General Hospital: 60 Years of Stars & Storytelling is a primetime special about the ABC soap opera General Hospital. The special aired on Thursday, January 4, 2024 at 10 PM and celebrated the 60th anniversary of the soap opera.
Maurice Benard, Jane Elliot, Genie Francis, Finola Hughes, Kelly Monaco, Laura Wright are joined by other cast members like Emma Samms, Stephen A. Smith, Rick Springfield, and Amber Tamblyn, and guests like Val Chmerkovskiy who had a cameo on GH and reunited with Dancing with the Stars partner Kelly Monaco who plays Sam McCall.
The event concluded with Laura Wright and Kelly Monaco announcing Steve Burton's return to General Hospital as Jason Morgan.
Recap[]
The special was introduced by Morgan Fairchild (Haven de Havilland) and Donna Mills (Madeline Reeves), who congratulated General Hospital on 60 years. Clips showing prominent events from 1963 was featured and concluded in the introduction of General Hospital on April 1. Then, the history of the original-run of GH was shared along with clips highlighting the beginning with Dr. Steve Hardy (John Beradino) and Nurse Jessie Brewer (Emily McLaughlin).
John Stamos was featured in the next segment as he recapped his history on the show as Blackie Parrish. A clip of Blackie with Tiffany Donely from 1982 was shown.
Laura Wright (Carly Spencer) closed out the Blackie segment and encouraged viewers to stay turned for more fun to come.
In an intermediate clip, Kelly Monaco (Sam McCall) is seen practicing a dance routine with her former, Dancing with the Stars partner, Val Chmerkovskiy. Finola Hughes interrupts them to share that the dance number had been cancelled and Chmerkovskiy hilariously drops Monaco.
Next, James Patrick Stuart (Valentin Cassadine) is seen giving a nominee introduction as if he is at the Daytime Emmys. He introduces Stephen A. Smith (Brick), who gives a mock Emmy acceptance speech. Smith shares his history as a viewer of GH and talks about the many Emmys the show has received. Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) joins, followed by Rena Sofer (Lois Cerullo), Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) and Laura Wright, who all share how many Emmys they personally have.
In the next segment, Emma Samms (Holly Sutton) appears from her home in England to congratulate GH on 60 years. She shares one of her favorite memorable moments, a clip of Robert Scorpio and Holly Sutton from 1983. Samms then highlights some of the famous faces that were a part of GH history, including: Elizabeth Taylor, Rick Springfield, Bryan Cranston, Demi Moore, Richard Dean Anderson, James Franco and Amber Tamblyn.
This segues into a clip of Dr. Alan Quartermaine and Emily Quartermaine from 1995. In the clip, Alan shares with Emily what it's like to be a part of the crazy Quartermaine family. Tamblyn, who played Emily from 1995 to 2001, appears next and shares stories from her time on the show. She details the rich history of the Quartermaine family, which includes a slide show of photos. She also sent a special shout-out to the late, Stuart Damon (Dr. Alan Quartermaine) and Rebecca Herbst (Nurse Elizabeth Baldwin) who played Emily's best friend and continues on the show to this day. A clip of Alan and Dr. Monica Quartermaine discussing adoption with Emily is shown next.
The Quartermaine family segment ends with Jane Elliot (Tracy Quartermaine), Wally Kurth (Ned Quartermaine), Rena Sofer (Lois Cerullo) and Lisa LoCicero (Olivia Quartermaine) recounting more Quartermaine history, including the romances. Clips of other prominent GH families including the Hardy family, Scorpio family and Corinthos family are shown, followed by several clips of Ned Quartermaine and Lois Cerullo. A clip from 1980 of Tracy withholding her father, Edward Quartermaine's medication when he is having a heart attack is also shown, showing how complicated relationships are part of the Quartermaine family dynamic.
The next segment begins with Chandra Wilson walking The Nurses' Ball red carpet as her character, Sydney Val Jean. She talks about her history on the show and some of the most memorable Nurses' Ball performances. She is joined by Donnell Turner (Curtis Ashford) who talks about Curtis' recent paralysis storyline. They are then joined by Dominic Zamprogna (Det. Dante Falconeri) and Josh Swickard (Det. Harrison Chase) who share stories of their experiences with the Nurses' Ball.
