General Hospital

In November 1981, Elizabeth spent two days on a Los Angeles soundstage filming what she described as a “camp” appearance on the long-running daytime soap, General Hospital, which would air over five episodes that same month.

A great fan of the show, she originated the role of wealthy widow Helena Cassadine, who makes a substantial donation to the hospital and puts a curse on Luke and Laura’s legendary wedding. “Someone from General Hospital came to see me when I was doing The Little Foxes in New York, and I agreed to do the soap when I got to L.A.,” Elizabeth explained.

“We were all kind of scared to work with her, but she came on and she was so excited to be with us,” recalled sound engineer Sandy Masone. “She was so gracious. She even invited us back to her house for a party.”

Elizabeth’s self-depracting sense of humour helped put the cast and crew at their ease. After continually mispronouncing her character’s surname, for example, she stopped a take, thinking she had flubbed it again—but she had, in fact, pronounced it correctly. “Oh shit!” she said, laughing. “I startled myself. Sorry, folks. I’m not used to acting.” The cast and crew dissolved into laughter.

Elizabeth’s son, Chris Wilding, and his partner, Aileen Getty, as well as her publicist, makeup artist, and hairdresser also got in on the action, appearing as extras on the show. They were each paid the going rate for extras of $109.25 per day. Elizabeth earned $2,000 for two days of work, which she donated to two Virginia hospitals.

Her appearance garnered a record 30 million viewers—the highest ratings for any American soap opera at the time. Elizabeth’s participation was incredibly meaningful for actor Tony Geary, who played Luke. “People still see daytime television as the bastard of the industry, but the fact that Elizabeth Taylor chose to come here because she’s a fan must mean we’re doing something right,” he said. “It validated General Hospital for me.”