BIG REVEAL!! That Was Fast! General Hospital’s Gregory Harrison Is Already Returning to the Screen
It seems like just yesterday we said goodbye to General Hospital‘s Gregory as he died peacefully in his sleep after a battle with ALS. Actually, it may not have been yesterday, but it was just last week. And we’re sure the ripples from his passing will be felt for some time in Port Charles.
But while he may not be coming back to General Hospital, Gregory Harrison is returning to another series: Hallmark Mysteries & More’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered! He joined the franchise with the third film back in 2015, Truth Be Told, playing Joe O’Toole, the stepfather of Eric Mabius’ Oliver. Since then, he’s appeared in seven of the twelve films, and now it looks like he’s back for more!
Because back in April, we learned that the Signed, Sealed, Delivered series was set for two new movies: A Tale of Three Letters in 2024 and To the Moon and Back in 2025. Though official dates haven’t been announced just yet, it looks like the cast is back in action as Crystal Lowe shared a short clip of “the family” posing behind the scenes — and Harrison was a part of it!
“We can’t wait to share these new movies with all of you,” she wrote. “Our hearts are full.”
Gregory’s death on General Hospital has no doubt affected everyone who knew him and was a powerful story about appreciating the time we have left on this mortal coil. The show chose to present his ultimate demise in a heartbreaking manner, and it could have been much more difficult than it was.
ALS Takes No Prisoners
When someone hears the term amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, they often think of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking who was diagnosed with it in 1963 at the young age of 21 — when it was then called motor neurone disease (MND). Although the affliction shortens one’s life exponentially, the scientist amazingly lived until 2018, when he died at age 76. For the latter half of his life, he was confined to a wheelchair, required 24/7 care, and communicated through a sophisticated computer that would speak words that he chose. His body was paralyzed, with only his brain active, and it must have been a tortured life for the celebrated genius.
Gregory Chase (Gregory Harrison) on GH was diagnosed with ALS in April 2023, and just over a year later, the character tragically passed away peacefully in his sleep from heart failure on the May 21 episode. Leading up to that, Gregory knew the horrors that lay ahead of him from the disease, including “Muscle weakness or stiffness that progresses, [with] wasting and paralysis of the muscles of the limbs, trunk, and those that control vital functions generally [following],” according to the ALS Association. In other words, Gregory was headed for a difficult fate where he would be fully conscious but trapped in an unusable body. (See how soap stars banded together to benefit people with ALS.)
GH Handled the Story With Decorum
GH opted to have Gegory’s fate with the disease be fast-moving, which culminated in a relatively peaceful demise, preceded by a montage of his life that surely didn’t leave a dry eye in the audience.
Not only does the show get points for telling the story with dignity, but Harrison’s performance should be applauded. He portrayed Gregory as a man who knew his fate but chose to face it head-on and fight for every ounce of independence he could until the very end.
Although he struggled through officiating his son Harrison’s (Josh Swickard) wedding to Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton), he got through it with some encouragement from Tracy (Jane Elliot), and everyone in attendance applauded his efforts. In the end, his words to his friends and family about cherishing each moment, for they may be your last, will reverberate for years to come. (Check out how Harrison’s co-stars said goodbye to him.)
