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The Tristan Rogers Interview – General Hospital

By Michael Fairman

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tristan_manhattanites2.jpg
On-Air On-Soaps continuing coverage of General Hospital continues this week with several features surrounding the troubling state of the ratings of the venerable soap, and the genre in general. I had the opportunity to catch up with the outspoken and brilliant actor of both General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, Tristan Rogers, who has played Robert Scorpio on and off for decades. Tristan was taking part in the west coast DVD release party of Roger Newcomb’s and Gregori J. Martin’s film Manhattanites, starring many familiar daytime faces. The two of us took time out from the festivities to discuss what’s going down in soap land.

Tristan and I chat about these hot topics: what’s going on with “GH” and how can it gets back on track in the ratings and excite fans again, why no season three of GH: Night Shift, the controversy over who is Ethan’s true biological father, Luke or Robert, and the fate of the Daytime Emmys. Plus, as the one-time producer of Michael Jackson’s 30th anniversary concert, Tristan and I delve into the tragic death of the world’s biggest superstar.

Always on the cutting edge, online reports have indicated that Tristan’s next move could be a part in the web series Imaginary Bitches starring Eden Riegel. But for now, enjoy our feature with him. Here’s Tristan!

Listen to the audio:

[display_podcast]

MICHAEL:

You are here tonight to support director and producer Gregori J. Martin, even though you were not in his most recent release, Manhattanites.

TRISTAN:

That is because I have done two of Gregori’s movies. I did Raven and the one before that, Jack Rio.

MICHAEL:

I have been reading your blogs at www.tristanrogers.com and everything you have written is quite commendable. It is direct and honest in regards to the quagmire daytime soaps find themselves in.

TRISTAN:

I do enjoy trying to make sense out of the situation and approach what is going on in the daytime world from a common sense situation, rather than being hysterical about it. It’s taking me awhile, but I actually see the networks side of the coin, and I see the fans side of the coin. Consequently, I see what is happening and why it’s happening. Frankly, its time for Guiding Light … 72 years is a long run for a show in broadcasting. On the other hand, you know, I don’t quite know if I want to see it happening the way it is happening now. I think there is a better way to bring it about.

tristan_and_finola.jpgMICHAEL:

What do you think of the declining ratings of “GH”, that is the talk of the soap world right now?

TRISTAN:

I think General Hospital, of all the soaps, is in a real quandary because “GH” is constantly fighting its past, and in particular, it’s fighting its past now. It seems to suddenly have become a real issue. When I went back to the show in 2006 it was starting to bubble, and I don’t know if comments I made at the time helped it bubble up a bit hotter. But, I think what you have got now is an issue with the core body of fans. “GH” has a core body of fans that support it with whatever is happening. Now that core body of fans is deserting it, and when the last one turns off, that’s it. The new fans will not support it in a way that the older, foundational group will. I have been saying for sometime, “This is the group you have to have be supporting.” The show needs to try and maintain these fans and get that group solidified, and then go after the other groups. But, you must keep that fan base and foundation. When you have got no foundation, there is nothing to build on.

MICHAEL:

Patrick and Robin are the morale center these days in Port Charles. What is left are many mobsters. In the days when you were starring on the show there was heart to the show that seems to be lacking now. Recently, the show launched the storyline: “Who was Ethan’s biological father… Luke or Robert?” You were quite vocal about that at the time this played out on air. Do you think this is the way it will remain … Luke and Ethan are truly father and son?

TRISTAN:

I still think that is up in the air. That has been created in such a vague way as to literally be twisted any which way you wanted it to be twisted. I think that was done deliberately. When that storyline first got suggested to me, they said to me, “Robert was going to turn out to be the father,” and I remember saying to myself at that time, “That does not make any sense! Why at this particular time now? They have a whole lot of contractual actors over there, that aren’t used a whole lot…why would they bring somebody else on and just turn around and go; “OK, you’re it.” I had a problem whether that would actually come to pass. So far it hasn’t… but anything can happen.

MICHAEL:

Then also came the sad news that SOAPnet was not bringing back another season of GH: Night Shift, which was surprising because creatively it kicked-butt last season with you at the center of it!

robert_cancer.jpgTRISTAN:

I knew that it was not coming back and being renewed a while ago. Night Shift was a wonderful glimpse of what was possible to do with a daytime format and a primetime format, shot in HD, edited like a movie, and essentially brought up to date, which was subtle. It was written by Sri Rao, who really understood the genre. He really got it, and there was no messing with him. I think this is an issue of what goes on with the daytime soaps. There are not too many people out there now who want to take what history there is, and take it and build on it. I can see why they don’t want to do that, but on the other hand, I don’t think there is much point in changing history for the sake of change. If you have a really good reason to change it then do it, otherwise use it!

