In a case of life imitating art, Nancy Lee Grahn, currently involved in an ALS story on General Hospital, is also affected by the illness in real-life. As a result, the actress who plays Alexis Davis in Port Charles, is organizing a fundraiser to help fight ALS, and her daytime pals are showing up en mass to lend their support.
Daytime Unites Unlike Never Before
If you’re going to be in the Los Angeles (specifically, Glendale) area on Saturday, May 4, you have the opportunity to meet Grahn and a host of other daytime stars at “Daytime Unites, to help end ALS.” The event will feature a meet & greet, a concert in which Grahn’s daughter Kate will perform, and a silent auction.
If you thought Grahn’s connection to ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis AKA Lou Gehrig’s disease) began with the storyline in which Gregory Harrison’s Gregory, who has been diagnosed with the condition, and his friendship with Alexis, you’d be in correct. In 2020, during the Covid-19 lockdown, Grahn began doing zooms iwth fans. That’s when she met a woman named Michelle, who has ALS.
“She’s a remarkable woman,” Grahn tells Soap Hub. “[Michelle] is the definition of grace. I love great women and she is one of them. I have been so impressed with her attitude, her resolve, her kindness, and her generosity. She’s always doing things to raise money for ALS and to help her friends.”
Now, it’s Grahn’s turn to help. She’s reached out to numerous daytime pals and has invited them to attend the fan gathering on May 4 in Glendale, Calif. Click here for details on the event, ticket pricing, and more.
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“I think Daytime Unites…is a good idea,” Grahn says. “We’re such a good community of actors with a such an incredibly loyal and generous fan base. I’m hoping we do this every year.” This year, ALS will benefit from the generosity of attendees, and Grahn suggests, “We can do somebody else’s charity next year.”
As you can see in the promo art for the event, the attendee poster looks like a cover of an Afternoon TV Yearbook from the 1970s. Invited celebrity guests include GH’s Maurice Benard (Sonny), Genie Francis (Laura), and Cameron Mathison (Drew); Young and the Restless‘ Peter Bergman (Jack), Christian Le Blanc (Michael), and Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea); Days of our Lives‘ Patrika Darbo (ex-Nancy); and Bold and the Beautiful’s Don Diamont (Bill), Annika Noelle (Hope), and Scott Clifton (Liam).
Grahn appreciates fan attendees understanding that some actors, who were invited months ago, may have unavoidable conflicts. “Some [actors] will be subject to change,” she says. “I think everyone understands that.”
What’s important is that those who do attend will have a great time. “Everything is about connectivity,” Grahn says. “Everyone wants to connect. We’re different from any other medium. We’re in front of [viewers] every day. Viewers’ grandmothers have watched. It’s personal. It’s familial.
“I know when I used to watch, [I] felt like I knew them, and you do in a way!” she says. While actors from multiple soaps have been invited, Grahn says she grew up an ABC viewer. She’d start watching Ryan’s Hope and go all the way through GH, the soap on which she now appears. Was she watching when Jane Elliot (who’s set to attend Daytime Unites) made her 1978 debut as Tracy Quartermaine? “Hell, ya!” Grahn enthuses. “That scene where Tracy didn’t give her father [Edward, played by David Lewis] the heart medication? I remember it!”
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