On Bill Eckert

"A lot of people have found Bill unsuccessful--but I don't. It was a battle getting there, but we finally found out who he was--a man who lives in quiet desperation and is much too existential for the soap medium. But I don't think there's anything to apologize for. I would never consider the success of a character to be gauged by his popularity with the audience."

TV Guide, October 16, 1993

 

"I have often thought Bill may have worked with another actor in a way that would have been more pleasing to the audience. Initially what they wanted Bill to be was a great father, a great son, a great brother--pretty much the ideal kind of fella--and that has never been very interesting to me to play. There are a lot of guys who can do that really, really well, I think, and I'm not one of them."

Soap Opera Weekly, November 16, 1993

 

"From day one I was always looking for the dark side of Bill--where's the pain in his life, what is his fatal flaw, what are his disappointments--which is the way I look at all characters."

Soap Opera Weekly, November 16, 1993

 

"That was a rather desperate decision made early on when they decided I looked better in Armani suits than in jeans."

Soap Opera Weekly, November 16, 1993, on Bill's sudden acquisition of money

 

"Here was a man who was living in quiet desperation. Just because a guy doesn't tell you what he's feeling doesn't mean he doesn't have feelings. He had deep feelings, and they were trapped."

Soap Opera Weekly, November 16, 1993

 

"Interestingly, I have found that a lot more men liked him than women, and I think that while he may have been a liar with Holly, for example, and was not the pleasantest of guys, there was a straightforwardness about him. He sort of cut through the [crap] attitude that men respond to in this medium; women are not comforted by that kind of man, in general."

Soap Opera Weekly, November 16, 1993

 

"It's a difficult call because there aren't many guys on the air who are brutally, ruthlessly straightforward, and I also refused to make him sentimental, which is something I struggle with with Luke, too. Sentiment is great, but sentimentality is cheap."

Soap Opera Weekly, November 16, 1993

 

"It's only because the writers decided to tell the audience by having everybody in town judge Bill's behavior that he was a bad dad. You never really saw Bill be a bad dad. You just heard about it."

Soap Opera Weekly, November 16, 1993

 

"What makes sense to me was the fact that every woman Bill came into contact with in 2 1/2 years...used Sly to get to Bill, and to have not known that makes him an idiot. Any man has his antennae out for that.... What the child provides for the man is humanity and what the man provides for the child is safety and security; they take care of each other, and any woman coming into that dynamic would have to deal with both of them. Why couldn't we have that story?"

Soap Opera Weekly, November 16, 1993

 

"The Eckerts were a totally unrealistic family. I come from blue collar, my father was a construction worker. That ain't it."

Soap Opera Digest, Spring 1996

On Playing Other Roles

"I've already done several films, two of which were never released. One was a Western shot in Utah with one horse. They're threatening to release the other one, which is called Blood Sabbath. I've got star billing, but I was only twenty-two when I did it, so hopefully nobody will recognize me!"

Soap Opera Digest, January 6, 1981

 

"Many of the scripts that are sent to me are nothing more than Luke Spencer rehashed and I won't do it. I refuse."

Soap Opera Digest, 1983

 

"But it's not really a matter of better offers either. It's whether or not I've done Luke Spencer. My whole life is acting. I've set it up that way and I'm quite content. But I've got a lot more to say. There are a lot more personalities to explore. If I come to the conclusion that I've said all there is to say about Luke Spencer, then it's time to go."

Soap Opera Digest, 1983

 

"I needed to prove that I wasn't Luke Spencer."

TV Guide, February 16, 1991, on his night club act

 

"They all wanted to re-create Luke--maybe with a different name and a horse ranch--but Luke nevertheless."

TV Guide, February 16, 1991

 

"It's one man's experience with love, loss, sin and redemption, and that's a tall order. I go through about 20 characters in two hours."

Soap Opera Digest, Spring 1996, on his role in the play Human Scratchings

"It's nice to be scared again. It's a bungee-jump. Sometimes, you spring into the air magnificently and sometimes, you smack your head on the rocks below. Can't stop you from jumping off the bridge, though, if that's what you do."

