The majority of General Hospital views were shocked and heartbroken at the unexpected and seemingly unnecessary death of Roger Howarth’s character, Franco Baldwin.
Howarth joined GH as Todd Manning after the cancellation of ABC’s OLTL. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Todd Manning name had to be hung up, resulting in Howarth leaving and then returning as Franco Baldwin. Since Franco’s death, Roger is now playing a third role in Port Charles as Dr. Austin Holt.
General Hospital news and spoilers report a recent statement from Howarth at a Burbank GH fan event. According to Soap Hub, Howarth showed his hope for the idea of Franco being alive when a fan presented the hypothetical. He replied, “That’d be great, [unlikely] I really, really enjoyed playing Franco. I was really, really lucky to be part of [that story].” When reflecting on his work as Franco with co-stars Rebecca Herbst (Liz Webber), Kin Shriner (Scotty Baldwin), and William Lipton (Cameron Webber), Howarth spoke highly of his fellow actors. “To move in circles with those actors… every minute was a pleasure.”
Although Howarth reflected in how much he loved playing Franco, he admits he had to embrace the new role as Austin and compared it to his old 1967 Chevy Camaro that he once owned and loved. Using the comparison he describes how letting Franco go and rest driving Austin reminded him of that old Camaro. “I loved that car.”
We loved Roger as Franco but we will take him any way we can get him! We are happy to see Roger Howarth playing Dr. Austin Holt.
Marie is an avid General Hospital fan. Her passion for writing and the compelling nature of the storylines is a perfect equation for writing a GH blog. Micki has a Bachelor of Science degree from Oakland University and spends time writing poetry and song lyrics.