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General Hospital

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For the ITV soap opera which ran from 1972 to 1979, see General Hospital (UK TV series).
General Hospital
File:General-hospital-siren.jpg
Created byFrank Hursley and Doris Hursley
Production
Executive producerJill Farren Phelps
Original release
NetworkABC, SOAPnet
ReleaseApril 1, 1963

General Hospital is the longest-running daytime soap opera on the American ABC television network, and is also the longest-running soap opera produced in Hollywood (having been taped at the Prospect Avenue ABC Television Center West and Sunset-Gower Studios).

Set in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York, the show debuted on April 1, 1963, the same day that rival network NBC launched its own medical soap opera, The Doctors. The show originally aired for a half-hour until the network expanded it to 45 minutes in 1976, and then to an hour in 1978. The serial was created by soap writers Frank and Doris Hursley, a husband-and-wife team.

The show is often credited for starting several trends in the soap opera genre in the 1980s, most notably that of the supercouple and fast-paced action-adventure plotlines that were remarkably different from the more traditional domestic and social issues that had been the sole focus of most soap operas during the previous decades. In 2003, when the show celebrated its 40th anniversary, TV Guide named it "The Greatest Soap Opera of All Time."

History, Plot Development, and Cast

The 1960s and 1970s

The first stories were mainly set at a hospital in Port Charles, a fictional New York town, and revolved around manly doctor Steve Hardy (John Beradino) and his nurse Jessie Brewer (Emily McLaughlin). Steve was Chief of Internal Medicine on the hospital's seventh floor and dedicated his life to healing and caring for the sick, ably assisted by Nurse Jessie. Jessie's turbulent marriage to the much-younger Dr. Phil Brewer (most notably played by Roy Thinnes) was the center of many early storylines. Over the years, Phil became renowned for his philandering, with Jessie constantly forgiving her errant husband for his affairs. The seemingly never-ending cycle of separation and reconciliation between the two finally ended in 1974, when Dr. Phil Brewer was murdered.

Another nurse, Lucille March (Lucille Wall), brought her sister, flight attendant Audrey (Rachel Ames) to town; slowly but surely, she romanced Dr. Hardy, eventually marrying him three times. While there was no overt tension, Jessie was disappointed as there had always been an air of sexual tension between her and Steve. It was never acted upon, as they remained close friends until Jessie (and actress Emily McLaughlin) died in 1991. Steve Hardy himself died five years later when his portrayer, John Beradino died in 1996.

The show was glacially paced and low-rated in the earlier years, save for one relatively high-rated and fast-paced plot in 1971. In this storyline, Audrey was accused of murdering her son's babysitter and General Hospital was briefly elevated to the number one position, beating longtime ratings giant As the World Turns. However, the success was short-lived. Due to relatively easygoing choices in storyline, the show almost always lost out to rival medical soap The Doctors, which was considered by many to be more daring. Although TIME noted that the acting performances were decent, an article on the soap genre, in 1976, panned General Hospital's minimal budget for settings and props," calling it "not unlike a high school production," and noting that the serial's only saving grace was in the form of Dr. Lesley Webber (played by Denise Alexander).

1978-1989 (The Golden Years)

Faced with cancellation threats in 1978, ABC brass brought on Gloria Monty as Executive Producer. Monty had much experience in the genre from directing The Secret Storm for years. Under her tutelage, and the headwriting stints of Douglas Marland (who created longtime staples the Quartermaine family and Bobbie and Luke Spencer) and Pat Falken Smith, General Hospital bounced back from the brink and subsequently became the highest-rated American soap opera from 1979 to 1988. Monty stayed as Executive Producer until 1987, only to return briefly from 1991 to 1992, in a widely panned tenure during which she was accused of no longer being in touch with the daytime audience. Monty was replaced with the equally controversial Wendy Riche.

File:Lukeandlaura.jpg
Luke and Laura, in a still from General Hospital.

