Lynn Herring on ‘General Hospital’ Tribute to Jacklyn Zeman’s Bobbie Spencer: ‘We’re Reliving the Pain’
Q&A
The Doctor Is In
For exclusive news and updates, subscribe to our General Hospital Newsletter:
Barbara Jean “Bobbie” Spencer’s family and friends are gathering to pay tribute to the late, beloved mother, friend, and head nurse on today and tomorrow’s episodes of General Hospital. Jacklyn Zeman, Bobbie’s portrayer, a four-time Daytime Emmy-nominee, who passed away last May, was thrust into the storyline forefront shortly after making her debut on the show in late 1977.
The former Florida-based prostitute had returned to Port Charles, hoping to make a new life for herself as a nursing student. Bobbie was determined to snare law student Scotty Baldwin (Kin Shriner) away from his then-girlfriend Laura Webber (Genie Francis), who was a teenager on parole for an accidental killing — even if that meant shipping Laura off to reform school!
In time, Bobbie reformed, becoming an upstanding citizen, wife, mother, friend, and nurse along the way. She matured but never lost her zest for life or the love she felt for her family. On-screen, Bobbie sparred often with Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring) but off-screen, the two actresses were pals. TV Insider chatted with Herring about the memorial episodes for Bobbie and what viewers can expect to see.
There was some time between Jackie’s passing on May 9th last year and Bobbie’s memorial airing this week. What was it like shooting these episodes?
Lynn Herring: We’re reliving the pain and shock that we initially felt. It’s an interesting thing that your psyche, emotions, and heart go through. Losing Jackie when we did was the worst thing I could think of. She was enjoying doing The Bay [as Sophia], her time on GH, and her grandkids. It was so hard for us, personally. Now, we’re reliving [losing her] again with the scenes we’re doing as our characters. It’s making it all the more poignant. We’re dealing with a professional and a personal loss. This is like needles. You can’t escape them. You try to do the best job as your character, but we’re all asking, why isn’t Jackie here with us? Jackie and I loved the dynamic our characters had over the years. We loved it when our characters were in scenes together.
There was a lot of conflict between them, but Lucy and Bobbie found common ground over their families.
In real-life, Jackie had girls [daughters]. I had boys [sons]. I’m a “ranch girl.” Jackie was very feminine and aware of clothes and make up. In real life, we were opposites, but we loved our families the same as Bobbie and Lucy did. We stayed friends off-screen and [at times] on-screen.
Jackie’s first year on the show as Bobbie played no small role in the ratings shooting up and squashing cancellation rumors. Did you watch the show back then?
No, but I’ve been catching up on YouTube. Our fans have been sharing clips, and what they chose to share is just brilliant. I’ve seen scenes that are very poignant to them. Social media can be harmful at times, but I’m learning about things about Jackie that I never knew and I’m enthralled.
The incredible @JackieZeman, in her own words. ❤️ #GH pic.twitter.com/QIY4B5YLcG
— General Hospital (@GeneralHospital) May 12, 2023
One fan noted that Jackie brought such complexity to the role of Bobbie — one minute you wanted to throttle her and the next you’d want to just give her a hug.
Oh, I agree. You can see it on her face. It’s like when Lucy came on, she was similar in that she was so hated and then, after she revealed her vulnerability you saw that she wanted to be liked. That’s where Bobbie and Lucy bonded. The bad girls want to be accepted and loved. Bobbie and Lucy had different approaches, but it was so cool when they’d get together and share what they had in common.
The group photo indicates that Bobbie’s memorial will be well attended.
Yes. There are parts during the tribute when we just couldn’t look at each other. Just like at real-life memorials you know which buttons can be pressed that will hurt people. I find this kind of silly in a way, but I felt lucky that Lucy is a bit of a pariah and was seated by herself. Finola [Hughes, Anna], Tristan [Rogers, Robert], and Kristina [Wagner, Felicia] were in front of me. I was lucky I was positioned where I was looking at the back of their heads. If I had sat next to them and looked at them, I wouldn’t have been able to get through the day.
Disney/Christine Bartolucci
Lucy and Bobbie and Felicia all bonded over the death of BJ [Brighton Hertford], Bobbie’s stepdaughter, who died and then, her heart was given to Maxie, Felicia’s daughter, who would have died without a new one.
That story was so well done because of the dynamics among the characters. We still talk about it with each other. Here’s the thing — and this is something we don’t get to tell the fans in person — I was telling Kristina that the triangle is now broken. We can be amazed about that story [with BJ and Maxie] 30 years ago, but the triangle is broken because Jackie’s not here.
What will Jackie’s legacy be, and what will Bobbie’s be?
Jackie’s is just so much joy — no matter what. She found it hard sometimes dealing with the ups and downs and the ebb and flow of her character, but she never approached it with anything but joy and professionalism. Her laugh. The mischief, too. [Laughs] We got into a lot of trouble with our adventures! She cared. She could be depended on for anything. She would do anything for her friends. She was the most upstanding person you could have as a pal.
The beauty of Bobbie was that she was so complicated. She had a sense of fun. She was very sexy and passionate. I wanted to watch Bobbie’s story. Everybody did.
I do not have any words I can say that explain my respect and love for Jackie so all I seem to be able to do is read and reread and share the overwhelming outpouring for @JackieZeman https://t.co/ufMb8LTfvr
— Lynn Herring (@TheLynnHerring) May 11, 2023
There was an on-air tribute to Bobbie last year at the Nurses Ball and Jackie was there for it. She got to feel all that love for her and her character.
It was brilliant. Brilliant! We had so much fun talking about that. Jackie was nervous about being honored that way. I told her, “No. You just stand there and be honored.” The sad thing is that when Lucy burst in [at the end], I told her, “I just wanted to hug you, but Lucy and Bobbie were at odds so I couldn’t.” So we just looked at each other.
Frank Valentini, GH’s executive producer, brought Bobbie back to Port Charles after she’d been sent off to Seattle by a previous regime.
Yes. It was also great for the development of [Bobbie’s daughter] Carly [Laura Wright] and her grandkids. They need that anchor through people like Jackie. It was brilliant.
Do you have any final thoughts on these tribute episodes?
There’s a magic and a respect that Frank and the writers show to the audience. There’s a gift that they give through these two shows and the fans who loved Jackie and her journey will get. I am blown away by how they have done these shows. People will really understand how much we loved her.
General Hospital, Weekdays, ABC
