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News, Rumors, etc. |
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2000 |
The Nurses' Ball,
a talent show held annually on the National Day of Compassion, was started on GH
in 1994 as a benefit to raise money for AIDS research and patient services at
the hospital. (In recent years, the fund-raising has focused on pediatric AIDS
causes.)By the second year, Robin's involvement in the event became especially poignant, given that her then-boyfriend, Stone, was living with AIDS- a fact that became public knowledge at the Ball when Stone announced that he had the disease after A.J. made an insensitive comment. In 1995, Robin suffered the double blow of losing Stone to AIDS and discovering that she, too, was HIV-positive. At the third annual Nurses' Ball, Robin took to the stage to give an moving speech about Stone, but became overwrought and had to be carried off by Jason. In subsequent years, she spoke at the Ball about living with HIV, putting a face on the epidemic.
McCullough exited GH in January, 1999, and Robin's presence was missed at last year's Nurses' Ball. GH acknowledged Robin's continued impact by having Jason confide to Carly how much the Nurses' Ball had come to mean to him through his prior relationship with Robin.
"Robin's story is an important one," agrees the actress, who recently got rave reviews for her dance performance in Pulse at the Los Angeles Theatre Center and has a recurring role on the ABC prime-time hit Once and Again. The actress's GH story will also feature a few surprises- especially for her character.
"Robin has no idea about Sonny and Carly," GH Head Writer Robert Guza, Jr. reminds us. "And she has no idea what happened with A.J. and Carly. So, Robin is going to see the havoc she wrought by telling A.J. that he [not Jason] is the father of Carly's son, Michael." (SOD 5/23/2000)
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1999 and earlier |
From
Soap Opera Digest: Finola Hughes's (ex-Anna
Devane, GH) return to ABC Daytime remains a guessing game, not of will she indeed return
but rather which soap will she turn up on. As previously reported, Hughes was just a
signature away from joining the cast of All My Children to play a high-powered
businesswoman. (The character's last name is said to be Devane.) Published reports
say that the British actress has already signed the deal. ABC could not be reached for
comment. Meanwhile, Internet speculation, probably fueled by some hopeful GH fans, is that
Daytime Emmy winner Hughes will actually reprise the role of the presumed dead Anna on GH,
and that the AMC talk is just a diversionary tactic. That would seem like a fun
possibility considering Cesar Faison is back in town. As GH fans will remember, he was
obsessed with Anna and was responsible for the deaths of the leading lady and her hubby,
Robert Scorpio. Naturally, their bodies were never found. [Maybe Anna has already met up
with Lucky in Cesar's prison block? And could Robert be far behind? :-)
Currently in America doing some charity work, Emma appeared on the Howie Mandel show on May 27th, looking absolutely fabulous with long curly locks.
From ABC's
Daily Soap Notes: A former GENERAL HOSPITAL star will soon be sharing her views of
the world with the television audience. On Friday, May 21, Emma Samms (GH's ex-Holly
Scorpio) will be a guest on Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher, which will be broadcast
from London all next week. The show airs on ABC from 12:05 - 12:35 a.m., ET.
A picture of Emma and cast members for "His Bodyguard," which Emma wrote the script for.
Boo-Hiss! Well, according to Tv Guide's Reiner, Finola Hughes is about to sign on with AMC, not GH. Without Anna, the Faison storyline certainly won't be as exciting, and the chances of Tristan Rogers return will mostly likely not happen either.
A picture of Ian Buchanan with then castmates Kimberlin Brown and Barbara Crampton.
Emma Samms and her two beautiful children have a full page in the May 1999 issue of InStyle magazine.
Finola Hughes Returns
to GH? (Star magazine 4/27/99): "Finola Hughes (ex-Anna) is reportedly this
close to re-signing with General Hospital in the role that made her famous. Rumors
about Hughes' return began circulating shortly after the British-born actress showed up at
this year's Soap Opera Digest Awards on the arm of good friend and former GH co-star Ian
Buchanan (ex-Duke; ex-James, The Bold & Beautiful). GH supposedly contacted
Hughes shortly after the awards and sources say they are currently in heavy negotiations.
'I'm very open to it,' she
says about returning to the ABC soap. 'Anna was a great character to play.'
Hughes was last seen on GH in 1995 when Anna and Robert (Tristan Rogers) reappeared for a
brief dream sequence in which they helped their daughter, Robin (Kimberly McCullough),
deal with the news that she was HIV positive.
If all goes well, look for
Hughes to heat up the screen as early as May sweeps. And there's no better time to
reprise the role. GH recently brought back Anders Hove as the deranged Faison.
It was Faison who blew up a boat with himself, Anna, and Robert on board, leaving all
three presumed dead back in 1992.
Hughes loved working with Hove
and relishes the chance to work with him again. And she feels the same about buddy
Buchanan, with whom she shared supercouple status back in the '80s.
With Hove and now, most
likely, Hughes back on the GH canvas, will fan favorites Buchanan and Rogers find their
way back to Port Charles as well? What a sizzling summer it would be if this
talented group were to be reunited and thrown into the already hot GH mix.
The
storyline possibilities are endless- especially when you thrown in Luke (Tony Geary) and
Sonny (Maurice Bernard).
*Ian and co-star Hunter Tylo signing autographs at a B&B event.