When Douglas Marland objected to a planned storyline that had called for the virtuous Lesley Webber to cheat on her husband with David Hamilton, Marland was challenged to come up with an even better idea. As a result, Lesley rejected David's advances and the enraged suitor began sleeping with her sixteen-year-old daughter Laura (Genie Francis) instead. This torrid affair culminated in Laura killing her older lover after discovering that he was only using her to get back at her mother. This storyline was successful and as a result, Laura became a major focus of the show. Laura's subsequent storyline, a love triangle involving her with Scotty Baldwin and Bobbie Spencer, was also a success, but soon the success of both stories would be overshadowed by a phenomenon that very few expected, when Laura crossed paths with Bobbie's brother Luke Spencer.

The supercouple pairing of Luke and Laura would eventually become the most popular storyline in GH's history (and arguably soap opera history, as well). Their wedding in November 16, 1981 was the highest-rated episode of any daytime soap opera in the United States, with more than 30 million viewers. They were so popular even movie star Elizabeth Taylor wanted in on the action (she guest-starred as Helena Cassadine, and adorned People magazine with Anthony Geary). Luke and Laura's relationship was not without some controversy, as Luke had raped Laura in 1979. Laura was traumatized and went to counseling, but after her popularity with Luke flourished, she claimed the rape was "seduction." In 1998 the issue was revisited and Laura finally admitted to herself that Luke had raped her.

The show has also created other popular pairings in Holly Sutton and Robert Scorpio (Emma Samms and Tristan Rogers) as well as Duke Lavery and Anna Devane (Ian Buchanan and Finola Hughes), and the show's focus began to drift away from the original hospital setting onto a series of action/adventure plots, most of which were highly successful with the show's audience.

During this period, General Hospital also became known to feature plots that have been widely considered preposterous. For example, the town of Port Charles was going to be placed under a deep freeze by maniacal Mikkos Cassadine; luckily, Luke and Laura saved the town just in time. Several years later Robin Scorpio befriended Casey Rogers, an alien from the planet Lumina.

1990-1999 (Time of Transition and the Second Golden Age)

In the 1990s, the show entered a transitional phase as the action/adventure storylines of the 1980s became less popular. During this period, the show lost major stars such as Finola Hughes (Anna Devane) and Tristan Rogers (Robert Scorpio), and the much-heralded return of Anthony Geary as Luke's identical cousin Bill Eckert in 1991 was seen as a failure.

Eventually, in 1993, Anthony Geary would reprise his famous role of Luke Spencer, along with Genie Francis who reprised her role as Luke's wife Laura Spencer. Along with the reprisal of Luke and Laura came the addition of their ten year old son, Lucky Spencer, played by newcomer Jonathan Jackson. This marked the beginning of a creative renaissance for the show. Through the efforts of Riche and headwriter Claire Labine, the show gained critical acclaim for its sensitive handling of social issues, most notable of which were the heart transplant storyline which involved the death of eight-year-old BJ Jones (daughter of Dr. Tony & Tanya Jones and step-daugther of nurse Bobbie Spencer) in a bus crash and the subsequent donation of her heart to her dying cousin Maxie Jones, Monica Quartermaine (Leslie Charleson)'s bout with breast cancer. The beautiful but tragic love story of teenagers Stone Cates (Michael Sutton) and Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), which was shortened by Stone's death from AIDS; at the age of 19 and followed by storylines in which Robin had to deal with being HIV-positive as a result of her and Stone's relationship and moving on with her life after his death. Sutton was nominated for an Outstanding Supporting Actor Emmy and MccCullogh won an Outstanding Younger Actress Emmy for that storyline. The show kept most of the popularity it held for most of the 1980s, and a long-rumored spinoff (which was tentatively titled GH2) materialized in 1997 into the half-hour soap Port Charles.

Problems began to arise again around 1994 and1995, when the show lost more than a million viewers. All the soaps lost ground at this time, but particular scrutiny was placed upon General Hospital for the succession of grim stories involving BJ, Monica, and Stone. As a result, they dropped plans to give Audrey Hardy Alzheimer's Disease.