Soap Opera Digest, Spring 1996, on his role in the play Human Scratchings

 

"If the Unabomber didn't insist that [the newspapers] print his manifesto but could instead take 99 people into a room and explain what he did and why he did it to try and get them on his side, that's what it would be. It's a very tall order--emotionally cathartic and full of life and passion and madness. The character flips in and out of [various personas] to tell the story, but it is always Willard's impression of the character. It's a fascinating experience, and the thought of standing alone onstage and unzipping my heart and asking an audience to sit with me and be with this for a couple of hours is a really daunting challenge."

Soap Opera Weekly, April 16, 1996, on the role of Willard in Human Scratchings

 

 

"I feed off of other actors. I really like to connect to people I'm working with. But in this, I am going to be connecting to the audience. I think the interesting thing will be to see how it's colored in terms of relating to people. And it's a pretty tough sell. 'I've done some murdering here, and don't you understand?' I think it's cool. I've always liked imperfections. I'm not so interested in the heroes of the world as I am the almost-heroes. The can-be heroes. I've always enjoyed sort of the underdog, the person other people take advantage of or don't particularly want to know. I find those people far more fascinating. This is a man who for two acts has a need to connect with the audience and explain to them that he's not a monster, but he sees redemption at the end. When people come to see this, I want them to know it will not be Tony Geary talking about Luke Spencer, or his experiences in life. Which may be an interesting show, but it ain't this one."

Soap Opera Weekly, April 16, 1996, on Human Scratchings

"So many great people who affected my life in so many ways were associated with that show. Susan Brown played my foster mother and David Lewis played her father. And Dabney Coleman. And Gloria Monty was directing the show at the time. That's where I first met her. So this was a very significant experience for me."

Soap Opera Weekly, April 16, 1996, on his time on Bright Promise

"Well, I've done...I've done everything in, uh, summer stock from the...crocodile in Peter Pan to Jesus Christ in Superstar. That's quite a range."

The Rosie O'Donnell Show, January 1997

"When I left the show for eight years in 1983, I went out hungry to do films and did 13 movies in five years, B pictures. They caught up with me on late-night TV. Sometimes when I travel to Europe, I see one of them dubbed in Italian. By the time I returned to General Hospital, I'd worked all that out. I was quite content. This is my career."

Soap Opera News, June 3, 1997

"I still love the stage, and I'm always looking for a play."

Soap Opera News, June 3, 1997

On Jacklyn Zeman

"When I first came on, Jackie was the queen bitch of daytime. I was sort of her Tonto, running around letting the air out of people's tires for her. We've always had fire between us. If there's anybody there that feels like a sister, it's Jackie. And I think she'd tell you there's been a brotherly connection, even though we don't spend a lot of time together away from the show. I love the fights we have. We had one just yesterday where I lay into her for going to the Dominican Republic and getting a divorce from Tony. This whole thing where she's getting attracted to Stefan Cassadine. Some of the fights we've had have been my favorite moments. She anchors me to the streets, me as the actor. When Luke sees Bobbie, he never sees her as a nurse or as a mother; he always sees her as a street whore. He always loves her for that. That's not a judgment--he loves her survival, he loves what she's capable of doing to take care of herself. There's a lot of fire there, so it's wonderful to have scenes with Jackie."

Soap Opera Magazine, November 19, 1996

 

"In 1978, I did my first scene on the show with Jackie. I came on to be Tonto to her Lone Ranger. I was to ring doorbells and run whenever she wanted me to. Or poke into culverts for snakes for her. Jackie never had a brother, and we connected very deeply. And I do think of her in a very sibling sort of way. It's a nice relationship."

Soap Opera News, June 10, 1997

On Norma Connolly

"One of the dearest people I know. I love Norma, she has been a real friend and a real solid anchor through all of this, not only for Luke, but for me as a person. Ruby is Luke's role model for Mother Earth. And there is a lot of Laura in Ruby. There is a lot of Laura's tender taking-care-of-people side that he fell in love with."

