GENERAL HOSPITAL

THE BATTLE BETWEEN LUKE AND HUTCH: TONY GEARY FIGHTS THE CHALLENGE OF RISING STAR RICK MOSES
by Alice Koenigsberg

"Fame," said Hutch to Luke and Laura when they saw their pictures in the newspaper, "is a funny thing. Sometimes it only lasts a day."

Obviously there was a lesson to be learned here, not only for Luke but for Tony Geary, the incredibly talented actor behind soap opera's most beloved character. For, not only has Luke found himself fighting for Laura's love with this sly James-Dean-of-a-hitman Hutch, Tony's discovered he's in a pitched battle for popularity with Rick Moses, the actor who brings Hutch to life.

Although right now the love triangle of Luke, Laura, and Hutch is secondary to their struggle to stay alive, it's conceivable that Hutch and Laura could become more and more involved as she tries to rehabilitate this man-gone-bad. And Luke, if he's not careful, could find himself in the same position Scotty was in at the beginning of last summer, getting pushed out of the picture as Laura moves on to the next man in her life. All three of the performers involved definitely see the possibility of a Hutch and Laura love interest.

"Laura likes Hutch and trusts him," says Genie Francis. "She truly loves Luke, and has always loved just one man at a time." But it also seems that once Laura has her man firmly in her grasp, her attention begins to wander.

Tony Geary offers Luke's side of the story. "Hutch is very good looking, much better looking than Luke. Laura twinkles at him a lot, and he obviously has eyes for her." Luke is well aware of Laura's past relationships with men, and most likely he will fear any man she is friendly with, "unless something dramatic would happen between them that make Luke feel more secure with Laura.

"Luke fantasizes they will live happily ever after," continues Tony, "but he knows better. He knows Laura is still young. He's about ten years older, which is a big difference in that age group. Any man who has had a relationship with a younger woman--and probably the same thing goes for a woman loving a younger man--knows the younger person has to go through a lot to be with them. There's a clock in the back of Luke's mind saying that the time is going to come when Laura will wonder what she's missed, and she'll try to regain it."

And what about that lovable, lonely button-man, Hutch? What does he think of the situation? Rick Moses explains, "Laura's and Hutch's relationship could go in any direction at any time. People work together for years, and all of a sudden fall in love in a night." And any affair between the two of them could have deadly consequences, because Rick feels Hutch would be able to make love to Laura and then eventually murder her, "like the hunter who admires the deer he's going to kill."

But it's difficult to read what Hutch is going to do. "You never know if Hutch is lying or telling the truth," says Rick. "He is the ultimate con-man and clearly a dangerous person. You don't want to mess with him."

Obviously, soap opera story lines are delicate creatures, apt to be changed at a moments [sic] notice. And besides the consideration of character, plot, and fan response, day-to-day circumstances enter into the development of the ultimate story. When Kin Shriner decided to leave the show, GH had to rewrite a whole summer's worth of stories. And now it looks like the show is facing another crisis--their hottest storyline, which features this fantastically charismatic trio, is in trouble. As we go to press, Rick Moses is still unsigned for the next soap opera season, and apparently he has no intention of re-signing. ABC has reportedly made him generous offers, because of the tremendous response to Hutch, but Rick doesn't want to abandon his first love--music. He traded rock and roll for a soap opera role only temporarily, and now he's anxious to get back to working on his second album. So all of you fans who've fallen for Hutch should send Rick some mail, care of GH (check out the address on page 80) and see if you can convince him to stay.

But no matter what becomes of this gorgeous gun-for-hire, rest assured Laura and Luke won't live happily ever after. For if Hutch slips away into the night, you can bet something new will happen to Laura and Luke--like Scotty sauntering out of his room, sated with movies and ready to win back Laura's love. That is--if there is a Laura around to love. For the latest complication to this story is that Genie Francis is reportedly getting ready to move her career in another direction, and leave General Hospital behind. There is one great bright spot, though--Tony Geary has absolutely no plans to leave the show.

Sidebar: SHOOTING TO THE TOP

Rick Moses, as Hutch, is definitely one hit-man who came on like gangbusters: We've received tons of mail on this good-looking guy, and we figured that no matter what happens to Hutch, you'd like to know a little more about Rick.

Rick went to prep school at Andover in Massachusetts, where he was an All-American swimmer, but he gave up sports and began to just wander on his own at an early age. He earned his living in a variety of ways--acting, singing, instructing martial arts, wrangling, and moving furniture. After several years of living in New York acting in several different Broadway productions, Rick settled down in Hollywood with his wife Jonnie, also a performer, and their two sons,--Ricky, 2-1/2 and Tarrant, 8 months.

Rick's amazed by his instant stardom. Five weeks after he made his General Hospital debut, he took his children to Disneyland, and even though he had on shades and a hat he was instantly recognized. "I signed autographs for an hour and and [sic] a half. The people were very nice, and it was a pleasure for me. I'm a private person, and the only drawback of being a celebrity is you lose that privacy, but I'm not one of those people who say its a big drag."

Rick, the son of actress Marian McCargo and executive Richard Cantrell Moses, is enjoying his work at GH, and thinks the world of his co-stars, Genie Francis and Tony Geary.