From 1993 to1997 the show produced what many consider the last major supercouple (in terms of popularity) on daytime television, in the form of mobster Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and the outgoing Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil). The hot couple's passion and heartbreak kept viewers glued to every episode like Luke and Laura did a decade before. Later, Brenda's relationship with corporate raider Jasper "Jax" Jacks (Ingo Rademacher) gave the show the hottest love triangle in the its history. However, the departure of Marcil in 1999 and in 2002 dealt the creative team at General Hospital a major blow. The relationship between Sonny and Brenda was the one constant in the regime of Claire Labine (who left in early 1996). Labine was also known for her tragic stories, the most famous of which was the one with a child's death. Killing off a soap child is never an easy storyline, but when BJ Jones's school bus crashed and her heart was given to ailing cousin Maxie, there was no denying how it shattered characters and viewers alike. From Tony laying his head on Maxie’s chest to hear his little girl's heart beating in his niece's chest, to Felicia dropping to her knees in the hall as she realized whose death had facilitated her daughter's survival. The anguish has stood the test of time and never lost its pulse, those moments are truly classic.

The second major storyline of the 1990s occurred in 1998, with the revisit of Luke Spencer's long ago rape of his now-wife Laura (Genie Francis). Headwriter Bob Guza decided that Luke (Anthony Geary) and his son Lucky (Jonathan Jackson) needed to have a major wedge driven between them, and out of this came the idea that Lucky would find out about his father had raped his mother. The storyline also featured what many consider the last great young love story on the show; which is the love story of Lucky Spencer and Elizabeth Webber (known on the net as L&L2, in a homage to Lucky's parents.) Lucky found Elizabeth, a victim of rape, in the park, and out of their close friendship eventually blossomed into a pure, powerful romance. Lucky wanted nothing to do with his parents when his half-brother, Nikolas Cassadine (Tyler Christopher), revealed the rape. The ensuing storyline won Emmys for Jackson, Geary, the writers, the directors, and the show. The nine-minute monologue Luke deliverers to Lucky, telling him about the night of the rape (without commercial interruption) is considered one of the greatest moments in soap history.

Bob Guza became headwriter in 1996 and zeroed in on the mob and the popularity of Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard). Guza came and went several times, returning for good in 2002. Riche left in early 2001 and was replaced by Jill Farren Phelps.

2000-2004 (The New Millennium)

At the beginning of the new millennium, Sonny Corinthos would gain a new love interest in the form of Carly Roberts after previous efforts to pair him up after the departure of his longtime love interest Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil) who "died" in 1998, failed. The popularity of the Sonny and Carly coupling remained even after Carly's original portrayer, Sarah Brown left the show in 2001 and was replaced by Tamara Braun. Eventually though, the enormous amount of airtime that the duo (along with those in their immediate circle) received only served to polarize the audience. In particular, criticism was leveled at the amount of airtime that was devoted to the various mob storylines that these characters were involved in.

GH aired its 10,000th episode on April 17, 2002, with an episode that revolved around the show's only remaining original character, Audrey Hardy, celebrating her 10,000th shift as a nurse at the hospital. The episode was notable for showcasing much of GH's long history in a series of clips and montages, but shortly afterwards, the show would soon be accused of forgetting its history and veteran characters.

Trouble had been brewing for quite some time (due to the increasing amount of focus on Sonny and the mob), but it really became apparent after the abrupt departure of Genie Francis in 2002 under somewhat controversial circumstances. However, ratings remained stable after Francis' departure and even climbed because Vanessa Marcil returned as Brenda Barrett in a five-month stint which lasted into the early months of 2003.

In 2003, after more than 35 years, Rachel Ames, who played Audrey Hardy, was taken off contract and removed from the opening credits, angering many longtime viewers. Around the same time, Brad Maule (Tony Jones) and Shell Kepler (Amy Vining) were also taken off contract. In 2004 Anna Lee was moved to recurring status after 25 years as Lila Quartermaine (Lee died soon after and some fans held the show responsible). At the same time, John Ingle, who had played Lila's husband, was fired from the show after landing the role of Mickey Horton on Days of Our Lives, and he was replaced by Jed Allan. Kin Shriner was also let go, despite the fact that he had been with the show on and off since 1977. Other characters, such as Bobbie Spencer (Jacklyn Zeman) and Felicia Jones (Kristina Wagner) became little more than extras, in spite of their years of popularity with fans.

