General Hospital
Stephanie Erb Temporarily Fills-In for Nancy Lee Grahn as GH’s Alexis
While Nancy Lee Grahn is taking a short break from taping new episodes of General Hospital, while she is recovering from surgery, the ABC soap opera has cast Stephanie Erb as the temporary Alexis Davis.
According to Soap Opera Digest, Look for Erb to first air beginning the week of April 25th.
Stephanie has appeared on numerous primetime series from True Blood to Grey’s Anatomy, to Criminal Minds and Ray Donovan, to name just a few.
Erb was previously on Port Charles back in 2000 as a patient named ‘Camille”.
Nancy Lee Grahn tweeted on the short casting switcheroo: “My dear #GHers. All’s well sweet ones. Out for a bit. Stephanie is a champ. Be back soon. xoxo”
So, while we wish Nancy a speedy recovery, Stephanie will be holding the fort down for Alexis on GH. Share your thoughts via the comment below.
Hope Nancy is doing well & recovers quickly. I’m OK with temp recasts under such circumstances, I’m just not crazy about the temps getting to play out key parts of the storyline (i.e. the NuTrina being thrown right into the middle of Esme’s obsessive plot with the sex tape thing)
…. so now that we know something big about Harmony & er.. somebody in Alexis’s recent past (no specifics mentioned so not to spoil it for those who haven’t seen it yet) I really hope Alexis doesn’t find out about this until Nancy’s back on the job.
And on that note…. Why doesn’t TJ recognize the voice of the woman who helped Cyrus kidnap him not all that long ago??
NuTrina is not a temp, so her jumping in now makes sense since Sydney was not going to continue in the role.
Otherwise, I agree on temps. When temp-Monica reminisced a few weeks about her marriage to Jeff, it lacked authenticity (although I’ll need James or other long-timers to refresh my memory if Leslie Charleson assumed the role while still married to Jeff).
According to NLG, she’ll miss 2 1/2 weeks of taping. Depending on the writing and filming schedule, temp-Alexis might be around a month.
Hello Steve: Thanks for the mention. I believe that Monica and Jeff were still married when Charleson took over the role from Patsy Rahn (who was fired). 1977 was a traumatic time in GH history for me because that’s when they also fired Valerie Starrett, the original Diana Maynard Taylor (and, as I’ve mentioned, my favorite all-time daytime actress). Of course, Starrett had been driving storyline as Diana since 1969.
But getting back to the original point by you and Satan, a temporary replacement can be jarring, particularly when major plot points are revealed. Back in the 1970s, the fans almost never found out about cast changes in advance. The soap magazines, the main source of soap info, would report such changes long after the fact, and often the details were lacking. Such a different time now, for better or worse…
Thanks James. I knew I could count on you for some background. In the mid-late 70s, they recast many characters who were driving story. Monica, Rick, Laura, Heather, Diana. Those were my early memories of GH, which I sat and watched with my mom after I walked home from elementary school. I remember when LC took over Monica, but forgot where in story they were. Things really picked up when CR took over as Rick. Always fun going down memory lane with you.
Steve, it’s always truly a pleasure. You’re so right (and more comprehensive) about those recasts. It’s actually surprising that GH still avoided cancellation (and later thrived) with all those recasts.
I also like how you provide context to your soap viewing as an elementary schoolboy. I was in the same place, but a few years earlier than you (by my calculations). It’s weird, and yet satisfying, how some of these soap memories remain so vivid all these years later. Take care, Friend!
Hi. Just stumbled on to this,and SO thrilled to read Steve and Jamesj75 comments. I started to watch GH as a little girl, after school, in 1971. I too watched the half hour episodes, and remember original Monica, Rick, Heather, Diana Taylor, etc. “New” Diana came from DOOL. Didnt like Diana recast either. Love when LC Monica recurs now, and does anyone else miss Leslie?? So liked Audrey’s appearance, though brief on GH 50th anniversary. Wish they’d bring Leslie back,even on occasional recurring status. Think the last time we saw her was at Laura/Kevin wedding. Surely Leslie could have appeared to say good bye to Lulu when they shipped her off to long term care. Any thoughts?
Great to read your reply, jvdramateacher! So thrilled you are also a fan of Valerie Starrett. Be sure to watch the link from 1975 that Satan graciously provided us — so many great characters in one half-hour episode!
I agree with you about Audrey. She had quite a long run with the show and doesn’t get the credit she deserves; I just wished she had more screen time in the later years, too. There are so many unsung heroes from GH’s long history… Also, bringing back Leslie on recurring status would be terrific. There have been plenty of times over the years when the presence of Leslie was sorely missed. Take care, Friend!
