‘General Hospital’ Star Lynn Herring Reveals Secrets of This Year’s Nurses Ball

The Doctor Is In

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The Nurses Ball on General Hospital kicks off on May 20, and as usual, Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring) will be smack in the middle of the drama.

“I was thrilled when I heard what was going to go on and the different musical numbers,” reports Herring. “And the main thing, I think, for folks, is that there are two really wonderful stories that are dramatic that come to a head at the ball. Sometimes we haven’t had as much drama, and this one is good.”

Herring shares she was touched when she saw the script’s nod to Lucy’s longstanding involvement with the event. “Usually, they have me do the opening speech and welcome to the ball,” she says. “And this year, [co-head writers] Elizabeth [Korte] and Chris [Van Etten] gave me a speech about how Lucy started it 31 years ago. I choked up, and the audience kind of choked up, too, because we’re reliving a tradition and then also emphasizing how dark it was in the AIDS/HIV days and how far we’ve come. And this speech, they just did such a nice job because it kind of re-lit my enthusiasm about how much in real life communities come together for a cause, and it became very real for that moment when I was up on the stage. It sort of flavored the rest of the ball for me, and all those memories came flooding back about what we have done and accomplished with the ball over the years. It’s just a really nice way to start the ball off and get the enthusiasm back.”

Look for Lucy to continue the tradition of multiple costume changes. “Shawn [Reeves, costume designer] is a miracle worker,” she raves. “Sometimes in the past, I’ve had 14 changes when [former Costume Designer] Bob Miller was doing it, and then with budget constraints, we had less. This year, Shawn was determined to get me at least five or six changes, so he got creative with how to make these dresses special and to give Lucy more changes. I was just thrilled that he put that kind of love and attention to it.”

Disney/Christine Bartolucci

Lucy having so much to do in Port Charles provided an outlet to Herring as she grieved the loss of her husband of 43 years, Wayne Northrop (ex-Roman Brady/Alex North, Days of our Lives; ex-Rex Stanton, Port Charles; ex-Michael Culhane, Dynasty), who passed away on November 29, 2024. “You really can’t let other thoughts invade your mind because you’re problem solving and being creative,” she explains. “GH helped me so much, because you get there, and we have such a good group. They’ve all been my friends for so long, so you feel like you’re coming back to family, and you crack jokes, and they just treat me like everything’s the same. It’s a total escapism to get away from any sad thoughts.”

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Having the opportunity to connect with her co-stars during filming also gave Herring a boost. “I have to tell you, sitting around the tables at the Nurses Ball, that was the warmest feeling, too,” she relays. “A lot of times I’m running around changing, but this year I got to stay a little bit more. Tanisha [Harper, Jordan Ashford], I didn’t know her very well, and Josh Kelly [Cody Bell] and I had gone to Graceland [for GH‘s annual fall fan event], but he came up to me and he said, ‘Lynn, this is like doing summer theater where we actually get to know each other and we’re all pulling together. I didn’t know half these people very well, and now with this week I do.’ I don’t think that Frank [Valentini, executive producer] and Chris and Elizabeth realize that they’re writing this great show for the audience, but it gives the actors such an opportunity to be a team.”

Herring is also getting a kick out of working so closely with her new scene partner, Carlo Rota (Jenz Sidwell). “He knows how to sparkle and twinkle,” she gushes. “You can see it in his eyes, and he’s game for anything. I just really enjoy an actor who looks at you and will go wherever you want to go. It’s fun. His character’s tricky for the audience right now, I think, with all the dastardly deeds, and we’ll see how that goes because we love a bad guy, but Carlo is so much fun, and I think the audience sees that he really wants to entertain them.”

That she’s been entertaining audiences for decades and will mark 40 years on the ABC soap next year is a big deal for Herring. “I think because of Wayne’s tradition in daytime, too, it’s so meaningful in our ever-changing and wacky world,” she reflects. “To have that kind of longevity and to have people that still care about me and the character, it really means everything. My life has been off and on there all that time, and the folks that watch, they’ve seen pregnancies and crazy trips and adventures and friendships with the other cast members and the continuity and tradition. I think when you have a world that’s off-kilter sometimes, that you have that thread, it means everything.”

©Jill Johnson/JPI

As does the fan base that has shown her so much love through the years and since Northrop’s passing. “I haven’t been able to respond to them in a correct fashion because it’s overwhelming,” she explains. “As odd as it is, when people come up to you, there’s a connection of knowing them even though we don’t live in the same town or always share all the same values, but there’s the value that they will watch and be entertained. And my desire to entertain them is so strong. Their support has just been so overwhelming, I can’t even tell you. It gets to me. That people out there really care what happens to us is amazing.

And while she never imagined a life as Lucy, Herring couldn’t be more appreciative of her journey so far. “Acting never was my dream,” she confesses. “Animals, as everyone knows, and ranching and all the environmental things were. And it’s been a reverse dream. I’ve been given what I didn’t know I really needed or wanted. It’s just been such a ride, and I feel so grateful and gracious and just lucky. I can’t imagine how my life would be totally different without General Hospital.”

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