Perhaps the most intense storyline of this period was the Port Charles Hotel fire, which killed Cameron Lewis, Zander Smith's father. We later find out that Zander started the fire to cover up a murder he committed in the hotel's basement.

2005 (A Memorable Year)

2005 would get off to a controversial start after one of the show's more controversial young heroines, Emily Quatermaine, was brutally raped by Connor Bishop in scenes that were quite graphic. Adding controversy to the storyline was the fact that Connor just happened to look exactly like Emily's husband, Nikolas Cassadine. Connor was soon shot and killed by Emily.

In the spring of 2005, Emmy-nominated actress Tamara Braun left the role of Carly Corinthos, a role she had garnered praise for since she took over the role from three-time Emmy winner, Sarah Brown, in 2001. After Braun's exit, the show began a controversial storyline in which Carly's son, Michael (Dylan Cash), supposedly killed his biological father, A.J. Quartermaine (Billy Warlock). The image of a nine-year-old murderer may have contributed to a decline in ratings as well as Braun's exit from the series as the show fell behind CBS Daytime's As the World Turns and tying or barely beating the other less-hyped ABC soaps. The storyline then quieted down and ended, with the eventual reveal that it was Michael's therapist, Dr. Asher Thomas, who was the real murderer. This storyline raised conflict because fans felt that it "rewrote history" related to AJ's drunk-driving incident which led to Jason's brain damage. The show then ran on to show a successful comedic storyline involving Luke Spencer getting Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Elliot) drunk and than marrying her.

In May 2005, Kristina Wagner was fired and replaced with former Another World star Sandra Ferguson. Maxie was also recast with former Days of our Lives star Kirsten Storms taking over for Robyn Richards. This raised conflict because of the revisit to a major storyline, "BJ's heart" with two new actresses trying to act like they were the old ones. The storyline ended in Maxie keeping BJ's heart and her sister Georgie (Lindze Letherman) recovering from her brain hemorrhage.

After Tamara Braun left the series, the role of Carly was recast with former One Life to Live star, Jennifer Bransford. Despite critical acclaim, fan reaction was mixed, and she was let go when Guiding Light star Laura Wright became available. Longtime archrival of Carly, Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), returned to town to help h former lover and longtime best friend of Carly, Jason Morgan (Steve Burton), regain his memory.

One storyline that did prove to be a definite hit with viewers during this rocky period was the October 2005 wedding of Lucky Spencer and Elizabeth Webber after an eight-year-long courtship and many ups and downs in their relationships. This was despite the fact that Lucky had had two recasts since Lucky and Liz first became popular. Jonathan Jackson had originally played the role of Lucky, but exited the role in 1999. Jacob Young took over the part in 2000 and he in turn was succeeded in the role by Lucky's current portrayer, Greg Vaughan, in 2003.

The fall of 2005 saw storylines that consisted of Carly's mental breakdown, which culminated in Carly being sent off to a psychiatric hospital for a month.

There was also the mystery of who was drugging college girls such as Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms) and Brooke Lynn Ashton (Adrianne Leon) and taking nude pictures of them. The stalker turned out to be Diego Alcazar (Ignacio Serricchio), Lorenzo Alcazar's (Ted King) long-lost son. Diego's motive was apparently his need to avenge the death of his cousin Sage (Katie Stuart). Diego was sent to prison.

Lucas Jones (Ben Hogestyn), son of veterans Bobbie Spencer and Tony Jones also made a comeback. This would prove to be a significant event in GH's history because Lucas soon revealed that he was gay, thus making him the first significant homosexual character on the program. While there had been gay characters on the show before, such as schoolteacher Mr. Murty and wedding coordinator Elton, they had been merely minor characters. Lucas was at first reluctant to come out, he told his cousin Georgie but no one else for months, but was eventually forced to come out to his mother after he was the victim of a hate crime.

