General Hospital facts for kids
Quick facts for kids General Hospital |
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| Genre | Soap opera |
| Created by | Frank & Doris Hursley |
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| Directed by | See below |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 14,961 (as of April 22, 2022) |
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| Producer(s) | See below |
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| Camera setup | Multiple-camera setup |
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| Distributor | Disney–ABC Domestic Television |
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| Original network | ABC |
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| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | April 1, 1963 – present |
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General Hospital (also known as GH) is a very popular American soap opera. A soap opera is a TV show with many episodes that tells ongoing stories about the lives of its characters. General Hospital is famous for being the longest-running American soap opera still on TV. It is also one of the longest-running TV shows in the world!
The show first aired on April 1, 1963, on the ABC network. It has won many awards, including 14 Daytime Emmy Awards for Best Drama Series. This is more than any other soap opera.
Contents
About General Hospital
How the Show Started
General Hospital was created by a husband-and-wife team, Frank and Doris Hursley. They first set the show in a hospital in a made-up city. Later, in the 1970s, this city was named Port Charles, New York.
Two of the first actors on the show were John Beradino and Emily McLaughlin. They stayed with the show for many years. Another actress, Rachel Ames, joined in 1964 and was on the show for a very long time, until 2007.
Spin-off Shows
General Hospital has been so successful that it led to other TV shows.
- In 1964, a sister show called The Young Marrieds was created. It ran for two years.
- Later, two spin-off series were made: Port Charles (from 1997 to 2003) and General Hospital: Night Shift (from 2007 to 2008).
The show is filmed at The Prospect Studios in Los Angeles, California. When it first started, each episode was 30 minutes long. Over time, the episodes became longer, and now they are a full hour.
Famous Stories and Characters
Since the late 1970s, many of the main stories have been about two important families: the Quartermaine family and the Spencer family.
In the early 1980s, General Hospital became the most-watched daytime soap opera. A big reason for this was the very popular couple, Luke and Laura. Their wedding in 1981 was watched by 30 million people! This made it the most-watched hour in American soap opera history.
Many famous people have also made guest appearances on the show. These include Roseanne Barr, James Franco, and Elizabeth Taylor. In 2007, Time magazine even called General Hospital one of the "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME."
Modern Broadcasting
On April 23, 2009, General Hospital started broadcasting in high-definition. This made it the first ABC soap opera to use this clearer picture quality. The show aired its 14,000th episode in February 2018.
General Hospital became the oldest American soap opera still on air in 2010. This happened after another long-running show, As the World Turns, ended. In 2011, ABC announced that two other soap operas, All My Children and One Life to Live, would also end. This left General Hospital as the only soap opera remaining on the ABC network. The show celebrated its 50th anniversary on April 1, 2013.
Images for kids
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John Beradino and Emily McLaughlin celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the show in 1973.
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The 50th anniversary (2012–13) official cast photo of General Hospital. Front row : Anthony Geary Second row (l-r): Vanessa Marcil, Maurice Benard, Kelly Sullivan, Leslie Charleson, Laura Wright, Jane Elliot, Brooklyn Rae Silzer, Jason Thompson, Kelly Monaco, Nancy Lee Grahn, Genie Francis, Kin Shriner, Finola Hughes Third row: Kirsten Storms, Bradford Anderson Fourth row: Teresa Castillo, Marc Anthony Samuel, Robin Mattson, Jacklyn Zeman, Sean Kanan, Lisa LoCicero, John J. York, Kristina Wagner, Rebecca Herbst, Dominic Zamprogna, Emme Rylan, Emily Wilson, Chad Duell, Sonya Eddy, Ian Buchanan, Lynn Herring Back row: Jimmy Deshler, Haley Pullos, Drew Cheetwood, Sean Blakemore, Tyler Christopher, Derk Cheetwood, Kelly Thiebaud.
See also
In Spanish: General Hospital para niños
