History of General Hospital (1963-1969)
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This is about the history of General Hospital, the long-running American daytime serial during the 1960s.
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[edit] The Early Years (1963-1969)
[edit] Overview
The first stories were mainly set at General Hospital in Port Charles, NY, and revolved around 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 (originally portrayed by Roy Thinnes; lastly by Martin West) 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, Beradino, died in 1996.
[edit] GH Storylines (1963 - 1969)
When General Hospital began in 1963, it revolved mainly around the constant crises of Nurse Jessie Brewer and her unfaithful young husband Dr. Phil Brewer (Roy Thinnes). Also included in the story were Dr. Steve Hardy (John Beradino) and his romantic problems with ex-stewardess Audrey March (Rachel Ames). Other core characters in the early years included Dr. Tom Baldwin, his lawyer brother Lee Baldwin (Peter Hansen), Lee's wife Meg, and her son Scotty (Johnny Whitaker).
Jessie Brewer, R.N., everybody's friend and confidante, had met and married Phil Brewer, a handsome young intern seven years younger than she, and sacrificed to help him become a practicing cardiologist. Phil returned Jessie's love, but, having a willful, less-than-noble character, he also sought the excitement of an illicit romance. When Jessie found out, she sued for divorce. While she awaited the final papers, Phil, drunk and frustrated, assaulted her one night, and she became pregnant. Their child was born with a serious heart ailment, and cardiologist Phil Brewer was helpless to prevent his own baby's death. The tragedy ended when Phil and Jessie were finally divorced.
Jessie's closest friend and ally in the daily encounters with death, despair, and hope at the hospital was, and has always been, Dr. Steve Hardy. Reserved and wise, Steve, the son of a missionary family and born and raised in China, was devoted to his work at the hospital. But he also needed love. That need was fulfilled, for a while, in his marriage to one time swinging airline stewardess Audrey March, sister of Lucille March, the good-hearted senior nurse. Audrey had gotten tired of all the men and all the parties and had wanted children with Steve. When she failed to become pregnant, Audrey mistakenly believed Steve to be sterile and became pregnant through artificial insemination. But the unborn child died in an auto accident when Steve was at the wheel, and their marriage subsequently ended in divorce. Audrey, ever obsessed with motherhood, went to Vietnam to care for orphans.
Trouble didn't stop for Jessie and Phil. Feeling pity for the dying Dr. John Prentice, Jessie married him. But when he finally died of an overdose of drugs by his own hand, Jessie had to stand trial for his murder. Phil and Jessie were reunited during that terrible episode, ending with her acquittal and their remarriage. But the reunion was short-lived. Phil was now himself accused of murdering John's daughter Polly Prentice, with whom he had had an affair. He ran away and was later reported killed in a plane crash.
Meanwhile, Audrey March returned from Vietnam to become a nurse at General Hospital and married Dr. Tom Baldwin, whom she married just to prove to herself that she didn't love Steve. Audrey realized she didn't love Tom, a self-destructive loser type, and wouldn't have sexual relations with him, but he raped her, and she became pregnant. When Audrey realized that she still loved Dr. Steve Hardy, she sued Tom Baldwin for a divorce and left town to have her child.
[edit] See Also