Courtney Matthews (Alicia Leigh Willis) discovered that she was pregnant with her estranged husband Jasper "Jax"Jack's (Ingo Rademacher) child, despite being in love with Nikolas Cassadine (Tyler Christopher). Courtney would die in February 2006 of a rare strain of encephalitis after giving birth to her son, John Michael. Minute before she died Jax revealed that the child is in fact Nikolas's, she died before she could tell him. Jax decided to keep John's paternity a secret. After Jax and Carly kept him in the dark for weeks, Nikolas finally learned from Robin Scorpio(who was told by her cousin Maxie, who found out accidently) at baby John's chrsitening that John is in fact his son, and he claimed him immediately.

November 2005 saw a major disaster storyline involving a train collision and major real-life drama. This storyline involved much of the canvas and was GH's sole focus for several weeks during the important sweeps period. During this storyline, Alexis Davis and her estranged husband Ric Lansing gave birth to their baby girl in an antique train car via a c-section performed by Robin Scorpio and Emily Quatermaine. They named her Molly after the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown, a Titanic survivor, they also agreed to work on their marriage. Lucky Spencer survived a near-fatal hit by a sharp metal impaling him. The new Carly (Laura Wright) was introduced and then fought villain Manny Ruiz and escaped the crash. Reese Marshall (Kari Wuhrer) was the only major character to die in this storyline. Wuhrer, a relative newcomer to the show, having only joined in February 2005, was let go due to lacking storyline between stars Maurice Benard and Rick Hearst. Wuhrer later decided to sue for discrimination, claiming that her pregnancy was the cause of her dismissal.

Rick Springfield, who had played Dr. Noah Drake during the 1980s, was recently tapped to reprise his role for four episodes in December 2005. His brief stint proved quite popular with fans of the show and was extended for a longer run. We found out that he had a son, Patrick, who is also a doctor, and that his wife (Patrick's mother) had died on the operating table with him (Noah) as the surgeon. That caused him to quit being a doctor and go into a downward spiral into alcholism and that father and son had been estranged for quiet some time. It appears that his successful return, combined with the successful return of Kimberly McCullough as Dr. Robin Scorpio, has inspired GH producers to revisit the past. Shortly afterwards, it was announced that Tristan Rogers (Robert Scorpio) would return for a six-week run.

2006 (The Present)

2006 would begin with Emily's departure from Sonny's residence, even though they both realize that they have feelings for each other. Courtney leaves town after a breakdown because she thought Nikolas still had feelings for his ex-wife Emily.

Luke left town for the Markaam Islands after being hunted by the cops for "Tracy's murder," and after Tracy turned up alive, Luke returned to Port Charles--with a virus that would cause an epidemic in Port Charles!

January 27 marked the return of longtime soap veteran Tristan Rogers as Robert Scorpio, a stranger hunting Luke. Robert returned to Port Charles to help solve the mystery of a rare case of encephalitis, brought to the town by Luke. His daughter, Robin, was shocked when she came face to face with her "dead" father. Robert puts the Hospital under quarantine in order to contain the disease. Many of the shows prime characters would be stricken with the disease including Dillon, Sam, Sonny, Skye, Alexis, Nikolas, Luke, Lucky, Ric, Lulu, Courtney, Carly, Robin, Jesse, and Tony. It was found out that the disease was man-made. Jason and Carly, with a little help, ultimately found the cure, but too late to save beloved characters Dr. Tony Jones and Courtney Matthews, both of whom died. On February 10, Tony Jones died with his son Lucas, his ex-wife, Bobbie Spencer, and his ex-brother-in-law, Luke Spencer, by his side. BJ, his daughter that had died a decade before, came to get him. His last words were, "I'm dying happy." Dr. Patrick Drake came running in with a vile of antidote just seconds after Tony died. Lucas was glad that he had told his father he was gay before died and that he had accepted it. On February 21, Courtney Matthews died after giving birth to her first child, a son she named John Michael, with Jax watching and Nikolas by her side. Minutes before her death, she was informed by Jax that the child was really Nikolas's. She was mad at Jax but found it in herself to forgive him. She wanted to tell Nikolas about him being her baby's father, but she died before she could. Her last words were, "I love you, Nikolas."

