Michael "Sonny" Corinthos, Jr. is a fictional character on the popular ABC soap opera General Hospital. Maurice Benard has played the role, that of a manic depressive Mob boss living in Port Charles, since the character's storyline originated on August 13, 1993.[1]
Storylines
Michael "Sonny" Corinthos, Jr. is born in the blue-collar Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn. His biological father, Michael Corinthos, Sr., is of Greek and Irish descent, while his mother, Adela, is of Cuban extraction. Due to his gambling problems, Michael, Sr. feels that Sonny would be better off not knowing him. Hence, he divorces Adela and leaves the family, changing his name to Mike Corbin. Adela goes on to marry Deke Woods, a police officer who routinely abuses both her and Sonny. As a teen, Sonny enters into a chaste relationship with Connie Falconeri. He also has a brief sexual relationship with her cousin Olivia Falconeri, who hides the fact that she eventually gives birth to his son, Dante.
Throughout the show's history, Sonny has had numerous relationships, his most notable being with Carly Benson, whom he married four times. Sonny had lost his first wife Lily (who was pregnant at the time) in a car bomb meant for him. His most recent marriage was to Claudia Zacchara, who was murdered on October 29, 2009.
Arrival
In 1993, Sonny Corinthos arrives in town as a minor mafia employee, running a strip club for Frank Smith where he feeds Karen Wexler drugs as a way of keeping her working there. He begins to date Brenda Barrett and befriends Stone Cates, Robin Scorpio, and Luke Spencer.
Brenda, who is more attracted to Sonny than to his mob ties, introduces him to an old Bensonhurst friend, Lois Cerullo, who needed Sonny's money to finance her husband's music career. Fearing that him being there would be a danger to Lois and Ned, Brenda seduces him as a way of keeping him away. Sonny travels to Puerto Rico and informs the locals that Miguel, who Lois needs, is under the protection of Frank Smith's organization. Miguel soon begins flirting with a now-model Brenda, which makes Sonny jealous. The two reconcile after Sonny reveals he was abused as a child. When Luke Spencer kills Frank as a way of protecting Sonny, Sonny informs mob boss Hernando Rivera that he will be taking over the organization, which leads to Rivera kidnapping his daughter Lily Rivera, , Miguel, Sonny and Brenda.
After they are rushed to safety, Sonny plots his next move, pretending to leave the mafia. Due to mafia ties, Sonny and Luke's club is blown up in which that night, Sonny disvoers that Luke's driver, Mike Corbin is actually his father, Michael Corinthos, Sr.. That year, Sonny's friend, Stone Cates is diagnosed with AIDS and helps him and his HIV positive girlfriend, Robin Scorpio. Frank's son, Damian Smith, is revealed to be Joe Scully's silent partner, and the two begin to sabotage shipments belonging to Deception Cosmetics and pressure Luke for hush money. Sonny is reticent to take action against Scully, as he is the man responsible for saving Sonny from his abusive step father. During a confrontation at the docks, Mike is shot, and Sonny kills Scully, who was attempting to finish Mike off. Scully's men vow revenge, attacking Brenda, Luke's family, and Stone.
Lily discovers that Sonny's girlfriend, Brenda is planning on recording Sonny discuss his criminal activities to give to Mac Scorpio. Sonny discovers that this is true and throws Brenda out. Sonny and Lily begin a relationship, though they take things slowly. Sonny also learns that Robin is HIV positive, and Stone dies shortly after this.
After Stone's death, which Sonny illegally paid the hospital bills for, Sonny is arrested, and Lily agrees to reconcile with her father if he helps Sonny stay out of prison. Rivera agrees to help Sonny, but only if he marries Lily. Deciding he can live without love but not without trust, he agrees to marry Lily. Realizing that Sonny still loves Brenda, Lily offers to divorce Sonny, but fearing reprisals, Sonny declines and offers to take her on a second honeymoon. After being trapped in an avalanche at a ski resort on the honeymoon, Brenda and Sonny agree to reconcile but before Sonny could ask Lily for a divorce, she declares her pregnancy. While Jax and Brenda wed, Lily takes Sonny's car keys and starts the car, which activates the bomb planted by Rivera which was meant for Sonny, killing Lily and the baby. Sonny later kills Rivera upon finding out and searches for her first child with Miguel, Juan Santiago. Upon Lily's death, Sonny earns 30 million dollars, which he donated to General Hospital to create a hospital wing in Stone's name.
Jason Morgan, who has suffered brain damage after his brother A.J. Quartermaine injured him while driving drunk, sells Sonny his stock in his family's company, ELQ, and joins the Corinthos-Rivera Organization.