Soap Opera Magazine, November 19, 1996

 

"And so, now I must stand alone in Kelly's Diner. It's dark... cold... the doors are locked... the jukebox unplugged. Stacks of dirty dishes rattle 'goodnight' on their way to the kitchen for soaking and scrubbing. The never-empty coffeepot hits an unprecedented bottom. Cacophonies of endless dialogue fade around me, only the sound of Norma's deep, soothing voice remains. 'I am a caveat, sweetheart,' I hear her say. 'I'm a sturdy old lighthouse with a stubborn, unquenchable beacon. I'll always be here, in your heart, reminding you to beware the rocky, ragged shore of indifference. Beware the ever-swirling winds of false and foggy judgment. Beware the ebbing tides of foolish pride and self-delusion. Be ever aware, alert, on guard against a closed and remote heart. Raise your head, your hopes; have courage, keep focused, be determined... there is life and grace in the eye of every hurricane. I was living proof."

Soap Opera Magazine, February 9, 1999, from his eulogy for Norma Connolly

 

"When I think of Norma, I think of her unconditional love and support, friendship, and her laugh."

Soap Opera Magazine, February 9, 1999

 

"I think of Ruby as a dignified survivor who was honest and had a lot of heart."

Soap Opera Magazine, February 9, 1999

On Kin Shriner

"I smile anytime I think of Kin. He's one of the funniest people I've ever met. He has a wonderful sense of humor and he's a little goofy. I like that in my soap friends. Somebody was pointing out in one of the fight scenes we had that I accidentally popped Kin in the mouth and knocked him on the couch and his mouth bled through the scene. He didn't go, 'Stop tape!' as so many younger actors might do these days. He continued--and that's improvisation. He dealt with it, and we continued the scene. One of the directors asked, 'Did he ever pop you back?' And I said, no, but I let him write his dialogue on the back of my neck. Playing an attorney, he had all these technical legal terms that he couldn't remember. I was sitting, and he kept walking behind me, so he asked, 'Can I just write this on your neck?' I said, 'Well, I owe you one for bloodying your mouth.'"

Soap Opera Magazine, November 19, 1996

On Genie Francis

"Our souls meet out there somewhere."

Daytime TV's Greatest Stories No. 2, Everything You Want to Know About...General Hospital, 1981

 

"[I would] never have brought back Luke without Laura, because she defines him. His feelings, his life, are all about her. I had so closed the door on Luke that there was a point when I couldn't even remember who he was. But when I sat down with Genie again, and looked at her and touched her and smelled her, it all came back. I can't do it without her."

TV Guide, October 16, 1993

 

"We are 10 years richer in our lives. The trust factor we had, the ability to listen to each other with our hearts, minds and imaginations has always been there. But now, Genie is a formidable young woman who really knows her craft and business. It's a joy working with her."

TV Times (a section of the Los Angeles Times), January 2, 1994

 

"It doesn't feel like ten years to me, but I really liked seeing her!"

Daytime TV, March 1994

 

"This story couldn't have been done without Genie. Genie defines Laura by allowing an audience inside a complicated moment, and I could not allow an audience in without her love, Laura's love."

Daytime TV, March 1994, on the return of Luke and Laura

 

"I knew it had to happen, but I never thought it would be as Luke and Laura. When you're talking about two actors who have committed their lives to the profession, I have to reject the magic and chemistry that people allude to. I don't really think it's magic. I think it's very simple. We're two actors who have a lot of training and a lot of experience under our belts. Ultimately, what really made it work is that we trust each other. Genie and I have an intimacy that...well, sex is not nearly as intimate as what we have. We listen and we watch each other and we feed off each other. That's what our chemistry is."

Daytime TV, March 1994, on whether he thought he'd work with Genie again

 

"I've missed Genie. Every day, she shows up to work ready to bleed for you. That's the kind of actress she is. She's always working: 'How can I hurt more? How can I be more full of love?' When an actor does that for you, that's a tremendous gift. I love her. I love working with her. She makes me better. She connects to this character so deeply."

Soap Opera Digest, Spring 1996

 

"My experience with this lady is that she's happiest--and feels most fulfilled--when she has an opportunity to unzip her little heart and bleed all over the place. I just don't know anyone else who does it better. Or anyone who looks for that emotional release more than she does. Literally every day she wants to give you a big ol' chunk o' heart. When we have to struggle to do that on the show is when we have our most trouble. When the material or the situation doesn't allow Genie the full expression of what there is to offer--when the audience doesn't get as much as she wants to give--she's not happy. She just wants to bleed for ya."