Sam McCall's brother, and only living relative, Danny, also perished in the crisis; Sam blamed Alexis for not giving up the antidote in order for Danny to be saved, claiming she gave up her baby girl to save Alexis's daughter Kristina. You must add a |reason= parameter to this Cleanup template – replace it with {{Cleanup|section|reason=<Fill reason here>}}, or remove the Cleanup template.

On February 20, longtime GH veteran Emma Samms returned temporarily, as the second and presumed-dead wife of Robert Scorpio, Holly Sutton. Holly had the antidote, she disguised her voice on the phone, called the hospital, and offered it for a million dollars a bottle. Holly was eventually found by her ex-husband Robert and ex-lover Luke and was taken to jail.

Danny's final words to Sam: "I am so happy that mom and dad picked you to be my sister," Sam didn't understand the cryptic remark, but Jason understood that Sam might have been adopted as an infant. Alexis revealed to Ric that she had given birth to a daughter when she was a 16-year-old boarding school student and gave her up for adoption on May 11, 1980--Sam's birthday! Later Sam and Jason were shocked to realize that Alexis was indeed Sam's biological mother. The only question is, who is Sam's biological father?

In May, Robert, Luke, and Holly all went off to the Markaam Islands. They were soon followed by Robin, Patrick, Lulu, and Dillion, than much to everyone's surprise, none other than Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) came climbing down a latter from a helicopter. Robin was surprised but happy to see her mother. Robert and Anna came face to face for the first time in years and Anna, being the super spy she is, karate choped him to the ground and yelled at him for lying all these years. After watching them bicker Robin questioned if her parents ever loved each other. They said that they did and always will but they just can't be together.They also said that they've done a lot amazing things together but the most amazing was having Robin, and sort of peace settled among them.

As of late June 2006, Sonny and Emily are still together, though Sonny's mental health is deteriorating, he has bipolar disorder, worsened by Ric's manipulations. Jax and Carly are dealing with the fallout of "losing" Courtney's baby,and Jax went to Africa with his mother. Jason had pushed Sam away in order to protect her from danger. Nikolas and his son were finally reunited and Nikolas dediced to get a nanny. A young woman named Colleen McHenry seemed like the perfect nanny, but it was later revealed that she was working for Nikolas's grandmother, the evil Helena Cassadine.

Title sequences

Ever since the series' debut in 1963, General Hospital has had only four opening title sequences.

In the early years in 1963, General Hospital used a scene of doctors and nurses in the hospital, then it freezes and turns into a negative image, then the title appears in the Craw Clarendon Condensed font (which remained the same until 1993). Around late 1963 to 1973 after the prologue, the background faded to black, with "GENERAL HOSPITAL" in the Craw Clarendon Condensed font, but when the show moved to color in August 1967, the background changed to blue, it was used the same for the closing sequence. It was used until circa 1973.

During 1963-1967, the ABC announcer says "GENERAL HOSPITAL...brought to you by [product name]", when the show moved to color in 1967 till circa early 1970s, the announcer would say "GENERAL HOSPITAL in color". During the end of each scene just seconds before commercial break, the announcer would say "We'll return to GENERAL HOSPITAL in just a moment", that announcement phased out in circa early 1970s. During 1973 to 1976, the announcer would simply say "General Hospital". From late 1963-circa 1970s, announcer Ed Chandler would say "This is Ed Chandler inviting you to tune in tomorrow (Monday) and every weekday for GENERAL HOSPITAL", but it was changed during circa 1973 when he says "This is Ed Chandler inviting you to tune in everyday, Monday through Friday for GENERAL HOSPITAL", it was used until July 1976.

