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General Hospital

Sonny in the Slammer? GH's Maurice Benard on his hot story!

Courtesy/ABC

Courtesy/ABC

TV Guide Magazine spoke with the elusive, and mega-talented soap superstar, Maurice Benard.  And as we all know, on tomorrow ‘s General Hospital, Sonny finds out that Dominic is indeed his biological son, Dante…after shooting him! Now with that on his rap sheet, and taking the rap for his other son, Michael killing Claudia, its looks like Sonny behind bars is just around the corner.  Maurice weighs in on some of these subjects and more in this quick, but revealing interview.  Here are some excerpts below!

Maurice on how GH built the Dante and Sonny story over a long period of time : “It’s been nice to have that slow build. Usually, they do a story in two weeks. Of course, you can’t build on something if it’s not that good to begin with. Also, we really needed time so that Sonny didn’t come off like a moron. He couldn’t come to trust Dante after just a month. He needed to slowly start liking the guy, a little here, a little more there. Otherwise, the audience would be going, “This is stupid. Why would Sonny ever trust this guy?” Now we’re at the point where Sonny has really come to care about Dante in a weird way—it’s like on some level he already knows he’s his son before he finds out for sure. The whole thing plays kind of eerie. It’s cool stuff, man.”

Maurice on if Sonny will go to prison and ultimately on trial ( well,we know that’s coming): “I think that’s how they’re writing it so I’m playing it to the hilt. I truly believe Sonny’s done this time. He wants his son to be safe and he sees no other way out. And Sonny wants Dante to feel like he’s the one responsible for sending him to prison. He doesn’t think he can get away with it this time—at least that’s the way I’m playing it in the scenes we’re shooting now. I’m going to play it from here to whenever that this is the last time Sonny will see his kids, the last time he’ll see anyone he cares about. I’m not going to be all mushy-mushy about it. [Laughs] That’s not me. I’ll be a tough son of a bitch but, yeah, this could be it for him. I certainly want the audience to think that.”

Maurice on Jonathan Jackson’s powerhouse performance this week and working with Dominic Zamprogna: “The other day I tuned in to see Jonathan Jackson’s big scenes—where Lucky tears into Elizabeth and Nikolas for having an affair—and he was phenomenal! There’s a lot of damn good actors on the show right now. It’s good to watch them work—especially the young ones. I love Drew who plays Michael. I have a rapport with him that’s cool as heck. And Dominic I clicked with from the get. When I auditioned with him, we had this confrontation scene and he was the only one of the Dantes who I felt was really gonna punch me out. There was this animal thing there. Damn he was great.”

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The best would be for Sonny to serve time, it’s fairy tale to think this should not happen, it’s time for GH to come back to it’s root’s good story telling, family, and now and then the mob, but the mob should not be the focal point, also, about time to admit that the Sonny & Olivia f;ing is not working, the actress has no chemistry with Maurice, what they need is Kate back and not so quick to return to the mob boss. Sam need’s to be her own self not just a after thought of Jason, and about Jason time for the hit on the head to send hime back to ELQ, would love to see this BECAUSE then he could not testify against Sonny, and this would keep Sonny in jail for a limited time, AND when he comes out he is a “NEW” Sonny, the one we saw with Kate, oh he can still dabble in crime, gambling, ect. GH need’s to go forward and forget about all the “TRASH” they have been dishing out, Brandon, Jonathan, Kristen, Julie Marie, Drew, need to be the New generation of GH, the demise of the daytime drama is near, and the writers should see this.The viewers have showen they don’t like what has happened the ratings tell the story GH is losing, wise up GH…..

General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Nina Confronts Ava for Sabotaging Her Relationship With Sonny and Signs the Divorce Papers

Looks like Nina (Cynthia Watros) and Ava (Maura West) are back to be each other’s sworn enemy number one. By the end of the Monday, April 22nd episode of General Hospital, the women know where they stand with each other after Nina goes in on Ava accusing her of wanting Sonny (Maurice Benard) all to herself, while her marriage has been on the rocks.

In story, at Nina’s office, Ava shows up to see Nina and says she is sorry about what happened with Sonny and that he reacted the way he did, acknowledging that is was over the top, even for Sonny. Ava says she’ll smooth things over, but Nina says she now understands how manipulative and transparent Ava really is.

Given their horrible history, Nina goes in on Ava and how she should never have trusted her. Nina wants to know how long has Ava had this agenda dating all the way back to telling Nina to turn Carly (Laura Wright) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) into the SEC. Ava says she never told her do to that, but Nina wants to know how long Ava has been playing her for a fool.

Courtesy/ABC

Ava says she moved in with Sonny to keep Avery safe and she wants to be on good terms with Avery’s father, Sonny. Nina thinks she likes being in Sonny’s inner circle. Ava tells Nina if she goes to him about her advising Nina to call the SEC on Carly and Drew, it won’t work.  Sonny still considers Nina a traitor and he will think she’s lying because she’s so desperate to win him back. Ava says if Nina would stop blaming everyone else that maybe Sonny would respect her.  Nina says “like he does you?” Ava says Sonny not only respects her, but he also counts on her.

