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Hunter Tylo Reflects on Son Mickey’s Tragic Death, and Refusing to Play Trauma Surrounding Phoebe’s Death on B&B; “My Pain is Not for Sale”

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: JPI

The original Taylor Hayes of The Bold and the Beautiful, Hunter Tylo, recently made two surprise livestream appearances. It is the first time in several years that anyone had heard publicly from Tylo herself. As previously reported, she showed up as a guest on the Unexpected Cosmology You Tube Channel.

One of the more emotional and heated moments came when Hunter was asked about getting a start in show business as an actor. In her response, and to make a point, she recalled some of the harrowing moments that led to her beloved then 19-year old son, Mickey Tylo, falling into the family pool after having an epileptic seizure and dying back in October of 2007. Meanwhile, on-screen, Taylor’s daughter, Phoebe Forrester (MacKenzie Mauzy) died in a car crash on an episode that aired in December of 2008.

In the story, Phoebe came back to town and she was mortified to find Rick (then, Kyle Lowder) in bed with her mother! Later in 2008, Phoebe learned Rick kissed her fraternal twin-sister Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) against her will. When Phoebe confronted Rick at his office about it, he tried to get away. She followed him to his car and got in with him. As he drove, she became physical, hitting him. Rick lost control of the vehicle and then crashed. While Rick survived, Phoebe died in her father, Ridge’s (then Ronn Moss) arms.

Photo: JPI

While Hunter seemed a bit off on her dates; as to when her son passed away and then having to play the reaction to Phoebe’s death as Taylor on The Bold and the Beautiful; she explained how being an actor on a soap, or in film or primetime, can be difficult, and how she has gotten a “reputation” over the years for standing up for herself.

Hunter explained, “I don’t think people understand what they’re getting into by wanting to be an actor or an actress. I have, in the past, temperamentally walked off off of a set. I have refused to say things or do things because either they didn’t jive with what I believe in, or I could just see how flat out wrong it was.” Next, Tylo began to illustrate how sometimes soap writers may use actors real-life experiences and write it to their storylines.

MICKEY TYLO’S DEATH 

Hunter added,“They (the writers) will start taking your real life and then they’ll write it into the story. So, you get to live it twice. In real life, my 19-year-old son, used to go to all these concerts. He wanted to be a DJ.  We were living near Vegas. I used to commute to L.A, because I hated L.A. He would go to all these concerts. He was hanging out with “Panic at the Disco, and all these guys who were just getting started in Vegas. They were making him their promoter. Mickey was getting overstimulated by all of the flashing lights and probably the grinding crazy music that also scrambles your brain with death tone frequencies. He ended up getting epilepsy from it, and by time he was 19 1/2, it killed him, because he went outside to get phone reception at our house in Vegas and he had a seizure at that moment. He fell in the pool and no one was there. Unfortunately, his brother had to find him.”

Photo: JPI

REFUSING TO PLAY SCENES FOLLOWING PHOEBE’S DEATH ON THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL

“The next thing I know in the script, one of my daughters dies. She gets hit and killed in a car wreck,” recounted Hunter. “I’m like, ‘What? I can’t do that. I can’t do this!’ This only happened like three weeks ago or two or whatever, however long it was. I don’t know. Each day (I was supposed to show up for work) I noticed I was getting later and later coming to the set. My body was saying, ‘Don’t do this. Do not relive this because you’re going to have to use real life to get the tears to flow. You’re going have a meltdown or something.’ There were a lot of people talking who were bad mouthing me (saying), “Look at her. She’s late to the set all the time. Look at her. She’s just acting like a drama queen.”

Photo: JPI

Hunter recalled the time she refused to perform a key moment in the story: “They wrote a scene where I’m supposed to go to the morgue to identify my daughter, which everybody knows what a parent would really have to do. I did have to go through that, and they wanted me to reenact it, live it, and do this whole thing of grieving and holding her body and her toes and her hands, and kissing their head like you do. I wasn’t going to do that. I said, ‘I don’t care. Fire me. Goodbye. This ain’t happening. I mean, it’s not for sale. My pain is not for sale, okay?”‘

UNDERSTANDING THE STRESS OF BEING AN ACTOR

As she finished her recollections, Tylo ended with, “So, that’s why I say to anybody who wants to be an actor know what you’re getting into. You don’t understand the stress. It’s not all roses. It’s not all flashy cars and limos and gowns and red carpets and lights are flashing and everybody loves you. It’s not. Sometimes people hate your guts and sometimes you’re doing stuff that is extremely traumatizing to yourself. So that’s my two- cents.”

