The cast and crew working on "General Hospital" said they are wondering if the soap opera is cursed after the death of actor Johnny Wactor, as well as several other key stars on the show, according to reports.
Wactor, known for his role as Brando Corbin on the show from 2020-22, died May 25 in Los Angeles after being shot during a suspected robbery. It later emerged that he was trying to protect Anita Joy, a friend and colleague, from the line of fire. They worked together at a bar.
"My friend of 8 years went from laughing together, working side by side, leaving our bartending shift and walking to our cars, to him dying in my arms in the streets of DTLA in the dark hours of 3am," Joy wrote on Instagram about the incident, adding that the "basic details of this horrific story" came down "to a few criminals trying to steal a car part."
That car was Wactor's. He reportedly approached the men to address the situation when one of them fired a gun.
Wactor was just the latest star from "General Hospital" to die under tragic circumstances. As RadarOnline.com noted, actors from the show have been plagued by suicides, homelessness, cancer battles, accidents, and run-ins with the law.
"It's hard to ignore that in the last few years, an unusually high rate of death and disaster has cursed the cast — it's no wonder so many people are frightened," one unnamed source cited by the news outlet revealed.
Less than three months before Wactor's murder, Robyn Bernard, who played Terry Brock on the show from 1984-90, was found dead in a field in San Jacinto, California, at the age of 64. She had retired from acting and was reportedly homeless at the time of her death.
"Robyn lost touch with everyone over the years, but her death still hit people very hard. It was just so sad the way her life ended up," an insider said, according to RadarOnline.com.
In October, Tyler Christopher, known for his roles as Nikolas Cassadine and Connor Bishop on "General Hospital" from 1996 to 2016, died at 50 due to acute alcohol intoxication. Recently, Meg Bennett, a longtime writer aged 75, succumbed to cancer.
The "General Hospital" cast was further shaken when Haley Pullos, 25, who has portrayed Molly Lansing-Davis since 2009, narrowly escaped death after causing a DUI-related injury crash on an LA freeway. She is now serving a 90-day jail sentence.
"It's traumatizing and scary," an anonymous source said about the incidents. "This has reminded everyone how precious life is and they check on each other frequently."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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