From there, Ava launches into why she and Sonny understand each other, after all, Sonny is a powerful, turbulent, and sometimes violent man. She goes so far to say if Nina wanted someone to just sit by the fire with and play with their grandchildren, she’s got the wrong guy.  Ava then talks about Mike from Nixon Falls (Sonny with amnesia) and how Sonny hid the darkest parts of himself from Nina back then, whereas with Ava they are the same similar creatures, so he doesn’t have to hide anything.

Courtesy/ABC

Nina wants to know just what Ava wants with Sonny? What is her end game? Ava responds that they understand each other, in ways she can’t with Sonny. Nina tells Ava she can go ahead and have it all and signs Sonny’s divorce papers. Ava walks out with the documents, while Nina in tears at her desk, takes off her wedding rings and has her assistant come in so she can messenger the rings back to Sonny’s address.

The episode and these scenes featured great performances by Cynthia Watros and Maura West. You can check some of the scenes below.

Now, let us know, what is Ava’s next move? Is she going to become Mrs. Sonny Corinthos? Do you like Ava and Nina as enemies? Comment below.

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General Hospital

Ellen Travolta Makes Another Return to General Hospital

If General Hospital’s Chase (Josh Swickard) and Brook Lynn’s (Amanda Setton) nuptials are on, you didn’t think Grandma Gloria Cerullo would miss out on the festivities, now did you?

Casting news from Soap Opera Digest reveals that Ellen Travolta is back taping scenes that will air the week of May 13th on the ABC daytime drama series.  When viewers learned that Carmine Cerullo, was also on his way back to Port Charles, now in the face and body of actor George Russo, it only made sense that Grandma Gloria would join Grandpa Cerullo. Look for them both mid-May.

As most people know, Ellen is the older sister to John Travolta. She first make appearances as Gloria back on GH in the mid-90s. Most recently, she returned to the Quartermaine mansion to meet up with daughter, Lois (Rena Sofer) and granddaughter Brook Lynn for Thanksgiving in Port Charles in 2023.  Michael Fairman TV interviewed Rena Sofer and Amanda Setton late last year where they shared what it had been liking working with Ellen, who remains very close to Sofer in real-life.

Photo: JPI

Amanda shared: “We fell in love immediately. What’s crazy is my maternal grandmother was Grandma Gloria. I had her till I was 30 and we were so close. She was really like a second mom to me. So, when I got this script and I’m reading “Grandma Gloria”, it was so bizarre. And then in meeting Ellen, she looks like my grandma – same haircut, same high cheekbones. It really did feel like I had a few days with my grandma. It was very, very special for me. Ellen is sweet, prepared, professional, talented and funny to boot. So, it was one of the best weeks I’ve had at work. I hope she comes back. My fingers are crossed.”

Photo: ABC

Now, we can’t imagine Brook Lynn and Chase’s wedding day to be smooth sailing, in fact, expect just the opposite, but could it be Grandma Gloria who is ultimately the hero or the calming voice of reason for any pre-wedding jitters? Stay tuned.

So, glad to know that Ellen Travolta will be back for Brook Lynn and Chase’s big day? Comment below.

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Breaking News

The Young and the Restless and General Hospital Actress and Writer, Meg Bennett, Passes Away at 75

Meg Bennett, who had played Julia Newman and later became a writer for the top-rated daytime drama, The Young and the Restless has died at the age of 75.  The news comes from her family who shared that she lost her battle to cancer back on April 11th.

Daytime fans remember fondly, Meg’s portrayal of Victor’s (Eric Braeden)first wife. Bennett joined the show in 1980, after her first soap stint for two years in the role of Liza Walton on Search for Tomorrow.

Impressed by her story notes, the late Bill Bell, then head writer of Y&R, had Meg doing double duty acting and writing on the show from 1983-1987. When he decided to write off the character of Julia, he also wanted Meg to stick around as a writer.  Not only did this begin a whole other daytime career for Bennett, but she was not done playing Julia either. Throughout the decades, Julia would still come back to Genoa City for a visit. Most recently, Y&R fans saw Julia in 2018, and again in 2020.

Photo: JPI

Bennett also appeared on Santa Barbara and was a writer on that show as well from 1991-1993. She played the role of Megan Richardson. It was next that Meg had her longest writing stint coming to ABC’s General Hospital. Meg wrote for GH from 1993-2011.

In 1995, Bennett won her first Daytime Emmy for writing and her personal life changed after falling in love with nine-time Daytime Emmy winner, former GH head writer, Bob Guza Jr. In addition, GH also utilized Bennett for her acting skill when she was cast as the villainess Allegra Montenegro.  Meg and Bog Guza were officially married in 2004 and purchased a home once owned by Boris Karloff and Gregory Peck.

Photo: JPI

Additionally, Meg wrote for The Bold and the Beautiful 1987-1989 and later served as a executive story consultant to Brad Bell from 2002-2004.  She also wrote for Sunset Beach, Generations and GH: Night Shift throughout her writing career. She went on to win five WGA Awards for GH and Santa Barbara.

Meg is survived by her husband of 19 years, Robert Guza Jr., two stepdaughters, four grandchildren, a brother and a sister.

Share your remembrances and condolences for Meg Bennett via the comment section below.

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