John Stamos accidentally disrespected Elizabeth Taylor on “General Hospital ”set: ‘Old woman’
John Stamos accidentally disrespected Elizabeth Taylor on “General Hospital ”set: ‘Old woman’
Shelby StivaleWed, July 29, 2026 at 9:17 PM UTC
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John Stamos; Elizabeth TaylorCredit: Daniel Boczarski/Getty; ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via GettyKey Takeaways -
John Stamos recalled crossing paths with Elizabeth Taylor during his General Hospital days.
“Get that old woman out of my eyeline!” he said, referring to Taylor.
Stamos played Blackie Parrish on the soap opera from 1982 to 1984.
John Stamos wasn’t wowed by Elizabeth Taylor’s violet eyes, it seems.
When Stamos was starring on General Hospitalduring the early days of his career, the legendary actress visited the set as a fan. On that day, however, he couldn’t quite get his emotions right for a scene — which led to a rather awkward moment between the two. (Taylor appeared as Helena Cassadine for a three-episode stint in 1981, before Stamos was cast.)
During the July 29 episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Stamos recalled learning a “trick” from “an older actor” on the soap opera’s set, which he decided to deploy when he and Taylor crossed paths.
“He’d screw up his lines, he’d go, ‘Someone’s in my eyeline!’ Which I didn’t know what that meant,” Stamos recalled on Tuesday. “Months later, I was doing a scene and my mom was dying in the scene and I couldn’t cry.”
John Stamos as Blackie Parrish on “General Hospital”Credit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty
Stamos said he heard a popping sound and hoped to use that as “the eyeline bit” to cut the take since he “couldn’t get the tears.” But Taylor, kind of, saved the day.
“Finally, I kind of see it in the shadow,” he continued. “Some woman was — they were setting up a direction, and I said, ‘Get that old woman out of my eyeline!’ And it was Elizabeth Taylor.”
Stamos played Blackie Parrish — a young musician — on General Hospital from 1982 to 1984. He returned to the show as himself in 1992 for a brief cameo.
During Tuesday’s Tonight Show appearance, Stamos also discussed working with the late Sammy Davis Jr., who guest-starred as Eddie Phillips in a 1982 episode of the long-running soap.
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“I wanted to play drums on the show, and they weren’t quite taking requests,” Stamos quipped. “We had this conversation about music and he saw in my eyes that I was, maybe, a real musician.”
The music legend improved during the scene and let Stamos play drums.
“I played music on TV ever since, thanks to Mr. Davis Jr.,” Stamos said. “True story. ... I’ve had a great life.”
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These weren’t the only two Hollywood legends Stamos crossed paths with during his General Hospital days. The actor previously revealed the advice he got from Dean Martin when deciding to move on from the show.
“When I was leaving General Hospital, Gloria Monty, who was the producer, she didn’t want me to go. And I wanted to be funny. I wanted to be on a sitcom, like a Garry Marshall show,” Stamos said on The Friars Club Podcast in 2024. He and Monty were having this conversation at the same restaurant where Martin was eating.
“She said, ‘Mr. Martin, this is the star of my show, General Hospital. And he wants to leave the show. He wants to be funny. Now, will you tell him about loyalty and about sticking where you’re at?’” Stamos recalled. “He looked at me and said, ‘Run.’”
Watch Stamos’ full appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon below.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
