Much in the same way that we think of our soaps as always being there for us to tune in tomorrow, we think of their stars as permanent… eternal. Which, of course, no one is. So it came as a terrible blow on June 29, 2021, when we learned that Stuart Damon had died after a long battle with renal failure.

For some of us, the veteran actor, who’d first charmed TV viewers as the prince in a 1965 TV-movie adaptation of Cinderella, was as much a part of General Hospital as lab coats and love affairs. Over the course of his 1977-2013 run on the ABC soap, he’d taken Alan Quartermaine from murderous villain to secret softy, all while keeping us perched on the edge of our seats.

So it was with a heavy heart that executive producer Frank Valentini expressed his condolences not only to Damon’s family but his legion of fans. “Stuart was an absolute legend of our industry,” said Valentini. “and he’ll be sorely missed.”

That might have been the understatement of the decade. Recalling her late co-star as “a lovely, funny, talented prince of a man,” Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) marveled that he “truly was charming.

“What a pleasure it was to work with his iconic self,” she added.

Damon’s death brought Amber Tamblyn right back to her days as the former Emily Bowen. “Brokenhearted to hear of the passing of Stuart Damon,” she tweeted that “he played my adopted dad on General Hospital for seven years, and he was the most kind, wonderful, loving, supportive person. He always made me laugh and made me feel safe on set.”

Maurice Benard (Sonny) seconded that emotion. “When I heard the news today, it hurt,” he said. “I always wanted Stuart to be Sonny’s long-lost dad.

“He was so classy, real,” he continued, “and always made me feel safe. Great man.”