Hi there.
Lesley Webber is a beloved character in GH history. At 82, Denise Alexander might not want something on a regular basis. Lesley was last on in late 2020 and early 2021 to wrap up the Cyrus as hospital Chairman storyline. They had her actually teaming up with Monica to bring Cyrus down. Her last scene had her saying goodbye to Laura mentioning she was going to check in on Lulu at the clinic.
Grateful for any scenes that DA and Jane Elliot continue to provide for however long they choose to be a part of the show. And, isn’t it about time for Lucy to have a visit from Aunt Charlene? Maree Cheatham is still acting.
Steve
I just happened on your post about Denise Alexander, etc.Your last sentence really caught my eye where you refer to one of my all time heroines, Marie Cheatham. Oh, how I loved her from the first time I saw her on Search For Tomorrow and everything after that, Days, etc. She could almost be another Sheila at times. She still looks good at 81. You say she’s still acting?
James, I stumbled across something on YouTube that you will probably love to see…. It’s a full episode of GH from 1975.
The storyline is from shortly after Phil Brewer was murdered and police detective Wally Cleaver is looking for the geode rock murder weapon. He questions a number of people at the hospital including Diana Taylor – in her original Valerie Starrett form, of course.
For some reason, it’s in black & white, despite from being 1975, long after GH switched to color. But otherwise great video & sound quality for the time…..
Satan, you are my hero! I just watched this episode, and it is golden (despite the black-and-white presentation). For me, this was GH at its peak. Thank you, my Friend. Thank you!
I realize that things happen, actors have real life issues, people leave, etc. But GH has had a large amount of this happening all at once. New Jordan, new Trina, temp Monica, temp Harmony, etc. It really does change the tone and the fabric of the show. It does help when we viewers know some of the reasons. We know Sydney left for college, and so far the new Trina is doing a great job! The similar look helps. Having the real Taggert back helped immensely with that transition. New Jordan is a good actress, but I am just not really feeling her as Jordan. She is too polished, too refined. Both of the other Jordan’s had the wild frizzy hair which really did help to sort of show that the character was a bit of a non conformist. Monica is seen infrequently enough that it would seem possible to reschedule pivotal scenes for when Leslie Charleson is available. Harmony is a recurring character, so it would seem that they could delay her scenes until the regular actress is available. I don’t pretend to know the daily ins and outs of producing a soap, but it just seems like a lot all at once. It really does take regular viewers out of the continuum of the show with so many major and minor recasts happening all at once. But with that said, the writing on the show is really good right now. I am really not on board with the creepy turn Esme has taken on. Showing a young female drugging another young female with date rape drugs, and faking a pregnancy, and exploiting the first time love making of legacy characters is lazy unnecessary soap trope writing. It’s disturbing. Ryan Chamberlain is a character who has violently murdered countless women, so to give him a daughter who loves and reveres him is very disgusting and unnerving. On the plus side, seeing veterans Robert, Anna, Felicia is awesome! Let’s get going with Chase and Brooklyn already!!! They are soap gold!!! Find Maxie a solid long term love interest!! Stop making Michael and Willow so sanctimonious and judgmental.
Agreed on the analysis of Michael and Willow. From a historical perspective, Michael’s personality has snippets (some larger than others) of Carly, Sonny, Edward and AJ.
Harmony has been on contract since the fall. Inga Cadranel indicated she dealt with Covid for 3 weeks, which would’ve been a long time to hold up story.
Whenever there’s a temporary recast I pay closer attention to see if there’s a reason those scenes still had to be filmed. For Monica, the only reason they had to continue that shooting day was the scene with her and Jake by the elevator. Hudson West is a busy “child” actor who is recurring. Every day a minor is shooting, the studio is responsible for having a teacher present. Both Hudson and the teacher’s schedule would have to be cleared at least a few weeks prior. Unfortunately this day in age, budget rules.
On the plus side, sometimes actors are able to give the show enough time to avoid recasts. Lydia Look told Frank about her annual trip to see family during Lunar New Year so Selina Wu was written out for a while and Brad was still able to be part of story.
I hope Nancy Lee is improving and will be back soon. Supposedly some good stuff involving Alexis, Harmony and Neil’s lowlife brother is coming up and I want to see Nancy acting these juicy scenes herself.
