Kelly Monaco Debuted as General Hospital’s Sam and Other More Big Moments from October 1

In 1976, Doug Williams (Bill Hayes) and Julie Olson (Susan Seaforth Hayes) wed for the first time on Days of Our Lives, two years after their portrayers tied the knot in real life. Recalled Seaforth Hayes to Soap Opera Digest in 2018, "Everyone who was watching the show remembers the wedding and remembers how they cut school to watch the wedding, all of which is very gratifying that it stands out in people’s minds. Following that, there was a long period of not knowing what to do with us because we were obviously happy!" Chimed in Hayes, "Everybody in the country watched Bill and Susan fall in love and Doug and Julie fall in love all at the same time."

In 2003, Kelly Monaco made her General Hospital debut as Sam McCall. Monaco had made a name for herself in the soap world in her debut daytime role, Livvie Locke on Port Charles. When that show was canceled, she was courted by multiple soaps. She explained to Soap Opera Digest in 2023, "Probably within 30 minutes of finding out [PC] was canceled, I basically got an offer from every one of the networks. I had the pick of the litter. Frank Valentini [GH’s executive producer, who was then EP of One Life To Live] was probably the most aggressive one that was seeking me out and called me personally, and I also met with All My Children, I think for the role of Babe. CBS and NBC were in there, as well. But I was, like, a die-hard General Hospital fan. That was my dream; I was like, ‘General Hospital all the way!’ So, I was thrilled when [then-ABC Daytime President] Brian Frons said they would create a role for me.”

In 2012, Nikki Newman Abbott (Melody Thomas Scott) got the final divorce decree ending her short-lived marriage to Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), their second union, on Young and Restless. She showed the decree to her ex-husband Victor, with whom she had reconciled after splitting from Jack, and the pair embraced.

In 2014, Billy Miller (pictured with Rebecca Herbst as Elizabeth Webber) made his first General Hospital appearance as Jason Morgan, later revealed to be Drew Cain. A three-time Daytime Emmy winner for his run as Billy Abbott on Young and Restless, Miller had also worked on All My Children as Richie Novak. When he joined GH, Miller acknowledged that whispers of him taking over the role Steve Burton had exited in 2012 had been boiling for a long time, telling Soap Opera Digest, "Honestly, I'm not sure what the exact date was when we officially started discussing the possibility of me coming to GH. I can assure you the rumors were extremely premature. It seems as if friends and colleagues reached out almost daily to inquire if I was going to GH, B&B or to a telenovela. I can tell you that serious discussions of moving to Port Charles only happened a short time before my first day."

In 2019 on General Hospital, Samantha McCall (Kelly Monaco, far l.) was arrested for the murder of David "Shiloh" Archer, the sex cult leader who she had killed in defense of Jason Morgan (Steve Burton), over the protests of her attorney, Diane Miller (Carolyn Hennesy, l.), after Jordan Ashford (then-Briana Nicole Henry) came into what appeared to be incontrovertible evidence of Sam's intention to kill Shiloh.