Anders Hove Back on GH (SOW 3/2/99): "Anders Hove will reprise his role as Cesar Faison on GH, a spokesperson for the show confirms. Hove portrayed Faison from 1990-92. The character supposedly died in a boat explosion (offscreen) along with Robert and Anna Scorpio, but later turned up briefly on Loving in 1993. Hove tells Soap Opera Weekly he has signed a two-year contract, 'but I take it with a grain of salt. They could get rid of me at any time, but let's just say I'm back for at least six months.' Hove was surprised when GH came knocking on his door back in his native Denmark. 'Mark Teschner (GH's casting director) cast me on the show, and I've been talking with him on and off over the years. Mark's always joking with me, so I didn't believe him when he first asked me if I'd be interested in going back.' Hove says that Faison will figure prominantly in the Spenser/Cassadine feud. His first airdate is March 8."
Into antiquing and refinishing furniture, Emma has appeared in episodes #122 and #123 of the Carol Duvall show on the Home and Garden channel.
from The Ledger Online- "Finola
Hughes Moving Up"
Emmy-winning actress Finola Hughes and her husband,
director-photographer Russell Young, have purchased a suburban La Canada Flintridge home
for $650,000, and they have listed their former home in the same area at $495,000.
Hughes, 38, was one of the original cast members of "Cats" when it opened in
London in 1981. She co-starred with John Travolta in the movie "Stayin'
Alive" (1983) and won a 1991 Emmy for her role, from 1985 to '92, as Anna Devane on
ABC's "General Hospital." She was a regular in 1994 and '95 on the NBC
sitcom "Blossom," playing the title character's stepmother, and she co-starred
in the 1997 Fox prime-time soap "Pacific Palisades." She appeared at the
Pasadena Playhouse in July in Noel Coward's "Present Laughter" and is the voice
of Queen Anne in Disney's recently released direct-to-video movie "Pocahontas
II." Young, who has directed more than 70 music videos, is also a
music-business portrait photographer, best known for his album cover for George Michael's
"Faith." The couple, originally from London, bought a 1950 post-and-beam
contemporary, which they are restoring. The three-bedroom 3,000-square-foot home
also has a guest house and a pool. The home they are selling is 1,500 square feet
and has a separate exercise room and a recording studio. Spanish in style, the
two-story home features three mural-type windows that were antiques when the home was
built in the 1930s.
Emma Samms and her two beautiful children have a full page in the May 1999 issue of InStyle magazine.
from Canada Online - Finola and hubby, Russell, give their car to be sold for charity.
Another bio and picture of Ian Buchanan here .
Picture of Ian, along with other soapers, going to a pre-emmy party.
Ian's card for his Twin Peak's character card here .
You can order a copy of a Buckle Up for Safety video which also features Tristan Rogers.
Some nice 1997 GH luncheon pictures are here .
A picture of very fashionable Jack and Kristina Wagner here.
J Reiner in a TV Guide chat let it slip that Anders Hove (ex-Faison) will be reprising his character in March. That's great, as Faison was a hoot to watch, but what about Robert and Anna? What's Faison without his obessesion for Anna and his need to annoy Robert? And how can Mac ignore this character considering Faison supposedly killed Mac's brother and sister-in-law? Guza's got the right idea bringing Faison back, now he just needs to finish the deal and bring back the Scorpios too.
Ian Buchan (James Warwick, The Bold and Beautiful) has been released from his contract. His last air date is the end of February. This has stirred up rumors of his possibly returning to GH, which is doubtful considering his character, Duke Lavery, has died twice on the show already.
This has also stirred up rumors of Finola Hughes and Tristan Rogers returning as well. While this is always a possibility, it's more probable that neither will return. Finola has been saying for a few years now (since maybe '95 when she did that two day appearance as a figment of Robin's imagination) that she would consider returning to GH, but has not been asked by the show. She has also been doing nighttime tv appearances, which pay more and require less time involvement, rather than doing any other daytime shows (except that brief appearance on Sunset Beach). And since she and hubby, Russell Young, just bought a $650,000 house less than six months ago, she probably doesn't need the money from doing GH. Besides, consider what horrible things the current writers would do to the character of Anna Scorpio in light of the fact that the show currently cannot write for strong female characters, as all the current ones are so needy and dependant on men.
Tristan would be the more likely to return, but considering the fact he often makes disparaging remarks about his last few years on the show (like a few of his comments at the Museum of Television and Radio's celebration of GH), that's also a big if. Plus, how would GH explain Robert's disappearance/reappearance (with or without Anna) and the fact that Robin's no longer in PC. Claire Labine addressed the subject of Tristan's return, and unfortunately, if the Wendy Riche feels the same way, then Tristan won't be showing up anytime soon either. Stated Labine:
"You have the action-hero, the romantic lead, the comedy lead with a heart, etc. No matter what story you write, there is room for that broad type with the story. When an actor decides to leave a show, his 'type' is quickly replaced. For example, Tristan Rogers departed GH a number of times- most recently in 1992. But GH brought in a long-lost brother for him named Mac to pick up the storyline slack. 'If you look back,' remembers Labine, 'Scorpio was brought in to replace Luke when (Anthony Geary) left. Then Luke came back. Consequently, Mac and Luke have taken the Scorpio "function". And Sean has Scorpio's job (as police commissioner). So there just isn't room on the canvas to bring Scorpio back.'"
In January '99, Kimberly McCullough's finished airing in her role as Robin Scorpio. Robin finally escaped the nightmare storyline of Baby Michael (aka the not-yet-crawling plot device) by returned to the Sorbonne in Paris.
Musician Dave Koz (who wrote GH's theme song) on Emma and the Starlight Foundation
A Promotion for Emma's movie Treacherous Beauties . Also a Behind the Scenes picture of from the set of Treacherous Beauties.
A nice Biography on Emma Samms.