Sonny becomes involved the various intrigues at ELQ, as does Jax who is working with Ned's mother Tracy Quartermaine to take over the company. On Jax and Brenda's re-marriage date, Sonny brings home Jax's undivorced wife, Miranda Jameson. After Jax ditches Brenda, Brenda and Sonny reconcile. When attempting to save Brenda, Sonny is drugged. When Sonny is brought to the hospital, Sonny tells Brenda he loves her. Believing her marriage with Jax can work, she rejects Sonny. Lily's former lover, Harry Silver, arrives in town causes problems for Brenda and Sonny, leading Sonny to kill him. Fearing the mob life is too dangerous for him and Brenda, he offers to marry her and leave town together, but sends Jason to the altar to end things for him, leading her to have a mental breakdown and reconcile with Jax.
Carly Corinthos
Soon after returning to Port Charles and discovering that Brenda had died, Sonny soon engages in hate-sex with Carly Benson, Jason's girlfriend who is married to A.J. Quartermaine. After Jason leaves, Carly discovers that she is pregnant and is being blackmailed by A.J. Sonny, wanting the best for his child, discovers criminal evidence on A.J. and grants Carly a divorce. Carly and Sonny move in together and after Carly suffers a miscarriage, Sonny flies her to his island and begins to be a father figure towards her son, Michael Morgan. As their dislike turns to love, they eventually wed in Summer 2000 as a legal front. After discovering how much they love each other, Sonny and Carly rewed in 2001 in a Caribbean wedding. After discovering the mob life is dangerous, Carly forces Sonny out of the mob. Seeing this as a betrayal, Sonny divorces Carly and sleeps with Alexis Davis.
Sonny and Carly (Tamara Braun), 2002.
Alexis later discovers she's pregnant and claims that her former fiancé, Ned Ashton, is the father of her daughter, Kristina Davis. After almost losing Carly to car accident, they reconcile and Sonny remarries Carly in July 2002. Sonny and Carly are forced with many dilemmas when Courtney Matthews, Sonny's sister, marries A.J. Quartermaine. Soon after, mob rival Luis Alcazar returns with an alive Brenda Barrett, who almost kills Sonny. Although Luis is soon murdered by Alexis Davis, Brenda marries Jason as a way of preventing reconciliation with Sonny or Jax, but the marriage prevented them from testifying against Luis's murder. When Brenda leaves Port Charles, she kisses Sonny, which Carly witnesses and tells Jax, who was planning on remarrying Brenda. Brenda annuls her marriage to Jason and moves to Italy. Sonny and Carly reconnect and are delighted to have a baby, which Carly had difficulty conceiving. Sonny's half-brother Ric is overjoyed when Elizabeth becomes pregnant with their child, but is infuriated when Elizabeth falls down a flight of stairs after Faith Roscoe pushed her, although Sonny is blamed. Desiring a child of his own, Ric kidnaps Carly and traps her in a panic room, taunting her that the child will be raised by him at birth. Lorenzo Alcazar, Luis's brother, later frees Carly but keeps her on a yacht as a way of using leverage against Sonny to transport Sonny. Although Carly escapes, Lorenzo kidnaps a pregnant Courtney, who also escapes, causing her a miscarriage. Sonny is devastated and Courtney is declared infertile, like Carly. After confusing labor pains for torture, Sonny finds Lorenzo over Carly helping her giving birth. Sonny shoots Lorenzo but the bullet lands in Carly's head, causing her to go in to a coma, after giving birth to Morgan Corinthos.
Sam and Sonny start a short-lived relationship that gets more complicated when Sam discovers she is pregnant. Having reunited with Carly, Jason requests that Sam lie about the baby's paternity and she agrees to tell everyone that he is the father instead of Sonny. While trapped in a fire at the Port Charles Hotel, Alexis admits to Carly that Kristina is Sonny's daughter. After Sonny admits that Sam is carrying his child, Carly tells the truth about Kristina. Realizing the depth of both of their deception, the two decide to separate again. When Kristina falls ill, Alexis badgers Sam in an attempt to force the expecting mother to undergo a risky procedure to have her unborn daughter donate stem cells to Kristina. An unrelated medical condition, coincidentally timed with the fight, causes Sam to go into premature labor, and she loses her baby. Unbeknownst to an unconscious Sam, Sonny agrees to donate the stem cells to Kristina.
