Roger Howarth Speaks Out About His Temporary Exit From GENERAL HOSPITAL
Fans were shocked when Franco was shot and died in the March 9 episode of GENERAL HOSPITAL, however, portrayer Roger Howarth says that he’s not done in Port Charles yet, and will be back on screen after a short time! Although the soap is keeping its plans for the actor under wraps, he told Soap Opera Digest, “I’m really excited. I have great faith in the people who think of these things. I’ve been in good hands so far.”
Howarth made his daytime debut in the short-lived role of Kent Winslow on LOVING before landing the breakout role of Todd Manning on ONE LIFE TO LIVE in 1992. After leaving in 1998, he returned in 2000 for a few years before heading over to CBS to play Paul Ryan on AS THE WORLD TURNS. In 2011, Howarth reclaimed his role as Todd on OLTL until the show’s cancelation.
In 2012, Howarth was brought over to GH along with Michael Easton (John) and Kristen Alderson (Starr) to play their OLTL roles in Port Charles. However, legal issues with Prospect Park, who owned the rights to the OLTL characters, forced GH to find new roles for the actors. So Howarth began playing Franco, a character originally played by James Franco.
While Howarth is off the canvas, he will be staying in touch with fans via Cameo, which he has recently joined to donate 100% of his profits to Feeding America. “You can go to FeedingAmerica.com and donate directly if you’d like,” he said, “but if you’d like something in return as an incentive, I will say happy birthday or give motivational shout-outs or do inspirational jigs or whatever anybody is asking me to do… The only rule is I won’t denigrate or disrespect myself or anybody else!” Click here to book your own personal message from the daytime star!
Franco may seem pretty definitively dead, but soap fans know writers can get very creative when they want to bring a character back. There’s also the possibility that Howarth will return to playing Todd since ABC has the rights to the OLTL characters back. And of course, he could also come back as an entirely different character (Easton has played four different characters on GH himself!). So keep checking back at SoapsInDepth.com for the latest and stay tuned to GH to see what happens next! And don’t forget to voice your opinion regarding Howarth’s future on GH in our online poll below!
