TVSquad

Has it really been 45 years since General Hospital started broadcasting? Four decades + five years of medical machinations, legendary love stories, action and intrigue. Yes, yes, it's true, on April 1, ABC's General Hospital will celebrate 45 years on the air. Current executive producer, Jill Farren Phelps, will cut the cake and members of the cast will blow out the candles, but we're the ones that probably should be smiling. Memories of the great years gone by are inevitable with any show that's run as long as GH. But there's something special about this ABC soap.

In July I mentioned that this year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Luke and Laura tying the knot on General Hospital, a moment that garnered the largest audience in daytime television history. The eleventh annual ABC Super Soap Weekend at Walt Disney World and MGM Studios in Florida will honor the momentous occasion with a celebration hosted by Susan Lucci and will feature both Anthony Geary (Luke) and Genie Francis (Laura), as well as actors from General Hospital, All My Children and One Life to Live. The celebration is free with admission to the park, and includes a special appearance by Rosie O'Donnell as well as celebrity motorcades and autograph sessions. Geary has remained on the series, but Laura has been off the show until recently, returning briefly to reprise her original role.

That's right, Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker and the late singer Laura Branigan of "Gloria" fame will finally be together once again, an amazing feat considering he's a fictional character and she's dead. Wait, I'm sorry, the article was actually referring to Luke and Laura of General Hospital fame, arguably the most popular couple in the history of the show, and possible the most popular soap opera couple ever. Genie Francis, who played Laura, will return for episodes meant to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her marriage to Luke on November 16, 1981. Francis has been on and off the show several times, and it sounds as if these new appearances won't be a permanent thing, either. The episodes will air starting in October.

[via Best Week Ever]

Those of you who are a bit older than me might remember that in the late 70s and early 80s General Hospital began to get a bit, well, "weirder." Suddenly their were weird plots involving criminal master minds, aliens, and other wacky sci-fi stuff. I only know this because my mother watched General Hospital pretty religiously when I was growing up.

Well, Gloria Monty, the woman who was responsible for sending General Hospital in all those weird directions, as well as overseeing the show during the height of those steamy "Luke and Laura" years, passed away Thursday at the age of 84. Monty was called in as a producer in the late 70s when the show was experiencing a sag in ratings due to more women working outside the home. Her solution was to target younger audiences, thus the show got stranger. The producer character in the movie Tootsie was also based on Monty.