John Beradino

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John Beradino, pictured with co-star Rachel Ames, in a still from General Hospital.

John Beradino, born Giovanni Berardino (May 1, 1917 – May 19, 1996), was an American infielder in Major League Baseball and an actor. He was born in Los Angeles, California.

Beradino is often mentioned as having appeared in the silent Our Gang comedies produced by Hal Roach as a child actor, but has not been identified as having appeared in any of the existing films.

After attending the University of Southern California, where he played baseball under coach Sam Barry, he was a major league player from 1939 to 1953, save for three years of military service during World War II (1942-1945). He played second base and shortstop for the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, and Pittsburgh Pirates. The 1948 Indians won the World Series. After injuring his leg in 1953, he retired from baseball and returned to acting, having appeared in his first film in 1948.

He had a guest role in a 1955 episode of the TV series Adventures of Superman, in an episode called "The Unlucky Number". He played a small-time criminal who struggled with his lifestyle and wanted to reform. His low-key acting style served him well in that show.

After appearing in more than a dozen B-movies, as well a supporting role as FBI agent Steve Daniels in the espionage series I Led Three Lives, he was offered the role of Dr. Steve Hardy on the soap opera General Hospital. He played the role from the show's inception in 1963 until his death in 1996.

For his contribution to the television industry, Beradino has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. He has also been inducted into the University of Southern California Athletic Hall of Fame.

[edit] Note

Known as Johnny Berardino during his baseball career, he was also credited during his acting career as John Baradino, John Barardino or John Barradino.
In tribute to the actor, General Hospital left Beradino's image with Rachel Ames (seen above) in its opening sequence for a year-and-a-half after his death, through several updates. Though that image was finally removed in early 1998 (leaving Ames with a new solo image), an "action" clip of Beradino's Steve Hardy in the hospital remained in the sequence until the sequence's 2004 retirement.