General Hospital (1963– )

Events in this daytime drama are centred in Port Charles, a community on the coast in upper New York. Ongoing plots are centred around the people who work in General Hospital, people who ... See full summary »

Creators:

Doris Hursley, Frank Hursley, Jim Hursley

Stars:

Maurice Benard, Steve Burton, Rebecca Herbst

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 215 wins & 429 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Maurice Benard	...	Sonny Corinthos (1617 episodes, 1993-2013)
Steve Burton	...	Jason Morgan (1597 episodes, 1991-2012)
Rebecca Herbst	...	Elizabeth Webber (1182 episodes, 1997-2013)
Laura Wright	...	Carly Jacks (1127 episodes, 2005-2013)
Kelly Monaco	...	Sam McCall (1092 episodes, 2003-2013)
Julie Marie Berman	...	Lulu Spencer (1038 episodes, 2005-2013)
Ingo Rademacher	...	Jasper Jacks (1031 episodes, 1996-2012)
Nancy Lee Grahn	...	Alexis Davis (984 episodes, 1996-2013)
Jason Thompson	...	Patrick Drake (875 episodes, 2005-2013)
Tyler Christopher	...	Nikolas Cassadine (870 episodes, 1996-2011)
Bradford Anderson	...	Damien Spinelli (854 episodes, 2006-2013)
Kimberly McCullough	...	Robin Scorpio (826 episodes, 1985-2012)
Anthony Geary	...	Luke Spencer (770 episodes, 1978-2013)
Brandon Barash	...	Johnny Zacchara (752 episodes, 2007-2013)
Kirsten Storms	...	Maxie Jones (738 episodes, 2005-2013)

Storyline

Events in this daytime drama are centred in Port Charles, a community on the coast in upper New York. Ongoing plots are centred around the people who work in General Hospital, people who work in the business community (most notably for the Quartermaines' company ELQ), and some sort of international intrigue involving former agents of the WSB (World Security Bureau). Big plots of the past include Luke and Laura's wedding and Mikkos Cassadine's evil weather machine.

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Plot Keywords:

New York | Actor Shares Full Name With Character | Shipper | Cult Tv | Doctor | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

abc [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

Hospital general

Filming Locations:

ABC Television Center - 4151 Prospect Avenue, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Selmur Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 30 min (1963-1976) 45 min (1976-1977) 60 min (1978-) 30 min (1963-1976) 45 min (1976-1977) 60 min (1978-)

Sound Mix:

Mono Stereo

Color:

Black and White (1963-1966) Color (1966-)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On December 4, 2009, The Wall Street Journal published an article by 'James Franco' called "A Star, a Soap and the Meaning of Art: Why an appearance on 'General Hospital' qualifies as performance art" in which Franco summarized the history of Performance Art and explained his 20-episode acting stint on the daytime soap opera General Hospital as an attempt to create Performance Art of his own. About his appearance on the show, he wrote, "I disrupted the audience's suspension of disbelief, because no matter how far I got into the character, I was going to be perceived as something that doesn't belong to the incredibly stylized world of soap operas. Everyone watching would see an actor they recognized, a real person in a made-up world. In performance art, the outcome is uncertain-and this was no exception. My hope was for people to ask themselves if soap operas are really that far from entertainment that is considered critically legitimate. Whether they did was out of my hands....performance art is all about context....when I wear green makeup and fly across a rooftop in Spider-Man 3, I'm working as an actor, but were I to do the same thing on the subway platform, a host of possibilities would open up. Playing the Green Goblin in the subway would no longer be about creating the illusion that I am flying. It would be about inserting myself in a familiar space in such a way that it becomes stranger than fiction, along the lines of what I'm doing on 'General Hospital.'....If all goes according to plan, it will definitely be weird. But is it art?".

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Quotes

Felicia Scorpio Jones: For Lila's sake, I did everything I could to keep an open mind to give you a fair chance to get that inheritance.
Tracy Quartermaine: You were against me form the start.
Edward Quartermaine #3: Can you blame her? She's supposedly searching for the most virtuous Quartermaine. She knew in advance it wouldn't be you.
Felicia Scorpio Jones: Unfortunately, you've done nothing except prove that you were completely conniving and dishonest. As everyone says that you are.
Tracy Quartermaine: What have I done specifically?
Felicia Scorpio Jones: You spied on your father. You tried to blackmail him by taking ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Roseanne: Suck Up or Shut Up (1994)
Roseanne and Nancy fight over which soap-opera to watch at the diner.

User Reviews

Butcher Jill Farren Phelps does it again!

After Santa Barbara, Guiding Light, Another World, and One Life to Live, the Soap Butcher Jill Farren Phelps has placed her friends in high position often ruining such high quality shows. When I was watching Guiding Light, it was at its peak in 1991. They fired the producer and replaced them with Butcher Phelps. She drove Beverlee McKinsey away by overworking her to death. She killed off beloved Ellen Parker's character Maureen. So Parker won an Emmy but the loss was much worse for the audience. On Another World, she killed off Alice Barrett Mitchell's beloved Mary Frances Frame Winthrop in a ridiculous storyline. On One Life to Live, I could only imagine what she did to that show which took years recover. Now she is ruining General Hospital by driving the great John Ingle away to Days Of Our Lives where he received a contract role. I feel sorry and sympathy for Jed Allan because he has a tough act to follow. The Quartermaines used to be the funnest family on television completely. She drove the great Dame Anna Lee away right before her death. Now Kristina Malandro Wagner refuses to return unless she gets a contract for playing Felicia Jones. Why aren't the veterans of this getting the short end of the stick? I bet Gloria Monty is livid over the show getting Best Drama Emmy under Phelps. I know Monty's heart was always in the right place with this show and her last time around wasn't successful as the Luke & Laura days but still, I know Butcher Phelps track record with soaps. Nobody in the real workplace would allow somebody whose cost so much damage to so many people. I am glad that Robin Strasser is speaking against Phelps' known favoritism for certain actors. I am going to single them out now on General Hospital because it would be unfair. But I know after 25 years of watching soaps, I could do a better job to satisfy both fans and the cast and crew. I am sorry but Phelps is just a Soap Opera Butcher to me. I know Guiding Light was great at the time but she made terrible decisions which cost fans. Now Guiding Light might be up for cancellation! the cast and crew took a pay cut to keep the show afloat. Remember Another World! Phelps was there before she jumped ship to One Life To Live. What goes on behind the scenes must be more fascinating than on screen. Guiding Light and Another World were creations of another daytime diva or queen Irna Phillips who would be turning over in her grave if she knew what this woman has done to her children.

Now Phelps is killing off Alan Quartermaine who has been played faithfully by Stuart Damon for 30 years. I'm concerned that she is going to lose one of the show's best attributes, the Quartermaine Family. She and the network practically drove Anna Lee out over a contract dispute. Even with John Ingle's welcome return, the shadow over the show is still different. I don't blame cast members like Leslie Charleson and others for being so vocal about Damon's departure. It's as shocking as it comes. This is what you get when you have somebody like Phelps at the helm.