General Hospital Character Recap: Dante Falconeri

General Hospital’s Dante Falconeri is the very definition of “goodness personified.” But do you know him as well as you think? Here are some basic things viewers should know about Sonny’s oldest child.

A General Hospital Character Recap: Dante Falconeri

Dante Angelo Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna), is the only son of Olivia Falconeri and Michael “Sonny” Corinthos, former Bensonhurst sweethearts. Irony of ironies, due to Olivia’s insistence on keeping her son’s paternity a secret from all concerned, Dante wound up developing an intense hatred for Sonny, whom he viewed as an unapologetic career criminal. A criminal that he intended to bring to justice!

Sins Of The Father

Under the assumed name Dominic Pirelli, Dante ingratiated himself into the Corinthos organization and wound up working his way into Sonny’s inner circle. When his occupation was exposed, Dante narrowly avoided assassination at Sonny’s very own hand!

And though he survived the bullet fired into his chest, Dante remained doggedly determined that Sonny would answer for his plethora of crimes. To that end, Dante made it his mission to prove Sonny guilty of killing his wife, Claudia Zacchara…only to accidentally expose the conspiracy that had been shielding the actual murderer: Dante’s younger half-brother, Michael!

Lante Grande

Dante was still using his alias when he first met Lulu Spencer. In time, the two grew extremely close. He confided his true identity to her during a time of great peril, and that proved to be a template for their relationship going forward.

Together the couple battled forces both external – including psychos like Franco Baldwin and Stavros Cassadine – and internal – such as Lulu’s inability to bear children. They welcomed baby Rocco (who was birthed by Britt Westbourne) and Charlotte (Lulu’s genetically engineered daughter with Valentin Cassadine) into their family, and they weathered many a storm.

But the two were eventually torn asunder by Dante’s brainwashing at the hands of enemy agents and the resulting PTSD. There existed the possibility of reconciliation, but that was eventually halted by the severe injuries Lulu sustained after being trapped inside an exploding building.

Lovers…

Valerie Spencer 
After becoming consumed with the false notion that Lulu had slept with Dillon Quartermaine, Dante took her cousin, Valerie, to bed.

And Friends

Brook Lynn (Ashton) Quartermaine
Brook Lynn was an old friend from Dante’s Bensonhurst neighborhood. Their ease and comfort around one another greatly perturbed Lulu, and a vengeance-seeking Carly paid Brook Lynn to deepen and inflame the connection…but Dante refused to fall into the trap.

Brenda Barrett 
Dante made Brenda’s acquaintance when he was hired to protect her from an overzealous ex named Aleksander Janáček. The two bonded during the long hours spent together, but the relationship never progressed further than a close friendship.

A bond between the two was forever cemented after Dante stepped in to help Brenda cover up her justifiable murder of Janáček and to abscond with the child they shared.

Lt. Ronald “Ronnie” Dimestico
Ronnie was Dante’s fellow NYPD officer and childhood friend. In the aftermath of the botched takedown of Sonny, Ronnie joined Dante at the PCPD. During an investigation into a number of assaults on strip club employees, Lulu unmasked Ronnie as the culprit, and he was shot dead by John McBain following a tense stand-off.

Det. James Nathan West and Det. Harrison Chase
Nathan toiled alongside Dante at the PCPD, and the two eventually established a close rapport. When West was killed in the line of duty, Dante was devastated, and in his grief, he made life hell for Chase, who had been brought in to fill the void.

Facts About Dante Falconeri

* Rendered unconscious a total of six times prior to 2009.

* Suffered severe asthma as a child.

* Severely allergic to goldenrod and a sufferer of latex-fruit syndrome.

* Dante’s Brooklyn-based cousin, Tommy, was the parish priest who officiated his and Lulu’s first wedding. General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Port Charles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on GH spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.