It’s hard to believe, but it’s been five months since the passing of General Hospital icon and eight-time Daytime Emmy winning actor, Anthony Geary. Since the news of Tony’s passing at the age of 78, broke last December 14, 2025, tributes have poured in from Geary’s co-stars, and GH even honored the incredible legacy of Luke Spencer on a special episode where the characters take a moment to remember him.

On-screen, Luke had died in 2022. Geary retired from the soap in 2015, to spend his life full-time in Amsterdam with his husband, Claudio Gama and only made one other brief appearance in 2017 to usher off Jane Elliot, who at that time was leaving as Tracy Quartermaine.

Gama, has continued to provide memories of his beloved husband over the past many months as he continues to mourn his loss. Now, with it being the 5-month mark since Tony’s death, Claudio took to his Instagram to share how Tony felt about his leading ladies, and in particular, in this post, six-time Daytime Emmy winner, and One Life to Live icon, Erika Slezak (ex-Viki).

Photo: ABC

It was back in 2010 that then ABC Daytime launched the What If series which featured crossover vignettes or mini-stories which crossed a character from one soap in their daytime line-up with a character from another soap. And of course, the one that every one waited for was to see Erika and Tony act together for the first time.

In fact, after Geary’s passing and as previously reported, Erika Slezak shared a statement, on her official website, Erika expressed, “I am so terribly saddened by the death of Tony Geary. He was a charming man, a brilliant actor and all together a very nice man. I send my sincerest condolences to his husband Claudio, and I will keep him in my prayers. We had such fun together when we did the What If crossover promotions in 2010. I thoroughly enjoyed him and loved watching him on television.”

LUKE SPENCER AND VICTORIA LORD MEET

In his new post, Gama wrote: “It has been exactly six months since you left to be up there, where the stars shine for eternity. I miss you so much every day. I miss your smile, your warm hugs that wrapped me in love. Rest in peace, my love.  Max and I miss you and will always love you. Greetings to everyone from Amsterdam — it’s a holiday here today, Hemelvaartsdag (Ascension Day). I’m going to do a little work, then head back home to Max and continue sorting through more videos and photos. So many tears, but also so many beautiful memories, and those keep me going. Have a safe and healthy week”

Claudio then added, “Tony always loved Erika Slezak, a truly classy lady. As Tony would say about all the talented ladies he worked with, he was always a gentleman. I was just told it is 5 months actually but it feels like a long time.”

With that, as you can see in the Instagram post below, Claudio posted the What If Luke Spencer crossed paths with Victoria Lord, as they get stuck in an elevator together. Check that out, followed by the What If Series Promo.  The What If series was the brainchild of current General Hospital executive producer, Frank Valentini.

Now let us know, what did you think about Claudio’s heartfelt message missing his husband, Tony? Did you love seeing Tony and Erika together in the What If series? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Claudio Gama (@claudiogama_71)

On Tuesday, May 12 at the ABC/Disney Upfronts, there were several headlines coming out of it for the upcoming 2026-2027 television and streaming season.

First, Savannah Bananas second baseman Jackson Olson will be taking some swings on the ballroom dance floor when he joins other celebrities already locked in for Dancing with the Stars season 34.

Olson will join already confirmed reality stars: Maura Higgins (The Traitors and Love Island) and Ciara Miller (Summer House). The full cast list and their pro partners will be announced on September 2nd.

Photo: SavannahBananasIG

SAVANNAH BANANAS COME TO DISNEY+

The news of Olson who has also become a social media influencer, comes out of the Disney upfront that also revealed that Disney+ will become the exclusive home of the Banana Bowl streaming live this October, hence the tie-in.

The Banana Bowl will feature the top teams in the Banana Ball league facing off for the season championship. Known for blending athleticism with entertainment, the game will include one of the biggest performances the league has ever seen, bringing together all six teams, along with its signature on-field showmanship.

NO BACHELOR FRANCHISE THIS FALL

Meanwhile, ABC revealed that a new season for the troubled The Bachelor franchise offshoots is not on the fall schedule where they usual place: The Bachelorette, The Golden Bachelor or Golden Bachelortte are no where to be found. This is the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic that there will be no Bachelor-branded series on ABC’s fall schedule.

Photo: ABC

The Bachelor will return as usual in the midseason in 2027, Grant Ellis was the lead as the man looking for love and vying for a woman’s heart in 2025.

All this, amid the turmoil surrounding Taylor Frankie Paul’s season of The Bachelorette being pulled and currently never seeing the light of day after the domestic violence surfaced with her throwing a chair towards the direction of her child, while she got into a melee with ex-boyfriend Dakota Mortensen.

Ari Goldman, SVP, Content Strategy and Scheduling said of removing The Bachelor from the new season ABC lineup, “We’ve had to take a look at just managing the franchise properly. These shows have enormous fan bases, and we were so thrilled the year that we were able to launch Golden Bachelor and have it stand out in that fall season the way that it did. But I think that the usual cadence that we like to find ourselves in is really the flagship series in midseason and then having some summer edition, which we have already locked in on Bachelor of Paradise for next season. So this is more of a return to a steady state on the franchise.”

So, what do you think about Jackson Olson from the Savannah Bananas joining the new season of Dancing with the Stars? Do you like how the show is making efforts to cast social media influencers and talents with a mass number of followers to draw eyeballs to the reality-competition series? Meanwhile, are you for or against even The Bachelor coming back in 2027, or do you think its time to rest the entire concept all of its spin-offs for good? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

Get ready, because on Wednesday, May 13th at special time, 6pm ET/3pm PT, The Young and the Restless Newman Brothers: Mark Grossman (Adam Newman) and Joshua Morrow (Nick Newman) will chat live on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel in a conversation not-to-be-missed.

Currently in story on the top-rated CBS soap opera, Nick has found himself addicted to painkillers and especially fentanyl, in part, thank to the machinations of the return of his nemesis Matt Clark (Roger Howarth).

Nick is in serious trouble and Adam is trying to make sure his brother gets into a drug rehab program and get the help he needs; only things keep going awry and from bad to worse.

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE NEWMAN FAMILY

In addition, with Matt now back in Genoa City claiming to have amnesia, Adam trying to do good for his brother and their father, Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), who is battling to get Newman Enterprises back from Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), the family dynamics are key to how this all plays itself out on upcoming episodes.

With Nick teetering on the edge, Adam who reconnected with Riza (Tina Casciani) in Las Vegas, might still find himself drawn into her web. Much to discuss with Joshua Morrow, who this June will celebrate his 32nd year as Nick while Mark Grossman celebrates his 7th year with us as the black sheep of the Newman clan having debuted back on May 13, 2019.

GOT A QUESTION FOR MARK OR JOSHUA?

Make sure to be with us in the live chat with your questions or comments for Mark and Joshua.  If you cannot be with us live, you can drop a comment below and we just might ask it live during our broadcast.

For upcoming celebrity features, livestreams and special event coverage, make sure to “subscribe” to the Michael Fairman Channel.

So, do you think anyone will get through to Nick to stop using drugs? Will Adam fall back into more darker ways? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.