Media Ho (noun): A person who retains far too much information about people/places/things having to do with the media world, including (but not limited to) television, movies, music, pop culture, and the movers/shakers/performers in those worlds. Constantly frustrated by friends’ refusal to play any one of the versions of Trivial Pursuit with her. Result: this column, which will deal mostly with the rumors currently out there about ABC Daytime programs and players, delving deeply into them and offering further insight/commentary, drawing on that retained information as well as other sources.

July 27, 2006

The Media Ho will not be posting her usual column this week and will, instead, be recapping some of the events of the recent GH Fan Club Weekend.  Her usual column will return soon.

The Media Ho Revisits the General Hospital Fan Club Weekend!
PART I of II: The Kickoff Event

Studio City (CA) almost feels like home now, except for the extreme heat. As a rule, this Media Ho wilts when the temp goes above 82º, yet the mercury went as high as 114º during the main event of the weekend, the Luncheon. Gleep. As I was rendered nearly comatose by the hot conditions, I will be reporting only on the first-ever Kickoff Event, held Thursday evening, and, of course, Saturday’s Luncheon.

I walked into the event a tad early with much of the EOS gang so we could help Debbie Morris (the president of the General Hospital Fan Club and orchestrator of the Weekend) and her team set up. A band was rehearsing on stage, and my ears perked up. “Rick Springfield made it?” Alas, no, but Ignaccio “Diego” Serricchio (henceforth referred to by his nickname, Nacho) would be rocking the house with his band. Hmm.

Nacho was all over the place, very enthusiastic, and greeting his fans (and soon-to-be-converted-to-fans) with a loud, “HOLA!” He introduced all to “cousin" Adrian, who plays Det. Rodriguez, a very friendly guy indeed.

John J. York was escorted in by our Carolyn, who was conveniently wearing a nametag that sported a photo of the two of them taken two years ago. John, a total sweetheart, asked me if I wanted to give him a wristband (the ID of necessity for those attending the event), but I said I didn’t think he’d need one. Carolyn had to go fetch the next actor, so they parted company (John seemed a bit wistful, waving at her and thanking her for “having me on your chest”). He then jumped into the fray and charmed the fans.

Quite a few of the actors showed up, direct from the set. The very down-to-earth and friendly Dirk “Max” Cheetwood came in with the bubbly Ric Hearst. Dylan “Mini-Mobster-Me/Michael Corinthos, Jr.” Cash left the Sportsmen’s Lodge pool long enough to pay a visit. Lindze “Georgie” Letherman was there, and was delighted to spend time with her fans (some of whom I recognized from working with her last year), not to mention thrilled when I finally tracked down the elusive iced tea she craved. Kimberly “Robin” McCullough and Jason “Patrick” Thompson showed up for a time, to loud screams of appreciation. Greg “Lucky” Vaughan, watch cap pulled down over his head, came by to introduce Nacho and his band.

Nacho took the stage with a tentative version of the Stones’ “Satisfaction,” but the band gained confidence with each new song, and really hit a groove. Actors and fans alike couldn’t help but boogie down with the infectious, enthusiastic Nacho, and I gained new respect for him. He was totally into it, and gave his all.

Debbie Morris seemed to be enjoying the event as much as everyone else in the room, which is saying a lot, considering the enormous amount of work she put into it. As this was the inaugural Kickoff Event, it’s always the most stressful, but she was smiling and happy, and that was nice to see. She works on this Weekend all year long and deserves a lot of credit.

Cynthia “ex-Faith” Preston came in and was immediately surrounded by fans. Everyone still adores her, even though she hasn’t been on the show for a year (not counting her brief appearance to freak out Carly #3 last summer). I was prepared to see her this year. We’d spoken at length last year about one of her very early films, “If Looks Could Kill,” which co-starred Richard (21 Jump Street) Grieco, Oscar-winner Linda Hunt, and several other notables. It’s a fun spoof of teen and spy movies, and Cyndy couldn’t believe I remembered it. She had a blast making it, and had shared some stories with me. So, in between GHFC Weekends, I had a DVD transfer made of my VHS original (the movie is not available on DVD), and presented it to her at the kickoff event. Needless to say, she was delighted! I gave it to one of her reps so that she wouldn’t have to hang onto it while signing autographs and posing for pictures, as she did for quite a while. Here’s hoping her enthusiastic reception won’t be lost on TPTB – they need to bring her back!

Nacho and his band played as many encores as they could before finally begging off, and the fans would have happily stayed for more. Lindze was dancing up a storm, cheering on her friend, having a great time. Time to leave, though. I walked out with Dirk, and teased him about the house he has for sale with cousin Tyler “Nikolas” Christopher. (They bought it as a fixer-upper, did most of the work themselves, and now have it listed for $1.3 million.) I offered him $1.2 million cash, and he laughed, asking for $1.29 million! We joked around a bit, shook hands, and promised to look for each other at the Luncheon.

Winding down, the EOS gang assembled together for the first time that day (due to several delayed flights and luggage gone missing) and had a brief time to catch up before heading for our respective rooms. Kelly, Carolyn and Kathy had events to work on Friday, and I had a date with Mickey Mouse that same day, along with Dianna, Katrina, and Katrina’s daughter, Delena. Little did I know we were smack-dab in the throes of a major heat wave…

PART II: The Luncheon coming up next…with pictures!