The exterior shot of the hospital in the opening and ending credits is the General Hospital of the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, located just east of Downtown Los Angeles. This shot was used from circa 1973 to 1993, and remained relatively unchanged between those years. The sequence's theme song was led prominently by George Wright's piano theme from circa 1973 until July 23, 1976, with the ambulance entering the hospital, then the show's title zooms towards us. Then, on July 26, 1976, the theme music was changed to Autumn Breeze by Jack Urbont, with the horns throughout the opening sequence (the 1973 opening sequence remains the same, and the lettering of the show's title was smaller). This sequence was used until March 31, 1993.

File:Generalhospital1984.jpg
The General Hospital title card, seen between circa 1973/1974 and 1993.

In the spring of 1993, the opening sequence changed for the first time in the show's history, with a new mellow jazz theme song led mainly by saxophone called "Faces Of The Heart" (played by Dave Koz). It featured video headshots of the show's cast in front of a red background. Tinted action clips from the show were also seen in this sequence, including a clip of Luke rushing, trying to rescue his then-wife Laura. A new logo was introduced at the end of the show's open, still written vertically, and it would fade into the foreground at the end of the sequence. At least 44 different versions of this open were used from 1993 to 2004. Beginning in the late 1990s, the names of the show's characters would accompany the headshots themselves.

File:Generalhospital1994.jpg
The General Hospital title card, seen between April 1993 and August 2004.

The theme song was revamped on August 30, 2004, and accompanied a new set of visuals (all ABC soaps revamped their titles this year). The opening was styled after the commercial break bumpers that were used on all of ABC's soaps at the time. All My Children and One Life to Live's openings were done in similar ways to the GH opening. It began with brief flashes of some of the cast members, then showing a brief shot of the Port Charles skyline transitioning to headshots of cast members. The new opening sequence was letterboxed at the beginning and end, and it was accompanied by an updated version of the 1993 theme song. The new theme song, however, was much less mellow than the 1993 theme, but was very hard-hitting accompanied by saxophone and electric guitar. The end of the sequence featured all of the male cast members sitting or standing in front of a white background. As the camera pans to show all of them, Luke Spencer (played by Anthony Geary) is then seen getting up and leaving from his chair (when Wally Kurth, who plays Ned, was dropped to recurring status and removed from the opening, he could still be seen in the All Male Shot (AMS), with Stuart Damon's hand resting on his shoulder, for months. Eventually the AMS was shortened so Ned could no longer be seen.) and then a black background with the letters in the show's title in large letters appears fading onto the screen, with each individual letter in the "GENERAL HOSPITAL" logo cascading to the center of the screen, forming the title.

Like its predecessor, the "siren" opening featured all cast members (usually around 25-30 people) included all in one sequence, with some cast members being shown two-three at a time. Unlike its predecessor, there were no true episode action shots (initially there was a brief flash of Rebecca Herbst's Liz from an episode that was removed in the first update); only a pan-up of the hospital which clearly was computer-generated. Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) was given a nod, as his picture was always first, while Anthony Geary (Luke Spencer) was last. The new sequence also featured a new style of the show's title. For the first 40 years, the title was written vertically, with both words on a line, but the new logo had the entire title written horizontally, in the same typeface as the 1993 open.

Most episodes from 1963 to the mid 1970s exist as kinescopes because of videotape wiping.

Cast

Current cast members

Recurring cast members

Coming and going cast members

Deceased cast members

Before they were stars

Ratings History

After struggling to establish itself, General Hospital began to generate strong ratings in the early 1970s. The initial success was not sustained and by 1976 the show had fallen to 10th in the ratings chart (behind Love of Life and The Doctors- both of which would eventually be canceled). However, there would be a dramatic turnaround as the show's popularity surged- 8th in 1977/78 and 2nd in 1978/79. By 1980, General Hospital had captured first place in the ratings and remained there for most of the 1980s.

Even after losing its ratings crown to The Young and the Restless, GH's popularity remained strong although viewership numbers have continued to fall in common with other daytime soaps. They have generally hovered around 3rd or 4th.

Awards

The show, as well as many of its actors and crew, have been nominated for many dozens of awards, winning on many occasions. Some of the more noted major awards (Daytime Emmy Awards, Soap Opera Digest Awards, and Young Artist Awards) won are listed below.

