A lot of stars have checked into "General Hospital." Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most famous guest stars and early career performers on the long-running ABC daytime soap.
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00:00 "I don't want you to be afraid of anything."
00:03 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most famous guest stars
00:08 and early career performers on the long-running ABC daytime soap, General Hospital.
00:13 "So what's it gonna be?"
00:16 Number 10.
00:17 Demi Moore.
00:18 "I'm Jackie Templeton.
00:19 I hope I haven't come at a bad time."
00:20 "Oh no, of course not.
00:21 Please come in."
00:22 Before she became famous in movies like St. Elmo's Fire and Ghost, Demi Moore played the
00:27 meddling investigative reporter Jackie Templeton.
00:30 Though just shy of 20 at the time, Moore's smoky voice and big hair go a long way in
00:35 hiding her inexperience.
00:37 She handles herself like a pro against GH veterans Anthony Geary and Jeannie Francis.
00:42 "Sorry, don't apologize.
00:43 I really think it's fascinating."
00:46 As the dogged reporter searching for her sister, Moore agitated a lot of storylines in her
00:50 two-year stint, and the character clearly left a mark on the series.
00:55 He would return in 2020 after a nearly 30-year absence, but with actress Kim Delaney in Moore's
01:01 place.
01:02 "Do you know this town?"
01:03 "Intimately."
01:04 "Great, where can we talk?"
01:05 Number 9.
01:06 Richard Simmons.
01:07 "Why don't we all do some stretches, okay?
01:08 Let's do some warm-ups.
01:09 Come on, everybody.
01:10 Come on.
01:11 Okay."
01:12 The denizens of Port Charles, New York had to do something to maintain those felt physiques.
01:16 Like millions of home viewers, they relied on the encouragement and energetic, ultra-positive
01:21 instruction of Richard Simmons.
01:23 When he made his debut on the show in 1979, Simmons was a rising star in the arena of
01:28 TV fitness.
01:29 He played a fictionalized version of himself on the show, and gave aerobics lessons to
01:34 classic characters like Monica Quartermain and Leslie Webber.
01:37 "We better take a little break because the general hospital ladies look a bit tired.
01:42 Take a break.
01:43 Take a five-minute break.
01:44 Come on."
01:45 "All right, go, girl."
01:46 But Simmons wasn't just ornamental.
01:49 He was a full-blown character in himself.
01:51 He returned to guest star for the show's 50th anniversary in 2013, and even had a major
01:56 beef with legacy character Lucy Ko.
01:59 "This is the fitness guru, the extreme performer extraordinaire, Richard Simmons!"
02:07 Number 8.
02:08 Ricky Martin
02:09 Before he was Livin' La Vida Loca, the Puerto Rican pop star was an actor in telenovelas.
02:14 Upon arrival at General Hospital, he was sporting long Fabio-like locks as aspiring singer Miguel
02:20 Flores.
02:26 Miguel was not a permanent character, but he left an impression on many of the soap's
02:31 swooning viewers.
02:32 Much of his storyline involved bringing tension to the supercouple pairing of Brenda Barrett
02:36 and mobster Sonny Corinthos.
02:41 He even played a major part in one of the show's most heartbreaking storylines, as he
02:46 was the one who found young BJ Jones after her fatal run-in with a drunk driver.
02:51 Although Martin has since returned to acting, he has yet to return to this role.
02:59 Number 7.
03:00 Amber Tamblyn
03:01 "What kind of questions will the social worker ask me?"
03:03 Early in her career, the future sisterhood of the traveling pant star originated the
03:07 role of a young girl who is adopted into the powerful Quartermaine family.
03:11 Tamblyn first appeared as Emily in 1995, and over her six years with the show, she acted
03:17 out every kind of melodramatic soap opera storyline you can imagine.
03:24 From love triangles to kidnappings to substance use, Tamblyn's time in the role was pretty
03:29 fraught.
03:30 Tamblyn left the show in 2001, and actress Natalia Livingston took over the role when
03:34 the character returned in 2003.
03:41 Tamblyn's career really took off after she left the show, starring in her own primetime
03:46 series Joan of Arcadia, and from there, she embarked on a lucrative film career.
03:51 Number 6.
03:52 George Takei
03:53 "You are five minutes late, DM."
03:56 "Ah, there were a great number of people that you wanted me to see."