You just never know when one of your favorites from a soap opera will pop on TV on another show! Such was the case on the Tuesday, October 6 episode of the number one daytime game show in America, The Price is Right on CBS!
Hudson West, who has played Jake Webber on General Hospital from 2016-2019, and then has been recurring since 2021 and used very sporadically in story, was in attendance in the audience for a taping of The Price is Right. He wound up selected as one of the players and eventually won a car.
Here;’s what happened: West bid $3,000 on a five-night stay at the Bandon Marina Inn in Oregon. His opponent, Charles, bid $4,550, which was too high, so West got the chance to play the game “Any Number” for a prize.
Photo: ABC
The drama became intense as West picked the numbers needed to win a new car with host Drew Carey presiding over the game play. After he won, Hudson fell to the floor in shock before getting up and running in excitement towards his new car!
Later in the show, Hudson got the opportunity to spin the wheel to try to advance to the “Showcase” round, but his opponent named Jenny spun a higher number to qualify, ending West’s run in the game. But, he came away with the new car.
Apart from his role on GH, TV fans have seen West on NCIS: Los Angeles, Dancing with the Stars: Juniors and Grace and Frankie to name but a few.
You can check out what happened when Hudson won a car on The Price is Right on the video below.
Now let us know, what did you think of Hudson’s big win? Do you hope that GH finally has Jake back in story since he is the son of Elizabeth and Jason? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
The Tuesday, October 6 episode of General Hospital kicked-off with Serena Baldwin (Kelly Kruger) literally turned upside down and stuck on the Quartermaine roof in front of Jason (Steve Burton), who came to her rescue.
This marked the first time that Kelly Kruger and Steve Burton shared any substantial screen time together since Kruger debuted on the ABC soap opera back in July.
In story, Serena was trying to save the peregrine falcons’ nest that Tracy (Jane Elliot) wanted exterminated. Jason agreed to help Serena relocate the nest to the nature preserve. Said relocation would be put in the preserve adjacent to the property, think where Ava (Maura West) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) buried Brennan (Chris McKenna)!
Later, when they returned to the Quartermaine mansion, the two have more banter where Serena told Jason they should both check themselves for ticks. Serena has done a full body check in the bathroom, but then asks Jason to go through her hair and look for any signs of ticks. Clearly, one or both may have ticks prompting suspicion if they wind up at GH with Dr. Isaiah Gannon (Sawandi Wilson) as their doctor who previously treated Ava for the tick stuck in her hair!
Courtesy/ABC
ROMANCE SWITCH-UPS
While initially General Hospital fans suspected that the character of Serena was being brought back to the canvas in the form of Kruger as a love interest for Michael Corinthos (Rory Gibson), in recent weeks and in admission by Tanisha Harper, it appears that GH is teasing a Michael and Jordan romance. The two have been spending more time together at Aurora, and Michael helped her get accepted into the burn clinic in Germany to treat her facial scars from the car accident.
Meanwhile, after Steve Burton returned to GH after his extended hiatus this June, it was clear that the writers were heading in the direction of a Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) and Jason break-up.
Eventually, a few weeks ago, the duo called it quits after Anna (Finola Hughes) tried to kill Britt, and Jason would not help Britt press charges against his friend, who was suffering from delusions after being mentally gaslighted by Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) and Sidwell (Carlo Rota) and company.
So, what did you think of the scenes between Jason and Serena on today’s GH? Do you think Kelly and Steve have on-screen chemistry that you would be open to be seeing how it plays out? Weigh-in via the comment section below.
It’s hard to believe it’s been two years since Van Hansis made his debut as the recast Lucas Jones on General Hospital. It was back on October 4, 2024 that GH fans got their first look at the former As the World Turns (ex-Luke Snyder) favorite in his new soap role.
Hansis became the fifth actor to play the role of the adoptive son of the late Bobbie Spencer and Tony Jones, and the biological son of the late Julian Jerome and Cheryl Stansbury. Prior to Van, C.J. Thomason (2002–2003), Ben Hogestyn (2005–2006) Ryan Carnes (2004–2005, 2014–2020, 2024) and Matt Trudeau (2020–2021) had played the part.
When Van left daytime after As the World Turns sadly went off the air in 2010, it would be 14 years until he stepped back into the updated frenetic pace and grind of acting on a daily soap opera.
