The victory for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series was a bittersweet win for the General Hospital (GH) directors.
The veteran directors were thrilled to win another statuette, but the trio of victors, William Ludel, Phideaux Xavier, and Larry Carpenter, revealed their sadness over losing colleague Jane Elliot (soon-to-be-ex-Tracy) whose last episode airs tomorrow.
“The opportunity to work with Jane was a dream come true,” Xavier said. “I’ve been a fan of Jane’s since the first moment she withheld the pills from Edward Quartermaine.
“I followed her to Guiding Light where she was Carrie Todd, then, I followed her to All My Children where she was Cynthia, and then to Days of Our Lives where she was Anjelica, and then back to GH as Tracy.”
Xavier’s knowledge of the Emmy-winning Elliot actually goes back even further.
“I am also a huge fan of hers from when she played Cleopatra on Electra Woman and Dyna Girl.”
“The magic of Jane is that she could turn on a dime and break your heart,” Ludell said. “With Tony [Geary, ex-Luke] being gone too, it’s a double whammy. But both of them did it on their own and they’re very happy. There’s a lot of history there, but it’s all gone.”
There wasn’t a dry eye on the set on Elliot’s last day as everyone at the show will miss her. Did Elliot herself get weepy?
“Yes, actually,” shared Carpenter. “I didn’t expect it from her because she’s a toughie, but [there was some emotion] a little bit here and there, especially the goodbye moments with Leslie [Charleson, Monica].”
Carpenter said when he would go back to the control booth, he surprisingly even found himself getting a bit teary. “I said, ‘Wait a minute! I’m a hard-ass!”
“It’s such a loss,” Xavier added. “But we’re so happy for Jane. She has put so much into this industry and we wish her well.”
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