A.J. Quartermaine, still desperate for a relationship with his son, kidnaps Michael and fakes both of their deaths. When Sonny discovers that Faith also played a part in his son's supposed death, the two have a confrontation that leaves her dead. Carly suffers a breakdown, and is committed to a psychiatric hospital. Michael is eventually returned, and A.J. is killed by a doctor who tries to frame young Michael for it. Sonny briefly enters into a relationship with Jason's sister Emily Quartermaine, who is upset that her husband Nikolas Cassadine has become involved with Sonny's sister Courtney. Courtney is married to Jax, but problems arise from their inability to conceive. Courtney leaves town when she finds she is pregnant and doesn't know if Jax or Nikolas is the father. During this time Emily forces Sonny to confront his bipolar disorder. Fearing for Emily's safety, Sonny stages a kiss with Carly, who has in turn asserted her independence and is starting a business relationship with Jasper Jacks. When a deadly outbreak of encephalitis hits Port Charles, several residents die. Among them is Courtney, who gives birth to John Michael Jacks/Spencer Cassadine right before her death. Sonny and Emily attempt a relationship in secret, but when their relationship goes public, Sonny, fearing changes from his bipolar medication and for her safety, again ends things. Sonny still in love with ex-wife Carly discovers Jax and Carly become engaged, though she is disappointed when he leaves town to help his wayward brother Jerry Jacks. Preying on this, Sonny is caught in a legal dilemma when Carly witnesses him shoot Lorenzo Alcazar in self-defense, and forces her to marry him temporarily. While attending a party at the hotel she owns with Jax, Carly and several other Port Charles residences are taken hostage by the mysterious Jerry Jacks. Sonny declares his love for Carly, and when the two survive the hostage crisis, they make love. Sonny is heart broken when Carly divorces him and marries Jax right after their divorce was finalized.
Sonny immediately began to see Kate Howard , a high profile magazine editor, in July 2007 who was really an old friend from Bensonhurst, Connie Falconeri, that Sonny dated. The two fall in love, which Carly despises. Trevor Lansing, Sonny's former step-father, arrives in town with Anthony Zacchara, who causes problems to many of the residence. Fearing Zacchara is a murder, Sonny sends his kids to live with Carly. Unfortunately, Diego Alcazar murders Emily in retaliation for the deaths of Luis and Lorenzo, in which Sonny is devastated. Kate, fearing this is her fate, rejects Sonny's marriage proposal, which leads him to sleep with Claudia Zacchara. As Sonny's 12-year-old son, Michael, is starting to act like a mobster, he accidentally shoots Kate Howard. Kate doesn't press charges and as a way of showing that his life can live without the mob, Sonny brings Kate and Michael to a warehouse, but when a gunman, hired by Claudia (for Sonny keeping Johnny kidnapped falsely) aims for Sonny, the bullet hits Michael, landing him in a permanent coma and causing Sonny to sign his paternal rights away to Carly. Carly and Sonny have a one night stand, in which Kate finds out and the two break-up, only to reconcile and get engaged for an October wedding. Kate is shocked when Sonny brings her cousin Olivia Falconeri to town to be her maid of honor. Before the two can marry, Anthony Zacchara shoots Kate and frames Russian mobster Andrei Karpov for the deed. Sonny immediately wants revenge, and is furious that Jason won't act on his behalf. Sonny begins to feel the pressure of not having mafia backed power, and ends things with Kate who is still recovering from her wounds.
Marriage to Claudia
Claudia Zacchara and Sonny Corinthos, 2008.
Anthony offers Sonny control of his business if Sonny marries Claudia. Sonny agrees, much to Kate's disgust and dismay. Sonny is able to kill Karpov, and uses Carly as an alibi when questioned, causing Jax to leave her yet again. When Jerry Jacks, who knows of Claudia's culpability in Michael's shooting, begins sending her DVDs incriminating her, Kate, Olivia, Jax, and Ric each discover a DVD, but only Ric tells Sonny after he raped Claudia. Due to Jerry erasing the DVDs, Ric had no proof but the marriage was strained. Claudia told Sonny that she discovered that her father, Anthony, and Ric teamed up to kill Kate so that eventually Anthony can lure Sonny in. Claudia and Sonny find their marriage is actually working, and the two begin to make love.
When Claudia realizes that Jason could learn the truth about her involvement in Michael's shooting, Claudia steps up her physical relationship with Sonny, hoping a child could save her life. Claudia succeeds at getting pregnant, and Sonny is dismayed to learn that Carly is also pregnant with Jax's child and could easily die due to health complications. When Michael wakes up from his coma, Sonny is thrilled and fights with Carly to have Michael live with him due to her health. Claudia supports him and Michael moves in temporarily but due to a confrontation with a hired Zacchara soldier, Dominic Pirelli, Carly moves Michael in with the Quartermaines, which causes Sonny grief. Sonny discovers that Claudia is actually carrying his child and later regrets it when she is in a car accident and miscarries their son. On September 8, 2009 Edward is drugged and drives his car into the carnival, putting his family at risk.
