'''''General Hospital''''' is the longest-running daytime American soap opera on the ABC television network, and is also the longest-running soap opera produced in Hollywood (having been taped at the Prospect Avenue ABC Television Center West and Sunset-Gower Studios).
Set in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York, the show debuted on April 1, 1963, the same day that rival network NBC launched its own medical soap opera, ''The Doctors''. The show originally aired for a half-hour until the network expanded it to 45 minutes in 1976, and then to an hour in 1978. The serial was created by soap writers Frank and Doris Hursley, a husband-and-wife team.
The show is credited for starting several trends in the soap opera genre in the 1980s, most notably that of the supercouple and fast-paced action-adventure plotlines that were remarkably different from the more traditional domestic and social issues that had been the sole focus of most soap operas during the previous decades. In 2003, when the show celebrated its 40th anniversary, TV Guide named it "The Greatest Soap Opera of All Time."
Show History
The Early Years (1963-1969)
The first stories were mainly set at a hospital in Port Charles, a fictional New York town, and revolved around manly Dr. Steve Hardy (John Beradino) and his friend, Nurse Jessie Brewer (Emily McLaughlin). Steve was Chief of Internal Medicine on the hospital's seventh floor and dedicated his life to healing and caring for the sick, ably assisted by Nurse Jessie. Jessie's turbulent marriage to the much-younger Dr. Phil Brewer (most notably played by Roy Thinnes) was the center of many early storylines. Over the years, Phil became renowned for his philandering, with Jessie constantly forgiving her errant husband for his affairs. The seemingly never-ending cycle of separation and reconciliation between the two finally ended in 1974, when Dr. Phil Brewer was murdered.
Another nurse, Lucille March (Lucille Wall), brought her sister, flight attendant Audrey March (Rachel Ames) to town; slowly but surely, she romanced Dr. Hardy, eventually marrying him three times. While there was no overt tension, Jessie was disappointed as there had always been an air of sexual tension between her and Steve. It was never acted upon, as they remained close friends until Jessie (and actress Emily McLaughlin) died in 1991. Steve Hardy himself died five years later when his portrayer, John Beradino died in 1996.
Facing Cancellation (1970-1977)
The show was glacially paced and low-rated in the earlier years, except for one relatively high-rated and fast-paced plot in 1971. In this storyline, Audrey was accused of murdering her son's babysitter and General Hospital was briefly elevated to
