Late GH Star Johnny Wactor’s Final Film Debuts As His Mom Fights Apple For Control of His Devices
Just a little over a year after the tragic May 2024 murder of former General Hospital star Johnny Wactor, the actor’s final project made its premiere on June 24 as part of an independent film festival in California.
The movie, Ciao, Mama, was shown at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood as part of the Dances With Films festival. Among those in the audience to watch Wactor’s last performance was his former GH colleague Maurice Benard (Sonny). In a 2021 interview with Soap Opera Digest, Wactor spoke highly of Benard, his on-screen cousin in the world of Port Charles. “One of the first few scenes that we worked together, he gave me some advice and he’s just really collaborative,” Wactor praised. “He’s about bringing the nuance and bringing reality to the scene and not overdoing it. His acting is natural and effortless and we had a scene that he felt was being pushed or forced. He was very gentle in his suggestion about making it more real and grounded and the scene turned out to be much more subtle and nuanced and powerful in the right way. He’s got a lot of experience and he’s gracious with his advice about acting.”
Family Ties
The film, a family drama, follows Tony Esposito (played by Micah Joe Parker) as he returns to his Long Island, NY, hometown for the funeral of his beloved mother — who made everyone in the family promise not to tell him that she was dying of cancer while he was off chasing his dreams. In addition to starring alongside Parker in the film in the role of Marco, Wactor also served as a producer on the movie.
According to the movie’s creative team, the original title of the film was changed to honor Wactor. “While American Sognare beautifully captured the spirit of chasing dreams, Ciao, Mama speaks even more profoundly to the heart of our story — especially in the wake of the heartbreaking loss of our beloved friend and co-star, Johnny Wactor,” reads a statement on the film’s Instagram page. “This new title is more than a name. It’s a farewell. It’s a love letter. And it’s a promise — to keep dreaming, to keep creating, and to carry the torch forward, just as Johnny always did. Ciao, Mama is a tribute to Johnny, to the journey, and to the enduring power of dreams.”
Producers of the movie, Hills & Thrills Productions, have set up a foundation called Johnny’s Mile and a scholarship fund to honor the actor, who was tragically killed on a Los Angeles street after closing out a shift as a bartender at Level 8 restaurant and escorting a co-worker to her vehicle.
A Mother’s Plea
The premiere of Ciao, Mama comes at a poignant time for Wactor’s mother, Scarlett, who asked the Los Angeles court on June 20 to order Apple to unlock her son’s laptop, desktop, and iPhone. According to Us Weekly, Scarlett needs to review the information contained on the devices as the administrator of her late son’s estate, and was told by Apple that they would not assist her without a court order.
Besides needing any financial information that might be contained on the devices for her final distribution report, Scarlett told Us Weekly that she’s hoping to access the photos and videos her son has on his computers and phone. “I don’t want to erase [them],” she shared.
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