Photo: ABC
LUCAS CAME HOME TO PORT CHARLES
Since Lucas has been back in Port Charles, he fell in love with the late Marco Rios (Adrian Anchondo) who was murdered, moved into a new apartment with his current roommate (soon to be love interest?) Joe Fitzpatrick as played by Jonathan Bennett, has become best buds with the “Britch” Dr. Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud), and has found himself involved in multiple other storylines. However, now that Van is firmly implanted on GH, might Lucas get a leading storyline of his own? Stay tuned.
In the meantime, to acknowledge his two-year anniversary at General Hospital, Hansis shared via his Instagram a photo montage and some heartfelt “thank you’s’ and words. “Two years ago yesterday, Lucas Jones came home to Port Charles looking a little different. Looking exactly like me.” began Hansis.
“When I took on the role, I was told it would be a heavy recurring for a few months and then we’d see where it goes – being based in NYC at the time, I thought it would be a fun little gig that would bring me back to my old stomping grounds of daytime for a bit.”
Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL HAS BEEN LIFE-CHANGING FOR VAN HANSIS
Next, the longtime New York-based actor confirmed he has now moved to Los Angeles as this new chapter of his life has unfolded, and how grateful he is that the show’s writers and producers have continually given more for Lucas to do.
Van explained, “But then they kept writing for me more and I fell in love with Lucas, and everyone around him (in front of and behind the camera). I wanted to stay a while and am so grateful I have. Being a part of GH these last two years has been life changing. Literally. My family and I are Angelenos now, I’ve made incredible new friendships and have been able to revisit old ones.”
The five-time Daytime Emmy-nominated actor concluded with, “Thank you Frank (Valentini, executive producer, GH), thank you Mark (Teschner, casting director, GH), for inviting me to the party. You throw a great one. ”
So, happy to know Van is sticking around General Hospital for some time to come? What has been your favorite Lucas Jones moment over the first two years of Van’s run? Let us know via the comment section below.
View this post on Instagram
‘Days of our Lives’ Star Alison Sweeney in ‘Sami Brady’s Confessions from Italy’
‘General Hospital’s’ Hudson West Wins Big as Contestant on ‘The Price is Right’
Y&R’s Jason Thompson Previews Billy and Sally’s Wedding Drama: ‘Things Happen that Change the Trajectory of the Story’
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Did the ABC Soap Opera Just Tee Up a Jason and Serena Pairing?
Netflix Canada to Stream Past Episodes of ‘Days of our Lives’ and ‘The Young and the Restless’
‘Beyond the Gates’ Honors HBCU Tradition with Banneker University Homecoming Episodes
REPORT: ‘Days of our Lives’ Puts Four Actors On Contract
TUNE-IN: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Banneker Homecoming Episodes, EP Sheila Ducksworth Speaks on Impact HBCUs Have in Real Life
BEYOND THE GATES Preview: Who’s Trying to Silence Hayley?
Robert Kelker-Kelly, ‘General Hospital,’ ‘Days of our Lives’ and ‘Another World’ Star Dies at 62
‘Days of our Lives’ Star Alison Sweeney in ‘Sami Brady’s Confessions from Italy’
‘General Hospital’s’ Hudson West Wins Big as Contestant on ‘The Price is Right’
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Everyone Turns Their Backs on Sonny; Can Anyone Get Chase to Open His Eyes About Willow’s Treachery?
GH’s Kayden Brenna Tokarski Addresses ‘Positivity and Negativity’ That Has Come Her Way as She Embraces Playing Scout Cain
BEYOND THE GATES Preview: Who’s Trying to Silence Hayley?
-
Beyond the Gates1 week ago‘Beyond the Gates’ Honors HBCU Tradition with Banneker University Homecoming Episodes
-
Days Of Our Lives1 week agoREPORT: ‘Days of our Lives’ Puts Four Actors On Contract
-
Beyond the Gates6 days agoTUNE-IN: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Banneker Homecoming Episodes, EP Sheila Ducksworth Speaks on Impact HBCUs Have in Real Life
-
Beyond the Gates4 days agoBEYOND THE GATES Preview: Who’s Trying to Silence Hayley?
-
Breaking News2 days agoRobert Kelker-Kelly, ‘General Hospital,’ ‘Days of our Lives’ and ‘Another World’ Star Dies at 62
-
Days Of Our Lives2 days agoNetflix Canada to Stream Past Episodes of ‘Days of our Lives’ and ‘The Young and the Restless’
-
General Hospital1 week ago‘General Hospital’s’ Tanisha Harper on the Future of a Jordan Ashford and Michael Corinthos Pairing
-
Previews4 days agoTHE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: Sally’s Bachelorette Party and Billy’s Bachelor Party Take Center Stage