Sonny and Claudia plan on having another child in October 2009. On October 19, 2009, Claudia and Sonny attend a mob meeting in Puerto Rico where Claudia holds her own in a confrontation. Impressed, Sonny hires Carly to set up a lavish birthday party for Claudia on October 29 at the Metro Court. Unfortunately, Jason comes to him right before the party with evidence that proves Claudia got Michael shot.
At the party, Sonny angrily confronts Claudia in front of all the guests about how she got his son shot. This results in Claudia taking Carly hostage at gunpoint. Sonny goes over to Carly's house to take Michael and Morgan back, but they say they want to be there when their mom comes home. Jax comes over later when Olivia is at Sonny's house and informs Sonny that Michael is missing. Sonny starts getting into an argument with Jax when Jason calls him and tells him to come to a cabin on the side of the highway. There, Sonny finds out Michael found Carly and killed Claudia when she tried to take his baby sister, Josslyn. Sonny takes Michael home, telling him that he did the right thing by protecting his family and killing Claudia. Jason covers up the murder by burning the cabin and burying Claudia's body. Sonny works to help Michael cope with what he has done.
Michael is not able to handle coping, and ends up getting into fights and getting pulled over for drinking and driving. Sonny takes his car away when Michael gets arrested for drunk driving. Michael is not the only one of Sonny's children who's having problems. Kristina was there when Sonny ripped into Claudia and breaks off her relationship with her father, as a result. Michael finally admits to Carly that he never meant to kill Claudia, just stop her from taking Josslyn. Sonny is able to help Michael believe that he does what is best for his family.
Another threat, though, comes in the form of Franco, an artist who comes to Port Charles and is obsessed with Jason. He ends up stealing Claudia's body When Kristina finds out that her sister, Sam, has been kidnapped, this is the final straw that leads her to say that she wants nothing to do with her father anymore. Sonny later tells Olivia how he feels like he's not been a good father, but Olivia assures him that his role as a father is one thing that makes him a good person.[2]
Franco ends up kidnapping Sam, Carly, and Lulu. Carly is rescued, but Jason works with Dominic to race to rescue both Lulu and Sam. The four of them escape, but in the aftermath of the explosion set by Franco, the police find Claudia's body, and Jason and Sonny scramble to protect Michael. The police find evidence that puts Sonny at the scene of the crime. Sonny figures his lawyer can probably argue that the credibility of the evidence is questionable and does not worry about it.
Dante
In January 2010, Sonny decides to make Dominic heir to the Corinthos organization. Michael overhears this, and is furious with Sonny for not entrusting him the business. When he storms off in a rage, he comes upon a conversation between Dominic and Johnny, which reveals that Dominic is actuall an undercover cop. Michael immediately informs Sonny, but Sonny is skeptical, because of Michael's grudge against Dominic. However, he has Jason check out if it is a possibility that what Michael is saying is true. Sonny is then informed, through Spinelli, that Dominic had handed in evidence to PCPD that Sonny murdered Claudia.
Sonny is furious and outraged, and immediately makes plans with Jason to get rid of Dominic and make it look like an accident. On January 29, 2010, Carly schedules Josslyn's christening and Sonny plans to attend and send Dominic on an errand where he will meet his end. Unfortunately, Dominic sees right through the job and calls Sonny on his bluff. He arrests Sonny on the spot in his house, but Sonny pulls out a gun and shoots Dominic. Right after Sonny guns him down, Olivia bursts into to the room and screams when she sees Dominic lying on the floor. She runs to help him, panicked and distressed, and yells at Sonny, "You just shot your own son!"[3] Sonny is shocked when he realizes that Dominic is actually Dante Falconeri, Olivia's son, as well as Sonny's. He thinks initially that Olivia is making the fact up to protect her son, but she firmly tells him that he is Dante's father, having kept the secret since she initially became pregnant when she was 15. Sonny is then arrested by Ronnie DiMestico for Claudia's murder. Initially planning on running out of town, Sonny decides to remain in Port Charles.
Sonny is put on trial for killing Claudia in April 2010. Before a verdict is delivered, Dante tells the courtroom that it was indeed Michael who bludgeoned Claudia to death. Michael was originally sentenced to 5 years in prison but in June 2010, Dante liberated Michael from prison under the condition that Michael be emancipated from Sonny. To keep Claire Walsh distracted, Sonny teams up with her to take out Johnny. Sonny and Claire's business relationship blossoms in to a relationship that resembles Sonny and Carly's relationship from 1999 to 2000. Johnny and Kristina begin to fake date to make Sonny jealous. Sonny had installed a car bomb in Johnny's car but when it detenated, Kristina was nearly caught in the cross fire.