Five Fast Facts About General Hospital Star John J. York

John J. York is best known for playing Mac Scorpio on General Hospital, a role he has also played on the dearly departed soaps Port Charles, All My Children, and GH: Night Shift. York has also guest-starred on shows such as Veronica Mars, Even Stevens, 21 Jump Street, Dynasty, and Family Ties.

While he’s been busy making his dreams come true in Los Angeles, York had to sacrifice a lot in order to follow his passion. From the health struggles he faced to his family life, here are five fast facts about the General Hospital actor!

In The Beginning
York was born on December 10 and raised on the South Side of Chicago. He was the fifth of six children and played football while he was growing up. He attended the University of Whitewater in Wisconsin and studied marketing, but he ended up coming back to Chicago to pursue acting full time.

Health Struggles
York was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the age of 15, which is a bowel disease that causes inflammation in the digestive tract. Because of this diagnosis, he lost close to 60 pounds in six months and realized he probably couldn’t play football anymore. He has since become the celebrity spokesperson for the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America.

Leading Man
After doing theater in Chicago for a little while, York decided to move out to Los Angeles to really give his acting dreams a shot. He waited tables and worked hard, but in 1987 he created quite a stir when he was cast as the lead on the show Werewolf, which lasted for 29 episodes.

For The Kids
York has done a lot of television made for adults, but he’s also worked in the Nickelodeon world, too. He was actually in the Drake and Josh TV Movie, Drake and Josh Go To Hollywood, back in 2006. He played the character of Milo McCrary. Along with his work on Nickelodeon, he’s also been on a couple of Disney shows like Wizards of Waverly Place and Even Stevens.

Getting Personal
York met his wife, Vicki Manners, when she was casting the film Chattanooga Choo-Choo. The couple got married in 1986 and they have one child together, a daughter named Schyler. They also welcomed their first grandson, Elijah Gabriel, back in 2017. General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.