Happy 50th General Hospital – and Dr. Hardy Too!

General Hospital in 1963

Fifty years ago, the ABC television network introduced to daytime audiences what would become TV’s longest running continuing drama. The network had labored for several years to develop a soap opera that would successfully engage audiences and cultivate a loyal viewer base. General Hospital, created by husband and wife writing team Frank and Doris Hursley, debuted on the afternoon of April 1, 1963 as a half-hour 

continuing drama set on the seventh floor of a hospital in the fictional town of Port Charles.  

At the time of the soap opera’s debut, two of TV’s most popular dramatic programs were set in hospitals, and General Hospital was the daytime equivalent.  Dr. Steven Hardy, Chief of Internal Medicine, was the show’s first protagonist and anchor character.  Played by professional baseball player-turned actor John Beradino, the dark, swarthy Dr. Hardy in his crisp, white tunic bore a striking resemblance to Dr. Ben Casey (Vince Edwards), the title character on another ABC series and one of two competing medical dramas then airing in prime time. (The other was NBC’s Dr. Kildare, starring Richard Chamberlain.)  About the role of Dr. Hardy, Beradino once wrote that “it was not one of my accustomed roles . . . not the part of a gangster, not the part of a cop . . . it was a part close to my heart, the part of a down-to-earth doctor who cared deeply, not only for his patients, but for his fellowman as well.” 

John Beradino as Dr. Steve Hardy

Vince Edwards as Dr. Ben Casey

To compete with other network soaps, ABC in the 1970s expanded General Hospital from 30 minutes to an hour, creating the need for more characters and more content to fill the longer time slot.  Ratings remained lackluster until the network hired Gloria Monty – one of television’s first woman directors – to be the show’s executive producer.  Monty made noticeable changes, including shifting focus away from the hospital and its patients and introducing younger characters such as super couple Luke and Laura (Anthony Geary and Genie Francis), whose November 1981 wedding remains one of the highest rated television programs of all time.  Dr. Hardy, who had by this time been named hospital chief of staff, began to appear less frequently and was no longer the show’s anchor. Interestingly, the character’s rendering of The Christmas Story to patients in the hospital’s pediatric ward, became both an annual tradition and a fan favorite.  Beradino is said to have been very proud of his more than 30 years with the soap.  He died at age 79 in 1996.

Acknowledgement of General Hospital’s 50 years on the air is scripted as a tribute to Dr. Hardy on the 50-year anniversary of his association with the hospital.  Rachel Ames, who first appeared in 1964 as Steve Hardy’s love interest and eventual wife, returns to the show as the now-retired Nurse Audrey Hardy. Assisted by granddaughter Nurse Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst), Mrs. Hardy unveils a large portrait of her 
husband as honor is given to the late chief of staff, whose professional legacy exists in the high standard of care maintained by hospital staff.

Although General Hospital can still boast millions of loyal viewers from several demographics, ratings for daytime dramas have for years been in continuous decline. Rumors of General Hospital’s impending cancellation periodically swirl around the industry and will no doubt re-emerge once the celebration ends and the venerable soap resumes its status as an example of a genre fast approaching obsolescence. Still, if he were here to take his place among former and current cast members sharing their memories on talk shows, on the web and elsewhere, John Beradino would likely be quite proud of Dr. Hardy’s long association with General Hospital and the show’s 50 years of love in the afternoon.