MICHAEL:

Robert’s colon cancer storyline was so poignant. It was a performance that if it could have been in Emmy contention this year, it would stand among the best. How did you feel about how the storyline played out?

TRISTAN:

It was certainly something much meatier that we saw Robert involved in before, and in a very real way. We saw this character dealing with something he couldn’t deal with, and so I said, “I am just going to let it all hang out.” I said, “I am going to go for broke on this, and I am not going to hold anything back.” Everybody was like, “But Robert is this unbreakable character.” Not in this show, he’s not! This time around we are going to see a side of him that we hadn’t seen before, and it totally worked. I don’t think it took anything away from the character at all. I f he were to walk back to the show now and kick someone’s ass, they would go, “Look how terrific! He’s back.”

MICHAEL:

The relationship you have on-screen with Kimberly McCullough (Robin) and Finola Hughes (Anna) is always must-see television. Why does it work so well?

scorpios.jpgTRISTAN:

The three of us together… there is such a connection there that I can’t put into words. When the three of us are together, it’s just there! Everything’s right and we don’t have to look at one another, and we meld together.

MICHAEL:

Would you go back to “GH” for something that made sense for Robert?

TRISTAN:

Oh, absolutely! Regardless, I get frustrated with the place, but I have an enormous emotional connection to “GH”. It’s like having a bad emotional child. They might grow up and do bad stupid things, but you still love them.

MICHAEL:

What did you think when none of the three major networks that broadcast daytime soaps passed on airing the Daytime Emmys this year, and it landed on the CW?

TRISTAN:

It’s a further indication that the networks are distancing themselves from the genre; in the fact they did not want to show it at all. And yet, it’s rather interesting. You kind of wonder: What would happen to the Daytime Emmys if there were no soaps in the Daytime Emmys? Does that mean that the networks would go, “It’s cool now. It’s all full of talk shows now?” I think for the soaps to have what we had in the 80’s, you have to have someone step up to the plate with that kind of gritty vision that Gloria Monty (ex-exec prod, “GH”) had with a chair in one hand and a bull whip in the other hand and say, “This is the way were are going to do it!” That’s what she did and we need that now. I don’t know who is out there that can do that, but it’s going to take an individual like that to drag daytime out of its malaise.

MICHAEL:

Are you and Tony Geary (Luke) close?

tony_geary_emmy.jpgTRISTAN:

Oh, yes. We don’t see each other much, but when we are together it’s great. We pick up a conversation that ended a few years ago and it’s like it just started again.

MICHAEL:

Tony could win his 7th Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor at next month’s Daytime Emmy ceremonies. If so, he would stand alone as the most decorated and honored actor of all time in the soaps.

TRISTAN:

Tony has put his heart and soul into daytime. I cannot claim to do that because I left. Tony sat down and made a career out of it, and Tony is the consummate actor. I can see why he does a lot of things he does. I can see why he walks on the wild side, when it comes to what he has done with some of the history on the show. You can’t in his position… you can’t let the history bind you or contain what performances you might have, even if it’s going to ruffle a few feathers, and that is kind of what he has done here. I never had to deal with history the way he had to deal with it because I wasn’t here. But if I would have had to deal with it, I am not quite sure of how I would have handled it. It’s one of those imponderable questions.

MICHAEL:

Would you ever consider executive producing or writing for a soap?

TRISTAN:

Absolutely, if the right situation came along.

MICHAEL:

I know you produced Michael Jackson’s 30th Anniversary show. How did you feel about the death of Michael?

tristan_cancer.jpgTRISTAN:

It was totally unexpected. On the other hand, there were a lot of questions being asked, “Does anyone think he can actually do 50 shows?” I thought to myself, “I don’t see him getting through that. I don’t think he has the stamina for it.” When we did the 30th anniversary of the Michael Jackson show in Madison Square Garden, he was looking a little worse for wear then, and that was in 2001! A lot has happened in the last 8 years. A great talent has been taken from us. The media are going to make hay from this for a long time.

MICHAEL:

Did you know him at all?

TRISTAN:

I cannot say he was a friend. I worked with him professionally. He came around to my place once. He knew David Gest very well, and David Gest and I have done a lot of shows together. I know this caught David by surprise, and everyone else as well! It’s a terrible shame!

