General Hospital’s Charles Shaughnessy Says a Heartfelt Goodbye to the Late Castmate Who ‘Made This a Sunnier, Funnier Place’
Since General Hospital more often had Charles Shaughnessy issuing threats as Victor Cassadine than cracking jokes, it may come as a surprise to viewers of ABC’s soap that he has terrific comic timing. Well, if they missed his 1993-99 run opposite opposite Fran Drescher on the CBS series The Nanny, anyway.
In real life, the actor loves a good laugh, too — and he enjoyed a whole lot of them during his 1984-92 stint as ISA operative Shane Donovan on Days of Our Lives. The storylines weren’t hilarious per se, but one of his co-stars in particular didn’t just have a funny bone, her whole body seemed to be full of funny bones. “I’m so sad we have said goodbye to Arleen Sorkin,” Shaughnessy posted to Threads following the scene stealer’s August 26 passing at age 67.
Days of Our Lives devotees will vividly remember Sorkin as Calliope Jones, arguably one of daytime’s greatest comic-relief characters of all time. Shaughnessy remembers her portrayer just as clearly. “She made this a sunnier, funnier place,” he wrote. “We had few scenes together on Days of Our Lives, but she brightened up the studio with her joy and wicked humor. Then Mike Weiss (ex-Mike), Arleen and I formed a short-lived company to mount our own ‘appearances.’ Called Standing Room Only, it lasted one event in Bakersfield, after which we were stuck in traffic for five hours!
“It was the best, funniest five hours I have spent,” he concluded.
