Monday, April 1, 2013

Anthony Geary, Jane Elliot, Kin Shriner Share Classic GENERAL HOSPITAL Stories



TV Guide Magazine has posted a fascinating new interview with longtime GENERAL HOSPITAL stars Anthony Geary, Jane Elliot and the newly returned Kin Shriner. They dish on the show's heyday with stories about Gloria Monty, showing up to work drunk, the Daytime Emmys and much more.

Here are few interesting excerpts:
Elliot: I quit because Gloria [Monty] insulted me. I was making, like, a dollar and a quarter a week — horrible money, so little money that I asked for a $50 raise and Gloria told my agent I was unprofessional. Now, you can call me a lot of things but you cannot call me unprofessional. I was so insulted she applied that word to me that I said, "I'm not working for her anymore!" I finished out my contract and left. I went to Knots Landing for a bit, then Guiding Light. I didn't return until after Gloria was gone.

Geary: There was this actress on our show named Mary O'Brien — she played Heather before they cast Robin Mattson — and she was having trouble crying in a scene. Gloria came out of the control room and said, "You've got to cry! We need you to cry!" Mary tried it again and Gloria came back out and said, 'You're still faking it! I want real tears!" After another three or four trips to the stage, Gloria finally went ballistic. "You must be the worst actress I've ever hired! I don't know what the hell was wrong with me! The whole scene is hinging on this! You are ruining General Hospital!" And she went on and on until Mary started to cry. Then Gloria said, "Yes! That's it! Shoot it!" And she walked off the set. There were times when I was embarrassed for people, when Gloria humiliated somebody beyond the pale. But I did love her eccentricities.

Elliot: With Gloria, it was her way or the highway. And, damn it, she was always right. She was so smart but also very vicious, and we all felt we were in the trenches together. We were young, we really liked each other and those friendships have prevailed. We go to the movies together, we travel together. We've cheered each other's wins, mourned each other's losses. We've gone through marriages, divorces, births, deaths. Kin was with me the night my father died. He was the person I most needed to call. And I was with Tony the night his mother died. We share such a rich history and a very abnormal one.

Shriner: The partying never stopped. We'd leave work at GH at 9 p.m., head over to Flippers Roller Disco, down a few kamikazes, skate until 2 a.m., then be back on the job by sunrise. Then the next night, we'd do it all over again!

Elliot: Gloria didn't want me to be nominated. She picked the people she wanted on the ballot. One day I got a call from her secretary who said, "It's time for the Emmy submissions and Gloria refuses to nominate you. I think you should come down here and nominate yourself." I said, "I'll be right there!" And that's the only time I ever did that. The Emmys are not my thing.
RELATED:
- Watch the GENERAL HOSPITAL marathon episodes here
- Watch the GENERAL HOSPITAL Special 50th Anniversary Opening
- 20/20: GENERAL HOSPITAL – THE REAL SOAP DISH Airs Saturday, April 6
- WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE Celebrates 50 Years Of GENERAL HOSPITAL
- New photo of the GENERAL HOSPITAL cast
- ABC Partners With amfAR For Nurses' Ball
- GENERAL HOSPITAL Nurses Ball Photos [SPOILER ALERT]

2 comments:

  1. Three of the best actors on daytime television! Hoping that Jane gets nominated this year.

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  2. Gloria was Mean! But she got the show done right!

    ReplyDelete