What would General Hospital be without Kin Shriner, who has always played Scott Baldwin to the hilt with unique style and acting chops? Today on August 2nd, Kin marks his 45th anniversary with the ABC daytime drama series, and the series just would never be the same without his four decades plus of performances, making him an enduring fan favorite.

Shriner debuted on GH back on this date in 1977.  Scott’s love story with Laura (Genie Francis) would begin to set a new trajectory for GH. Later, when Laura married Luke (Tony Geary) in 1981, and Scott made a shocking appearance at the reception and caught the bouquet, the character turned to the dark side which started a new era of story for Scott/Laura/Luke and more.

Photo: ABC

Scott is the stepson of attorney, Lee Baldwin (the late Peter Hansen) and Dr. Gail Adamson (the late Susan Brown); although through the years they tangled over differences, the family loved and cared for one another.

Photo: ABC

In more recent years, Scott’s legal eagle courtroom antics are always a must-see for viewers, as well as any time Shriner gets to show Scott’s emotional side, such as the time he learned his son Franco (Roger Howarth) had died.

Photo: ABC

Kin’s scenes with his current on-screen love interest, Kathleen Gati (Liesl) are always a delight for GH fans, as well.

In addition to his General Hospital run, Shriner appeared as Scott in the GH spinoff; Port Charles from 1997-2000 and again in 2001.

Photo: ABC

Share your congratulations to Kin on his 45th anniversary in the comment section, and then let us know what has been your favorite Scott Baldwin scene through the years. 

But first, in case you missed it, check out our interview last year with Kin on the Michael Fairman Channel below.

On last Thursday and Friday’s episode of General Hospital, the ABC soap opera finally moved the story forward with the reveal to Ava (Maura West) that Nikolas (Marcus Coloma) and Esme (Avery Pohl) slept together, and within it, fans got to witness the beginning of the fallout and the reaction as played by three-time Daytime Emmy-winner and enduring fan favorite, Maura West.

As one might expect, the material in the hands of the mighty West, and the acting choices she makes are always intriguing and masterful.

In story, things start to unravel for Ava, when outside Trina’s (Tabyana Ali) courtroom trial, Esme and Ava have a confrontation.  It is there that Esme snarks at Ava, that she has the ability to destroy her world.  When Ava dares her to try, Nikolas shows up on the scene begging Esme to stop.  However, a manipulative Esme says, “Too late, I’m ending this right here, right now.” After lighting the fire, Esme walks off telling Nikolas to have a nice chit chat with his wife.

Next, Ava and Nikolas go to a private office, and Nikolas tells her that he made a huge mistake. A now suspicious Ava, asks, “What kind of mistake?” Nikolas then goes on to explain how he slept with Esme, just once, when he thought his relationship with Ava had tanked and had suffered irreparable damage.

Courtesy/ABC

Courtesy/ABC

Ava has wised up from all of Esme’s nasty statements and has come to realize that everything Esme has done including sleeping with Nikolas, feels like a targeted, planned attack on her, and she knows there is more to this story than Esme has ever let on.  When Ava spots the envelope in Esme’s suitcase, she goes to get it, but Esme grabs it from her. Then, with a steely warning, Ava tells Esme that she will be going to the courthouse now to exonerate Trina, and if she doesn’t, Ava will make sure Esme disappears and no one will ever be able to find her alive.

Now, while some viewers may be waiting for a knock-down drag-out catfight, we don’t know what will happen on Monday or Tuesday’s episode, but sometimes it’s more delicious just letting the words and its intentions drive the action, and West delivered the goods in spades in scenes with Marcus Coloma and Avery Pohl.

For all the reasons stated above, Michael Fairman TV names Maura West’s work as The Power Performance of the Week.

What did you think of Maura’s performance in the scenes where Ava finds out Nikolas slept with Esme and Ava’s confrontation later with Esme? What do you hope happens next?  Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section.  But firstm check out some moments from West’s performance below.

UPDATED:  Since the original posting of this article, Tony Dow has now passed away.  On Wednesday, July 27th his son, Christopher confirmed his death on Facebook sharing: “Tony passed away earlier this morning, with his loving family at his side to see him through this journey.  We know that the world is collectively saddened by the loss of this incredible man. He gave so much to us all and was loved by so many. One fan said it best—“It is rare when there is a person who is so universally loved like Tony.”’

The original post below is the story on how Tony’s wife, Lauren Dow, had shared that her husband was still alive after erroneous news articles on his death were premature:

Lauren Dow, the wide of Tony Dow, best-known of his role of Wally Cleaver – the All-American older brother of “Beaver” Cleaver (Jerry Mathers) on the TV sitcom, Leave it to Beaver, shares that he is still alive amid previous reports of his passing early today.