General Hospital "Sax" Opening, December 2003 Update: Kelly Monaco (Samantha McCall) Is Added

I own nothing, I collect nothing.
This is an "emergency" post in response to the breaking news of Kelly Monaco (Samantha McCall)'s firing from General Hospital after nearly 21 years (plus a few more as Livvie/Tess on the spinoff Port Charles).
Here, Monaco/Samantha are making their opening debut; when Port Charles was cancelled in June 2003, ABC wasted little time in shifting Monaco over to General Hospital as a new character. Samantha debuted on GH on 10/1/2003-two days before PC's final airdate-and much to my surprise, had been a mainstay there ever since. Until this morning of 8/27/24, anyway.
(If you aren't aware, GH has been auditioning new actresses to play currently-comatose Lulu. Clearly the plan is to revive Lulu and re-pair her with her former husband Dante-which requires getting Samantha, who's been with Dante since 2021, out of the way.)
Also joining the opening: Lindze Letherman (Georgie Jones). Letherman joined GH as SORAS'ed Georgie in September 2002, apparently on-contract from the beginning. If so, it's not clear why Letherman/Georgie wasn't added to "Sax" for over a year.
For newer viewers: this Georgie is the now-deceased younger sister of Maxie Jones who Maxie's daughter is named after.
I always found it odd that the frequently-used character of Maxie, then played by Robyn Richards, was stuck on recurring status, while one day her little sister suddenly went from elementary to high school and was elevated to contract status. You may recall Richards being replaced for a few months by Danica Stewart, who reportedly WAS on contract, but Stewart/Maxie never made it to the opening either.
(Maxie finally reached the "Tux" opening when Kirsten Storms assumed the role in 2005.)
Also, Jane Elliot (Tracy Quartermaine), after a 10-year absence, returns to the opening after re-joining GH full-time in November 2003. She was only briefly in "Sax" previously, as it premiered just over two months before her June 1993 departure (though it was not updated until August). And since that image was shared with Wally Kurth (Ned Quartermaine, Tracy's son), this is Elliot/Tracy's first "Sax" solo image.
Departing "Sax": Andrea C. Pearson (Gia Campbell #2) and Stephen Nichols (Stefan Cassadine), both of whom left GH in October 2003. Nichols/Stefan's image is removed just three months after it was re-added (Nichols previously played Stefan from 1996-2002 and had rejoined GH in June 2003.)
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Featuring:
John Ingle & Anna Lee - Edward & Lila Quartermaine
Leslie Charleson - Monica Quartermaine
Stuart Damon - Alan Quartermaine
Jane Elliot - Tracy Quartermaine
Billy Warlock - Alan "A.J." Quartermaine, Jr.
Scott Clifton - Dillon Quartermaine
Robin Christopher - Skye Quartermaine
Wally Kurth - Ned Quartermaine (then Ashton)
Nancy Lee Grahn - Alexis Davis
Lane Davies - Cameron Lewis
J. Robin Miller - Lydia Karenin
Tyler Christopher - Nikolas cassadine
Natalia Livingston - Emily Quartermaine
Greg Vaughan - Lucky Spencer
Kin Shriner - Scott Baldwin
Jacklyn Zeman - Bobbie Spencer
John York - Mac Scorpio
Lindze Letherman - Georgie Jones
Chad Brannon - Zander Smith
Rebecca Herbst - Elizabeth Webber
Rick Hearst - Ric Lansing
Cynthia Preston - Faith Rosco
Ted King - Lorenzo Alcazar
Kelly Monaco - Samantha McCall
Ingo Rademacher - Jasper "Jax" Jacks
Alicia Leigh Willis - Courtney Matthews
Steve Burton - Jason Morgan
Tamara Braun - Carly Spencer (then Benson/Corinthos)
Maurice Benard - Sonny Corinthos
Anthony Geary - Luke Spencer
#gh #generalhospital #kellymonaco #generalhospitalopenings #ghopenings #ghopening2003 #theskillzreport #abcsoaps