Wally Kurth Talks Double Duty on ‘Days’ and ‘GH’: ‘I Just Do It’—and Celebrates His Leading Ladies
Plus, see how ‘Days’ vet Judi Evans and ‘GH’ star Lisa LoCicero really feel about sharing the daytime hunk
Soap operas are known for two-timers, love triangles, and doppelgangers, but Days of Our Lives and General Hospital star Wally Kurth is one of few actors who has alter egos getting into the drama on two different shows at once.
Kurth is certainly keeping busy: While his Days character Justin Kiriakis is living happily ever after with Judi Evans’ Bonnie in Salem, his GH character Ned is trying to be the man Lisa LoCicero’s Olivia wants him to be . . . and the Quartermaine Jane Elliot’s Tracy expects him to be!
Here, Kurth gets candid with Woman’s World about what it’s like to play two roles at once, which storyline he could have done without, and how former Days of Our Lives love interest Elliot helped him become her son on General Hospital.
While neither Justin nor Ned will get into this week’s Christmas drama, playing legacy characters on two different soaps is a gift that keeps giving—and not just for Wally Kurth. Read on to see what his Days of Our Lives costar Judi Evans and General Hospital costar Lisa LoCicero have to say about sharing their Daytime Emmy-winning musician and leading man!
Wally Kurth on hopping between ‘Days’ and ‘GH’: ‘I just do it’
General Hospital’s Ned was a literal bigamist during his early years, and today, Wally Kurth may be only actor in daytime who’s married to two different women on two different soaps—and he’s certainly the only soap hunk hopping between Peacock and ABC to romance them both, at the same time!
“People always say, ‘It must be so confusing!’” Kurth says of playing both Justin Kiriakis and Ned Quartermaine. “But I just do it. Sometimes I do one in the morning, one in the afternoon.” He continues, “Once I’d start talking to John Aniston, Uncle Vic [on Days of Our Lives], Justin was there, and as soon as I see Judi, she’s Bonnie and I’m there. And once I start talking to Jane Elliot [on General Hospital], she’s my mother, and I’m Ned.”
General Hospital’s LoCicero has become another touchpoint for Kurth in Port Charles, but to be fair, they’ve “only” spent a decade building Ned and Olivia’s romance—as opposed to almost four!
Coming from a run as The Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance on Broadway, Kurth first joined Days of Our Lives in 1987 and was quickly paired with Evans. The super-couple Justin and Adrienne was born, but there was also an early love triangle with Anjelica Deveraux—a character who would go on to be played by Judith Chapman and Morgan Fairchild, but who was originated by his current onscreen mom, Jane Elliot.
How his ‘Days’ lover Jane Elliot helped him become her ‘GH’ son
Kurth’s past with Elliot could have worked against him when he departed Days of Our Lives in 1991 and auditioned for General Hospital’s iconic showrunner, Gloria Monty. Luckily, Kurth had his future onscreen mom in his corner.
“Gloria liked to discover people,” he explains. ‘Also when I went in to audition for her, I had just gotten married, so Jane said, ‘Take the wedding ring off. Don’t tell her that you were on a soap—and whatever you do, do not say that we were lovers on a soap opera!’ So I didn’t say any of that, and I got the part.”
The shift from playing lovers to mother and son didn’t cause much of a backlash—but it did give everyone a chuckle. “Even the soap press thought it was funny,” Kurth recalls. “I don’t know if Gloria even read that, though.”
Wally Kurth on the time jump that killed his ‘Days’ super-couple: ‘It was amazing’
During his first 15 years on General Hospital, Ned “Eddie Maine” Ashford got into plenty of trouble and some rockin’ romances. While one of those famously led Kurth to fall for and marry his leading lady, Rena Sofer, who plays Lois, and be married to her from 1995 to 1997, the father of three more recently celebrated his 21st anniversary with his wife, Debra Yuhasz.
Along the way, Kurth made a sidestep to As the World Turns in 2007 and produced the documentary Class C: The Only Game in Town, but Salem and Port Charles kept calling. After he bought Justin back to Days of Our Lives in 2009 and returned to General Hospital in 2013, he began hopping between both shows.
While Ned found his way to Olivia, Justin just kept returning to Adrienne . . . until Days of Our Lives made that one-year time jump in 2019, and it was revealed that half of this beloved super-couple had died.
“It was amazing, honestly, and I loved what they handed me,” Kurth recalls. “I was given a big challenge, and it was a fun story. I had some beautiful dialogue and scenes written with actors I didn’t normally work with. That was a treat.”
Wally Kurth reveals which ‘Days’ storylines threw him for a loop
As a soap opera veteran, Kurth is game for all kinds of over-the-top plots, but he was initially less than thrilled when his Days of Our Lives partner-in-love Evans assumed the role of Adrienne’s doppelganger.
“When Judi became Bonnie, that was like, ‘Oh boy, I don’t know if this is going to work,” he admits. “But then we came right together, and the pairing of Bonnie and Justin turned out to be much better than I expected! She’s such a kook, Bonnie, and I like doing comedy with Judi.”
Amid all of General Hospital’s highfalutin Quartermaine drama, LoCicero also brings the fun as Bensonhurst babe, Olivia—who is her own kind of kook!—and Kurth recently revisited Eddie Maine in a truly soapy storyline.
While Kurth is prepared for just about anything his leading ladies or his writers bring to the fore, there was one story he could have done without: “Justin was impotent for a while,” Kurth remembers. “That was not fun. I do not want to repeat that one!”
‘Days’ vet Judi Evans adores ‘GH’ star Lisa LoCicero, but insists, ‘Wally is mine!’
Having won the 2002 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Original Song with his band Kurth and Taylor, the actor and musician is currently touring with The Day Players bandmates Eric Martsolf, Brandon Barash and Carson Boatman even as he remains embedded in the drama on both Days of Our Lives and General Hospital, where he acts opposite two of daytime’s great beauties.
“They’re really good people and incredible actresses,” Kurth says of Evans and LoCicero. “Let me tell you something, not all your costars are as wonderful and as easy and professional as these two.”
And lest you think there’s any professional jealousy, Kurth’s female costars even get along for the most part. “I love Lisa,” Evans says. “Because of Wally, we’ve had some texting moments, and I adore her through him . . . but Wally is mine. He’s mine first. He’s mine always!”
‘GH’ star Lisa LoCicero wants to have a catfight with ‘Days’’ Judi Evans: ‘Wally deserves it!’
While LoCicero was touched by the compliment, the drama queen is rooting for a Days or Our Lives/General Hospital showdown.
“Wally Kurth is the great connector,” LoCicero says. “Judi and I have several times agreed that we are very lucky to have him as a TV mate—not just for his dimples, but because he’s such a pro and such a joy.”
“Judi is the best,” she adds. “I propose a nice crossover where Bonnie and Olivia could get into a great catfight over Ned. Wally deserves it!”
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