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(I am) Remembering Johnny Wactor
Within a few hours, people were bringing it to my attention, and it was all over various Facebook pages and on the X pages of several of Wactor’s GH costars. There was even an article with a quote from his mother. Unfortunately, Wactor is only the latest actor casualty for the GH family: Sonya Eddy, Jacklyn Zeman, Billy Miller, and Tyler Christopher – to name just a few. It still breaks my heart to think of Miller ending his own life. These soap stars come into our living rooms (or wherever your TV might be), and they touch your life in a way that only a soap fan could understand.
But this time, for me, the loss felt more personal, as I had the pleasure of meeting Wactor last summer. One of the smartest things I have ever done was to join the General Hospital Fan Club, which holds a convention in the summer at the Hilton in Glendale, California. One of the events is called A Stroll Down Memory Lane. As the title suggests, the event evokes memories by having past GH cast members from all different years and storylines join the fans. Wactor was one of them. The biggest thrill was that the fan club members got to meet and take pictures with the actors. I did not get to meet all of them (some of them were from periods when I was not a viewer), but Wactor was definitely on my list. I adored Brando Corbin and always felt he should not have been a victim of the hook – especially since, as most viewers probably know, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Wactor greeted me with a big smile. I told him that I wanted him back on the show, and I knew the perfect way to do it: At the time, Brando’s GH widow, Sasha, was languishing in a mental institution, all because of a scheme masterminded by her mother-in-law, Gladys. This evil woman had become Sasha’s guardian after Brando’s death, and when Sasha felt she had reached a point where the guardianship could be dissolved, Gladys – who owed money to the wrong people after racking up gambling debts – was not about to let that happen. My suggestion: have Brando come back as an apparition. He could haunt Gladys about what she was doing to Sasha, and then maybe Gladys would be the one behind a locked door.
Wactor appreciated my idea, and he just exuded warmth. We had also joked that he and Sasha should have a “ghost” baby. I said, “Liam!” He approved and we laughed and hugged. You didn’t need to know this man well to tell what kind of a person he was. In fact, after I had met with him, another fan club member said to me, “Isn’t he the nicest guy?” I am heading to California for the fan club event again this summer, and I had been hoping to be able to see him once again.
I am going to avoid getting too soap box-y here, but I want to say that another thing that really hurts about Wactor’s death is that he was mercilessly gunned down. He had come out of work and found three men by his car. He had thought the vehicle was going to be towed, and when went to ask what was going on, one of them opened fire. Why? Wactor was not attempting to stop anything, nor was he getting physical.
As you can see, this is not so much a report about Wactor’s senseless murder as it is my personal tribute to someone who deserved so much better. I have said this before, but it bears repeating: Johnny Wactor was a joy to meet, and I am so glad I have a picture of us to remember him by.
May he rest in paradise.