04:03 Hospital Hospital is a long way from the Starship Enterprise, so viewers were probably kinda
04:08 surprised to see Commander Sulu in Port Charles.
04:10 George Takei played Mr. DM, the informal mayor of the Asian Quarter neighborhood.
04:15 DM is portrayed as an ominous cagey diplomat who is in league with the Wu's, a local crime
04:21 syndicate.
04:25 He played an antagonistic role in a 1985 storyline about the kidnapping of Robert Scorpio and
04:30 Anna Devane's daughter Robin.
04:32 Takei and the cryptic character only appeared for a couple of months before DM was poisoned
04:36 by his criminal allies.
04:40 Number 5.
04:41 Chandra Wilson
04:42 "I'm Dr. Francine Massey."
04:45 This Grey's Anatomy star is no stranger to dramatic hospital settings where the most
04:49 unhinged things can happen.
04:51 Given that both shows air on ABC, Chandra Wilson basically works right next door.
04:56 She's also a huge GH fan, and got to demonstrate her knowledge on a memorable appearance on
05:01 the Queen Latifah show.
05:07 Wilson has gotten the full general hospital experience.
05:10 She's played three different roles since 2014.
05:14 First as obsessive-compulsive patient Tina Estrada.
05:17 Returning in 2018, she played a different role as Dr. Massey.
05:27 Then she returned again in 2019 and 2023 as fashion editor Sydney Valjean, reporting on
05:34 the scene at the annual Nurses' Ball.
05:36 Number 4.
05:37 Meghan Markle
05:38 Before she became the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle was just an aspiring actress and theater
05:43 student at Northwestern University.
05:46 In 2002, the fresh-faced future royal landed one of her first TV roles on the soap.
05:51 She's credited as Jill, a nurse who works at the eponymous hospital.
05:55 Jill only appeared in an episode or two.
06:02 Her part is small and fleeting, and she's really just there to move the plot along.
06:07 The performance probably would have been hidden in endless hours of archival footage if not
06:11 for Markle's fame later in life.
06:20 Number 3.
06:21 John Stamos
06:22 The former Full House star has been a certified heartthrob since the 1980s.
06:30 But John Stamos first came to public attention as Blackie Parrish, the brooding and sensitive
06:35 foster child of Leslie and Dr. Rick Weber.
06:38 Introduced in 1982, Blackie was a troubled teenager with a passion for music, a tale
06:43 that Stamos shares.
06:45 Stamos was widely praised for his performance, even scoring a daytime Emmy nomination for
06:49 the role.
06:50 The tragic ending of Blackie's romance with young Lou Swenson gave him a heartbreaking
06:54 send-off in 1984.
07:03 Despite the character's popularity, Stamos left the role for good, and neither the actor
07:08 nor the character has returned.
07:11 Number 2.
07:12 James Franco
07:13 Soap operas tend to be where stars get their start in the business, not where they go after
07:17 stardom finds them.
07:19 And when controversial actor and filmmaker James Franco approached the General Hospital
07:23 producers, he was at the height of his fame.
07:28 Playing the aptly named Franco, an artist who develops a sick fascination with longtime
07:33 series lead Jason Morgan, the actor certainly made an impression.
07:42 Franco insisted his appearance on the show was a performance art piece in itself, intended
07:47 to make viewers question whether soap operas are a legitimate art form.
07:56 You could argue the utility of trying to make this point to an entire audience full of soap
08:02 opera viewers, but his appearance garnered the then 40-year-old series some welcome press.
08:13 You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
08:17 If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
08:23 Number 1.
08:24 Elizabeth Taylor
08:25 At the time, the 1981 wedding of Luke Spencer and Laura Weber was the most watched daytime
08:36 TV event ever.
08:38 Elizabeth Taylor was not only Hollywood royalty, she was also a devout fan of the show.
08:43 And when she specifically asked to be written into the event, the writers came through.
08:50 Her character, the vengeful and glamorous widow Helena Cassadine, makes quite a splash
08:55 from the jump.
08:56 She curses the married couple on their wedding day and makes it her entire mission to ruin
09:01 their lives.
09:10 Although Taylor would leave the role after her week of appearances was completed, she
09:13 actually ended up dating Anthony Geary, the actor who played Luke.
09:17 Meanwhile, the villainous Helena continued to terrorize the Spencers for decades.
09:23 Who's your favorite extra special GH guest star?
09:26 Let us know in the comments!
09:40 [Outro]
09:49 (upbeat music)