In the next segment, Tanisha Harper (Deputy Mayor Jordan Ashford) introduces Maurice Benard and Nancy Lee Grahn who talk about the important social issues and medical stories that GH has tackled over the years. A clip from 1963 of Dr. Steve Hardy treating a woman whose face has been disfigured was shown. They also discussed Benard's experience with playing a manic depressive character when he also personally struggles with bi-polar disorder. A clip from 2013 of Sonny Corinthos and Carly Spencer addressing Sonny taking his bi-polar medication is shown. Mike Corbin's struggle with Alzheimer's disease was also highlighted and they were joined by Max Gail, followed by clips of Mike and Sonny from that storyline.
Laura Wright and Stephen A. Smith begin the next segment by thanking the fans for always watching and supporting. They introduce Cameron Mathison (Congressman Drew Quartermaine) and Lynn Herring (Lucy Coe) who are at the Kelly's set with a group of fans including Sheryl Underwood. Underwood, who is a huge fan of the show, congratulates GH on 60 years and thanks them for keeping fans entertained. Josh Swickard and Tanisha Harper end the fan segment with video clips of well-wishes from famous fans including, Michael Strahan, Robin Roberts, Jon Batiste, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Molly Shannon and John Stamos, who shares a story about his time with Sammy Davis Jr. on GH.
Rebecca Herbst begins the next segment wearing a wedding dress from the 2005 wedding of Lucky Spencer and Elizabeth Webber. She talks about the various weddings and celebrations on GH, none more famous than the 1981 wedding of Luke Spencer and Laura Webber. A clip of Luke and Laura's wedding ceremony is shown. Tristan Rogers (Robert Scorpio) talks about being Luke's best man at the wedding and other memorable moments. A clip of Elizabeth Taylor as Helena Cassadine cursing Luke and Laura on their wedding day is shown.
Rogers also recounts his own character's wedding to Cmmr. Anna Devane and he is joined by Finola Hughes. A clip from Robert and Anna's 1985 wedding is shown. Kristina Wagner (Felicia Scorpio) appears next as she recounts her character's wedding to Frisco Jones (Jack Wagner). Wagner is also wearing her character's wedding dress from that day. A clip from Frisco Jones and Felicia Cummings 1986 wedding is shown. Lynn Herring joins wearing the red dress from Lucy's wedding to Alan Quartermaine.
Cynthia Watros (Nina Reeves) and Maura West (Ava Jerome) introduce the bloopers segment of the special which featured many clips of Kin Shriner (Scott Baldwin). Donnell Turner, Dominic Zampronga and Jon Lindstrom (Dr. Kevin Collins) end the bloopers segment.
Rick Springfield (Dr. Noah Drake) begins the next segment recounting his time on the show and sharing a moving tribute to the late Jacklyn Zeman (Nurse Bobbie Spencer). A clip of Noah and Bobbie from 1981 is shown.
The special concludes with several GH stars walking through various sets and sharing what makes the show so special and resonate with the audience. The actors appeared in the following order: Laura Wright, Nancy Lee Grahn, Dominic Zampronga, Jane Elliot, Finola Hughes, Kelly Monaco, Maurice Benard, Rebecca Herbst, Rena Sofer, Jon Lindstrom, Maura West, and Donnell Turner. This leads up to showing the whole cast in the Nurses' Station hub with Genie Francis (Mayor Laura Collins) at the front of the group. She gives a small speech and everyone raises a toast to 60 years of General Hospital followed by balloons dropping from the ceiling and the cast celebrating.
The final scene of the special shows a set with three doors. Laura Wright enters through the first door and says, "You know what they say, when one door closes..." Kelly Monaco enters from the last door and finishes with "another door opens." The middle door opens and Steve Burton walks out. He congratulates GH on 60 years and tells fans to stay tuned because "big things are coming to Port Charles." This scene confirmed Burton's return to the series as Jason Morgan.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Laura Wright and Kelly Monaco announce Steve Burton's return to General Hospital.
When One Door Closes - General Hospital Promo (January 4th, 2024)