From Newsgroup: alt.tv.general-hospital
Vincent Pastore, the actor best known for his role as Salvatore rCLBig PussyrCY Bonpensiero on the critically acclaimed HBO series The Sopranos, was
confirmed dead on August 1 at the age of 80. Between 1995 and 2004, Pastore played multiple small roles on One Life to Live, and in 2008, he had a
short but memorable run on General Hospital.
How Vincent Pastore Was Cast on GH
On GH, Pastore appeared as Maximus, the mobster father of Max (Derk
Cheetwood) and Milo (Drew Cheetwood), Sonny CorinthosrCO (Maurice Benard) trusted bodyguards.
In a 2009 interview with Soaps in Depth, Pastore recalled that he landed
the gig after SOAPnet rCo the defunct, soap-centered cable channel rCo featured him as a famous General Hospital fan in a promotional campaign. The actor,
who was an avid watcher of the show while working in bars and nightclubs in
New York City in the 1970s and 1980s, told producers he wanted a shot at appearing in Port Charles.
rCLI told them, rCyIrCOd love to be on the show,rCOrCY he explained. rCLSo they called
up GHrCOs casting director [Mark Teschner] and Bobby [Robert Guza Jr., the
head writer at the time], and they wrote me in!rCY
How Maximus Fit Into GHrCOs Mob Story
On screen, Maximus came to Port Charles from Italy for a short visit, and
Max and Milo asked everyone in SonnyrCOs orbit to play along with a cover story: they wanted Maximus to believe Max was the boss during the trip. SonnyrCOs enforcer, Jason Morgan (Steve Burton), reluctantly agreed to help sell the ruse.
The story played against the mob stakes of the time: Sonny was focused on Russian mobster Andrei Karpov (Ilia Volok) after Kate Howard (Megan Ward)
was shot during her would-be wedding to Sonny.
Maximus ultimately made it clear he wasnrCOt fooled. Before heading back to Palermo, he offered Sonny advice about dealing with Karpov, admitted he
knew Max worked for Sonny, and asked Sonny to keep Max and Milo safe rCo without letting them know herCOd clocked their lie.
Vincent Pastore on Working at General Hospital
Pastore told SID that the pace of daytime production was its own challenge.
rCLWorking on a soap is probably the hardest work that an actor can endure. ItrCOs like doing a play every day without having rehearsals. And GH is even tougher than other soaps,rCY he said. rCLYou have to discipline yourself and say, rCyOkay, IrCOve gotta learn all these lines and hit my mark by tomorrow morning at 7:30rCarCOrCY
But he did have a minor quibble with GHrCOs mob scene.
rCLI think they need more New York actors to get the accent down,rCY he said. rCLIrCOm the guy from New York and IrCOm talking to a bunch of California actors
and theyrCOre playing wise guys. Sometimes it donrCOt work.rCY
In the interview, Pastore said working at General Hospital rCLmakes you
realize why itrCOs such a great profession to be in, why these guys are so
good and why [some] people fail.rCY
He singled out scenes with Maurice Benard as a highlight. rCLDespite having
to stretch my acting muscles, the opportunity to share scenes with my
favorite character, Sonny Corinthos, was worth the effort,rCY Pastore said, adding, rCLIt was close to working with [The SopranosrCO] Jimmy Gandolfini. Maurice Benard is a fine actor.rCY
https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/the-inside-story-of-late-sopranos-star-vincent-pastores-general-hospital-connection/
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