pregnant! Kristen is old enough to be EJ’s mother…EJ is 40 ish, which puts Kristen at close to 60. Those must be some fertility drugs Rolf has!!

Sonny can never have enough offspring…..or, at least, that seems to be the prevailing opinion of GH showrunners! Personally, I would like to see him close up shop on his seemingly endless capacity for reproduction and retire to “gramps status!” Time for the “next generation” to take over….

I guess you are right

Sonny’s prodigious propensity for procreation is a bit of a running theme amongst certain aghast posters here at this website, Sharon. And I’m one of those who pleads guilty….Lol.

what a way to pay tribute to such an amazing woman!!!

Like others I feel naming the baby Donna was a nice lasting tribute to their friend and colleague. Except for one thing. Every time anyone says Donna, it can sound like the beginning of Dawn Of Day…not a memory I want to remember. Darn!

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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