Happy Birthday to General Hospital Star Rick Springfield!

Please join us in wishing a happy birthday to GENERAL HOSPITAL alum Rick Springfield (ex-Noah)! The performer joined the cast of the popular soap in 1981, just as his album, Working Class Dog, became a smash hit with the song “Jessie’s Girl.” Before his daytime debut, Springfield had acted in guest roles on primetime series like THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, WONDER WOMAN, and BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

(Photo Credit: Riccardo Ghilardi/Getty Images)

Handsome doctor Noah Drake had a reputation for being a playboy and romanced nurse Bobbie Spencer before being unable to commit to her. She even tried faking blindness to keep him, but Noah moved on to Tiffany Hill. However, he later cheated on her with Bobbie, which ruined everything so he left Port Charles for a fresh start in Atlanta, GA, in 1983.

Noah resurfaced in 2005, having become an alcoholic who no longer practiced medicine after his wife died on his operating table. Patrick helped get his father sober and back into medicine, even donating part of his liver when Noah needed a transplant due to his drinking. During this time, Springfield also briefly portrayed Noah’s look-alike, musician Eli Love. He brought Noah back to the soap a couple more times for episodes in 2008 and 2013.

Springfield continues to produce music, releasing his latest album, The Snake King, in January of 2018 and touring all year in support of it. He has also kept up the acting, starring with Meryl Streep in the 2015 film Ricki and the Flash, and playing Lucifer himself in The CW’s SUPERNATURAL in 2016. His most recent role was as Pastor Charles on FX’s AMERICAN HORROR STORY: CULT.

Celebrate his big day with these classic moments from Springfield’s days on GH in the gallery below!

For more on the stars of GH, past and present, keep reading the ABC edition of Soaps In Depth magazine.