Daytime Emmy Awards

Show

  • 2006 "Outstanding Drama Series"
  • 2006 "Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team"
  • 2006 "Outstanding Achievement in Casting for a Drama Series"
  • 2006 "Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Drama Series"
  • 2005 "Outstanding Drama Series"
  • 2005 "Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team"
  • 2004 "Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Drama Series"
  • 2004 "Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team"
  • 2003 "Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team"
  • 2003 "Outstanding Achievement in Multiple Camera Editing for a Drama Series"
  • 2002 "Outstanding Original Song"
  • 2000 "Outstanding Drama Series"
  • 2000 "Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team"
  • 1999 "Outstanding Drama Series"
  • 1999 "Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team"
  • 1999 "Outstanding Original Song" (tied with As the World Turns)
  • 1999 "Outstanding Makeup for a Drama Series"
  • 1999 "Outstanding Costume Design for a Drama Series"
  • 1997 "Outstanding Drama Series"
  • 1996 "Outstanding Drama Series"
  • 1995 "Outstanding Drama Series"
  • 1995 "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series"
  • 1984 "Outstanding Daytime Drama Series"
  • 1982 "Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team"
  • 1981 "Outstanding Daytime Drama Series"
  • 1981 "Outstnading Drama Series Directing Team"

General Hospital holds the record for the most "Outstanding Drama Series" Emmy wins with a total of nine.

Individuals

  • 2006 "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" Anthony Geary
  • 2005 "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" Natalia Livingston
  • 2004 "Lifetime Achievement Award" Anna Lee
  • 2004 "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" Anthony Geary
  • 2004 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" Rick Hearst
  • 2004 "Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series" Chad Brannon
  • 2003 "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" Maurice Benard
  • 2003 "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" Vanessa Marcil
  • 2002 "Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series" Jacob Young
  • 2000 "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" Anthony Geary
  • 2000 "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" Sarah Brown
  • 1999 "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" Anthony Geary
  • 1999 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" Stuart Damon
  • 1999"Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series" Jonathan Jackson
  • 1998 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" Steve Burton
  • 1998"Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series" Jonathan Jackson
  • 1998 "Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series" Sarah Brown
  • 1997 "Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series" Sarah Brown
  • 1996 "Outstanding Younger Leading Actress in a Drama Series" Kimberly McCullough
  • 1995 "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series" Rena Sofer
  • 1995 "Outstanding Younger Leading Actor in a Drama Series" Jonathan Jackson
  • 1993 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series" Gerald Anthony
  • 1991 "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" Finola Hughes
  • 1989 "Outstanding Juvenile Female in a Drama Series" Kimberly McCullough
  • 1982 "Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series" Anthony Geary
  • 1982 "Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Daytime Drama Series" David Lewis
  • 1981 "Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Daytime Drama Series" Jane Elliot
  • 1979 "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama Series" Peter Hansen

Soap Opera Digest Awards

Show

  • 2005 "Favorite Show"
  • 2003 "Favorite Show"
  • 2001 "Favorite Show"
  • 2000 "Favorite Show"
  • 1999 "Favorite Show"
  • 1998 "Favorite Show"
  • 1997 "Favorite Show"

Individuals

Young Artist Awards

  • 2003 "Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) - Young Actor Ten or Under" Dylan Cash
  • 1994 "Best Actor Under Ten in a Television Series or Show" Jonathan Hernandez (Tied with Shawn Toovey for Dr. Melissa')
  • 1990 "Best Young Actor in a Daytime Drama" R.J. Williams
  • 1987 "Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor in a Daytime Series" Kimberly McCullough
  • 1986 "Outstanding Young Actress - Regular Daytime Serial" Kimberly McCullough
  • 1985 "Best Young Actor in a Daytime or Nighttime Television Series" David Mendenhall
  • 1984 "Best Young Actor in Daytime Soap" John Stamos and David Mendenhall (tie)
  • 1983 "Best Young Actress in the Daytime Series" Janine Turner
  • 1981 "Best Young Actor - Daytime TV Series" Philip Tanzini

See also

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