TV Guide website, May 14, 1997

 

"We were our first family together."

TV Guide website, May 14, 1997

 

"Listen, I should be so lucky to be the father of her children--Jameson is so beautiful."

TV Guide website, May 14, 1997, when told of the rumor that he was the actual father of Genie's children

 

"I saw a scene on the air the other day that really upset me--the one where I called Nikolas a 'little bastard.' And you said to me when we were taping, 'I don't think you should do that. I think that's a bad choice.' And I hung with it. I said, 'No, this is how I feel about him.' And I saw it the other day, and you were right. I was wrong. It was just one step too far."

TV Guide website, May 14, 1997, to Genie

 

"We don't really have tensions. We're both emotional people and we go up and down. But if I can make her laugh or she can come over, put her arm around me and say, 'I know, honey,' we're fine."

TV Guide website, May 14, 1997

 

"We're adults now. I mean, Genie really was a child when she joined this show, but I put myself in that category back then, too. I was a lot older than her, but we both grew up real fast with all that attention. We both survived the same extreme success and the extreme disappointment that followed. Genie is the only other person on the planet that knows that part of me.... We both know that disappointment real well."

TV Guide website, May 14, 1997

 

"I told her she should go and try to break water on stage and put herself back on the cover of Newsweek."

TV Guide website, May 14, 1997, on a pregnant Genie attending the Emmy presentation

 

"After such a big dry spell, this is kind of a treat. I don't think anyone, least of all Genie and me, could have predicted we'd still be playing these parts--and be nominated--15 years after all the hoo-ha. I wouldn't mind doing this every 15 years."

TV Guide, May 17, 1997, on the Emmy nominations

 

"We've both survived the same extreme success and the extreme disappointment that followed. Genie is the only other person on this planet who understands that part of me."

TV Guide, May 17, 1997

 

"She's a wonderful woman and we're close friends even though she's half my age. She was only 14 when we began working together about 19 years ago. We quickly learned to trust each other. There's no one I'd rather work with. Nothing is more important to two actors than trust. You can open up to them and hope the camera catches it. Even with script problems or whatever the problems are, it's really between two people. We can hang onto each other's glances and unspoken moments, saying more with our looks and silent language than with pages and pages of dialogue. With chemistry like that, you feed off each other. Genie is an extraordinary woman and actress. And she's gorgeous. We've come to respect each other's boundaries when we're working. The love scenes were playful when we first played them, but we learned that was uncomfortable and we don't do that anymore. I've spent a great deal of time with her and her child--she's soon going to have another--and her wonderful actor-director husband Jonathan Frakes. When I call them at home and Jonathan answers the phone, he calls, 'Honey, it's your other husband!'"

Soap Opera News, June 3, 1997

 

"I always thought of Genie as an angel, somewhat like Luke thinks of her. You've got to cross-pollinate these parallel existences."

Soap Opera News, June 10, 1997

 

"We are profoundly close. Nothing means more to me on the set than to make Genie laugh when she looks troubled or to have her just touch my arm and say, 'I know, honey.' It's a marriage of creativity that's 20 years old, so much unspoken material and love between us. I adore her. I adore her. I am so glad we never fell in love in real life because it could never be this good. I couldn't be unfaithful to Laura with Genie--not that I ever had the opportunity, you understand. She is a very special woman."

Soap Opera News, June 10, 1997

 

"Genie Francis, because it works, obviously."

Soap Opera Digest, July 22, 1997, on his dream co-star

 

"The last show on General Hospital on which the audience saw Luke and Laura together, Laura was pregnant. She told Luke about it. I'll never forget doing that scene. Genie had no children at the time, and it was the first time she ever said those words to a man. She was so incredible that day. So beautiful. I'll never forget how excited she was. I got swept up in it and thought afterward: I'll never forget that. Nobody will ever tell me they are going to have my baby, and if they ever do, I will never feel like that. But the feeling of the moment was extraordinary."

Soap Opera Weekly, February 24, 1998

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