You can check out the moment during her livestream conversation where Hunter brings up her son’s tragic death and Phoebe’s on-screen death on The Bold and the Beautiful below.

Now, let us know, what are your thoughts on an actor having to relive something close to a real-life tragedy that impacted them significantly? Do you remember Phoebe’s death on B&B? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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I admire Hunter for refusing to do a storyline while she was grieving the loss of her son. Brad bell was wrong to even write a storyline so personal.

Hunter Tylo always seemed to be the class of B&B even dealing with such stupid stories. Just reread the recap of the lead-up to Phoebe’s death, for example. Ridge’s step/half brother and/or stepson Rick (depending on who is married to whom when) — son of his dad (Eric, who raised him) and his true love Brooke — was in bed with Taylor, his step/half brother and/or stepfather’s on-again/off-again wife, and mother of his children, twins Phoebe and Steffy, at times Rick’s stepsisters, or first cousins once removed. And Rick romanced both of them and their mother, his step sister-in-law.

Well, that’s an actor’s job. It was a year later. I do agree having to do the morgue scene would be tough. Hopefully she could talk to the writers, etc. and explain.

I don’t think epilepsy is brought on by being around flashing lights.

Agreed on both points. Perhaps the writers could have been a lot more sensitive Tylo’s emotions in writing elements of that story, given the loss of her son the prior year. That said, she returned to her *job* as an actress *on a soap opera* and surely had to expect that she would be asked to portray sadness and grief again eventually. Grief does weird things, so I won’t judge her for it *feeling like* it was weeks after her son passed away — that truly would have been unspeakably cruel — but it really wasn’t.

On your latter point, yes and no — while flashing lights/sensory overload can absolutely set off epileptic seizure episodes for those who already have the condition, you are correct: you can’t actually acquire the condition itself that way. While they don’t know the exact cause for people to get the condition itself, it’s usually related to genetics or a brain/head trauma issue. There’s no valid research to suggest that someone can get it by being around things that trigger episodes in people who already have it. Doesn’t mean he didn’t have epilepsy or that it didn’t contribute to his death, but it’s odd that she’d blame it on him being around the music scene.

Still don’t know why Brad brought her back one year later just to destroy her character. She was on Larry King after her son died I believe she did sue the doctor for malpractice but nothing came of it she has had a tragic life ups and downs but to me she was the only Taylor. Hope she comes to peace and moves on Brad destroyed the character so I’m happy for her not to come back .

General Hospital

‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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Dominic Zamprogna

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?”

Dom and Liz

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.

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Beyond the Gates

‘Beyond the Gates’ Star Mike Manning Lands Role in Indie Horror Feature ‘Deify’

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Mike Manning

While Smitty tries to hold the fort down in his marriage to congressman Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon)  and their two teenaged children, Samantha (Najah Jackson) and Tyrell (Jaden Lucas Miller) on Beyond the Gates, Emmy-winner Mike Manning has also landed another feature film role.

According to Deadline, Manning has joined the cast of Deify with 6 other new cast members for the indie psychological horror film starring Neal McDonough and Skeet Ulrich, which was previously announced last week.

Joining Manning as the latest cast addition are: Dennis Haysbert, Ashley Greene,  Casey Harnett, Kirk Avecdo, Anji White, anf Nicholas Chimera who’s directing the pic also has a part in the film.

WHAT’S THE STORY OF DEIFY?

Taking to his Instagram with the news of his casting, Manning shared, “A movie about a cult? What could possibly go wrong? Come for the enlightenment. Stay because they won’t let you leave. DEIFY is coming…”

The movie is currently shooting in Chicago and in story, “a cult leader is put on trial after causing his devoted followers to be burned alive. The film is inspired in part by events surrounding the 1993 Waco, Texas, standoff between members of the Branch Davidians church and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one of the largest civilian firefights ever recorded on American soil.”

MIKE MANNING IS A DAYTIME EMMY NOMINEE

In addition, the multi-talented Manning is a producer on the feature. Previously, Mike was nominated last month in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. He previously won an Emmy for his role on The Bay and for being a producer on the digital drama.

Mike’s previous credits include the role of Charlie Dale on Days of Our Lives and the Manny on This Is Us, plus various primetime and screen credits.

So intrigued to find what role Mike will play in the upcoming horror/cult film, Deify? Enjoying him as Smitty on Beyond the Gates? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

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General Hospital

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

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Patrick J. Gibbons

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.

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Video Du Jour

Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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