Kin Shriner Exits ‘General Hospital’ For Good: 40-Year Veteran Out As ABC Soap Celebrates Its 55th Anniversary
Kin Shriner is saying goodbye to Port Charles for good. The General Hospital veteran, who celebrated 40 years with the ABC daytime soap last August, has reportedly parted ways with the show after playing the character Scotty Baldwin for four decades. Showbiz 411 reports that Kin Shriner has been fired from General Hospital days before the show celebrates its 55th anniversary. While ABC has not announced a reason for Shriner’s exit from the show, it is no secret that there is a tightened budget for daytime shows at the network.
The timing of Kin Shriner’s General Hospital exit is especially upsetting given his many contributions to the show ahead of its 55th anniversary, which takes place April 1. Kin Shriner debuted his role as Scotty Baldwin in 1977 and is one of the most recognizable stars from the long-running ABC daytime drama.
Kin Shriner confirmed his General Hospital departure on social media. The 64-year-old actor took to Twitter to alert fans to the bad news, tweeting,” Scott Baldwin out.” When one fan expressed sadness over Kin’s departure from the show, the gracious actor wrote, “I had a good run @GeneralHospital. I wish them another 55!”
You can see Kin Shriner’s tweets about his General Hospital exit below.
Shriner’s longtime General Hospital co-star Jackie Zeman also posted reaction to his surprising departure from the show, as did Billy Warlock, who previously played A.J. Quartermaine on the show.
@kinshriner I treasure your friendship + your presence in my life on set and in our private lives. Thank you for the amazing great scenes #ScottyBaldwin + the good times we have shared. I will miss you on #GH so let's have lunch next week 2 celebrate this new chapter of your life
— Jackie Zeman (@JackieZeman) March 31, 2018
Today is the first day of the rest of your life my friend.
— Billy Warlock (@BillyWarlock) March 31, 2018
While Kin Shriner left the General Hospital fold a few times over the years—even exiting at the height of his character’s popularity in the early 1980s— the show always welcomed him back. Shriner logged over 500 episodes of General Hospital over his long reign on the show, according to IMDB, and it didn’t seem as though he had any plans to leave. As he celebrated 40 years with the show last year, Shriner told TV Insider he would gladly play Scott Baldwin for another 40 years if he could.
“I’m not happy with just 40 years,” Kin told TV Insider.
“I want 40 more! But every time there’s a new writer or producer regime at GH, I have to start over and sell ’em on Scotty. My first job as a kid in Texas was going house to house as a Fuller Brush man. And now here I am—all these years later—still trying to stick my foot in the door so they can’t get rid of me!”
Shriner also reminisced about all of the fun he has had playing Scotty, recalling that his character even had his ear bitten off by Anthony Geary’s Luke Spencer at one point.
While Kin Shriner never won a Daytime Emmy Award for his General Hospital role, he earned multiple nominations. And he was perfectly happy with that.
“I will happily settle for a job that lasts 40 years,” Shriner said. “Awards are nice. They’re great, even. But you just can’t beat longevity!”
Take a look at the video below to see Kin Shriner working his Scotty magic on General Hospital.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC.
