General Hospital fans can expect a familiar face to return to Port Charles next month.
Rena Sofer — the 54-year-old actress who won a Daytime Emmy for her portrayal of Lois Cerullo, a shrill, fast-talking Italian bella donna with long nails and a strong Brooklyn accent — is returning to the beloved ABC soap after a 26-year absence, the network confirmed exclusively to PEOPLE .
It’s a big treat for viewers, who will remember Lois as one half of one of the most popular super-couples in the ’90s soap opera world, alongside Wally Kurth’s Ned Ashton. The character was played by Daytime Emmy winner Lesli Kay from 2005 to 2005.
Sofer, which filmed its first scenes this week, will be on air in October.
Lois’s reappearance comes as Ned, her ex-husband, is suffering from amnesia — which is only bad news for his now-wife Olivia (Lisa LoCicero), especially since he thinks Eddie Maine, Ned’s alter ego who was a rock star who loves leather (literally) 30 years ago. Back in 1993, Lois took an instant liking to Eddie after seeing him perform with his band The Idle Rich. She continued to work as his manager, not knowing at the time that Eddie was actually the rich Ned Ashton by day and Eddie by night.
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Ned and Lois (Wally Kurth, Rena Sofer). ABC, Inc.
The two eventually fell in love and got married. But being a soap opera and all, happily ever after was just a blip on screen as he was also forced to marry Katherine Bell (Mary Beth Evans), who was blackmailing Ned’s family, the Quartermaines.
After learning that her Eddie is a bigamist, Lois pops out of Katherine’s huge birthday cake and greets her with “Happy birthday to Mrs. Ned Ashton, from another Mrs. Ned Ashton!” And that was the end of Lois and Ned’s marriage, at least for a while.
Ned did everything in his power to win Lois back and eventually succeeded. He proposed, she agreed and they got married. But they hit a snag when she gave him an ultimatum – their marriage or his devotion to his family and her business, ELQ – and he chose the family business.
Heartbroken, Lois left town in 1997 and returned to her hometown of Bensonhurst, New York, where she gave birth to their daughter, Brook Lynn (currently played by Amanda Setton).
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Fast forward to the show’s recent storyline, Ned — now surnamed Quartermaine — is married to Olivia, but that marriage isn’t going well due to Ned’s amnesia. Although they agree that they are better as friends, Olivia truly falls in love with him.
Needless to say, this is the perfect time for Lois to enter the picture.
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Fans of the soap began to speculate – or maybe it’s just wishful thinking – that Sofer would return GH when she left her role as Quinn Fuller Brave and beautiful after nine years. The actress – who off-camera shares a daughter with Kurth, to whom she was married from 1995 to 1997 – has also had memorable roles in Melrose Place, Seinfeld and Two and a half Men.
Lois’s presence could turn both Olivia’s and the Quatermaine family’s worlds upside down, depending on how Ned/Eddie reacts to seeing her.
Is Lois just going to drop into town to check on her daughter and then get out right away? Or is there something more to her stay? Will the amnesiac Ned think he’s still married – and therefore still in love – with Lois, leaving Olivia in the lurch? ABC remains tight-lipped about the upcoming storyline.
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Sofer’s return is not the only big news coming from General Hospital. John J. York (Mac), 64, announced Wednesday in a video posted to his social media accounts that he is receiving treatment for two blood and bone marrow disorders, which he was diagnosed with in December 2022.
“Over the past many months, I’ve had three bone marrow biopsies, lots of chemotherapy, I have another one coming up in a few weeks, and I’m getting close to a blood stem cell transplant,” York said.
He added that he will go out on GH at least three or four months while treatment continues.
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