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I have been a die heart GH fan since High School in the 80s, the only reason I watched the show was Robert and Anna the spy storys were awesome and kept everyone on the edge of there seats. I think the main reason I even watched it was the connection between Robert and Anna characters watching the whole story personally I wanted them back together but not the way it ended in 92. Robert stayed away from Anna and Robin that would of never happened no way terrible writing the only way he stays away from Anna and Robin is if he was prisoner somewhere. Couples like Robert and Anna gave us all hope of a happy family!!

Robert and anna forever.They made the show .

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‘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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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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‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Admits That He Didn’t Expect the Role of Michael Corinthos to be Recast, and Would Consider Working on Another Soap (Exclusive)

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Chad Duell, the Daytime Emmy-winning actor, who stepped away from the pivotal role of Michael Corinthos on General Hospital, opened up about: his previous decision to leave the series after nearly 15 years, where’s he’s at now after time away from the demands of a daytime soap opera, and took a stroll down memory lane with some of Michael’s most-acclaimed storyline during his run, during a livestream chat on August 19 on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.

Viewers last saw Duell on-screen as Michael in January of 2025, and with his successor in the role, Rory Gibson making his debut at the GH Nurses’ Ball in episodes that aired later in May. It was clear that during the conversation, Chad was a bit surprised that the GH brass decided to recast him when he thought he was just taking some much needed time off.

Burn-out of the daily grind of being on a soap was definitely a part of Chad’s decision to take a break. Duell explained “People know when you’re doing something for so long or your character is kind of in the same place for so long or doing the same stuff over and over again, you do get a a little burnt out, you get a little stiff, stale, a little stiff at times. I didn’t want that to be any sort of lasting impression. I have 15 years of a body of work of I’ve done on that show, which is fantastic.”

Chad Duell

Photo: ABC

WHILE CHAD WAS AWAY GH RECAST MICHAEL CORINTHOS WITH RORY GIBSON

Chad shared, his mindset when leaving GH was, “I’m taking some time away, we’ll see what happens.” Then he added, “Obviously, they decided to go in a different direction with Michael when I was gone. I didn’t think they were going to bring somebody back in my place. But you know, it’s the business. You never know what can happen.”

Duell also shared he has not watched a single episode of General Hospital since he left the series, but now feels he reenergized following the loss of his father and stepping away from the GH, “I’m in a place now mentally, where I’m ready to sink my teeth into it again.”

Courtesy/ABC

Even though he is no longer Michael on GH, Chad was very happy with his final storyline where Michael was set on fire when a bomb exploded at Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) penthouse. “It was fun to put him in a dangerous situation, because I was wanting Michael to be in something scary instead of trying to be a hero character or just things happening around him, but to be the center point of tragedy happening to him. (I always saw) Michael as the heart of the (Corinthos) family.”

When Michael was badly burned the show chose not burn his face, which normally a soap does when they are recasting role and switching actors. Chad weighed-in, “They didn’t burn my face because I told Frank Valentini (EP, GH) I’m willing to come back. It was just a little bit of a break. So, I assumed that if they would have burned my face, they could have brought somebody back looking different than me… if that’s what their plan was.”

Courtesy/ABC

MEMORABLE MICHAEL STORYLINES

One of Chad’s most memorable performances was the in the storyline of Michael’s rape while he was sentenced to prison in 2010 and the confession of it in 2011. “It was so well-written and I was very nervous,” recalled Chad. “When I get really nervous about something, it ends up being really good when I do it, because it just means I care a lot about it”

“I have to put a lot of effort and work into it, and I really want it to be good.  I was working with Dominic  Zamprogna (Dante) and Steve Burton (Jason) a lot during those scenes, and Laura Wright (Carly). It was great working with Steve and Dominic, especially, during that storyline.

A NEW SOAP ROLE FOR CHAD?

As to a future soap opera role, Chad is open to the idea and would love to jump back in to a juicy role, “I know people over at The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless. They know that if they’re interested, I would love to come in for a screen test or something, and they can see what I’m doing.”

Meanwhile, Chad has been busy putting out new music under the moniker Duelly and during the interview he explains how he creates his EDM tracks and much more. You can stream his latest single, Static in the Quiet Room on Spotify, Apple Music and You Tube Music.

You can check out the full conversation with Chad Duell below.

Now let us know: what show would you like to see Chad cast on down the line? BTG, DAYS, B&B, Y&R, or a new role on GH? What did you think of his thoughts on the casting switch while he was away in the role of Michael? What was your favorite Michael storyline during Chad’s 15-year run on the ABC soap opera? Let us know via the comment section.

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