Hold onto your tissues and maybe a teddy bear, because General Hospital just gave us all a feels-trip we didn’t ask for. On Tuesday, June 11, the ABC soap opera ended its episode with a heartfelt shoutout to their dearly departed cast member, Johnny Wactor. This emotional rollercoaster was brought to you by TV Line, the unofficial sponsor of tear-jerking news.
Johnny, aka Brando Corbin from 2020 to 2022, had us all glued to our screens with his stellar acting chops. But fate, being the drama queen it is, decided to write him out of the script for good on May 25. At the tender age of 37, Johnny found himself at the wrong end of a stick-up involving three armed car thieves, a catalytic converter, and a dose of bad luck.
Johnny took a bullet to the chest, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner. No plot twists here—his death was ruled a homicide.
“He was a good person,” Johnny’s brother Grant told PEOPLE, echoing what every mom says about their kid who once tried to sell Kool-Aid to the neighbors. “He was taken way too early, and no one should be taken like this at all. He touched a lot of people. He believed in his core values to the end, and he lived life to the fullest the way he wanted to. And he was happy doing that.”
On June 6, PEOPLE snagged a copy of Johnny’s death certificate, revealing he was cremated. His ashes are headed to Summerville, S.C., to join his mom, Scarlett Wactor. Here’s hoping she has a really nice urn and not just a dusty old cookie jar.
Johnny’s resume reads like a TV guide: NCIS, Westworld, Criminal Minds—you name it. He was hanging out with his work buddy Anita Joy on that fateful night, bartending at Level 8 in Downtown L.A. Anita, the unsung hero, was with him when it all went down.
In an Instagram post that could make a stone weep, Anita poured her heart out on May 29: “I was with Johnny in his last moments and I’m here to be his voice after such unimaginable events. He was killed senselessly by a coward who reacted without care of the gorgeous life he was taking. So I’m angry, I’m sad, and I’m all of the feelings at once… but above all, I am here for Johnny’s justice.”
If you thought that was all, brace yourself. Sofia Mattsson, Johnny’s on-screen wife, gushed about her “super goofy” friend at the 2024 Daytime Emmy Awards on June 7. “We shared so many great memories, so many tears and laughter on and off screen,” she gushed. “He just helps support everyone. He knows everyone’s name. He’s just friendly with everyone. He is super, super goofy. And just always made you laugh, and made you feel so comfortable and at home.”
Adding to the chorus of heartbreak, Carolyn Hennesy spilled her guts at the Celebrating Aspiring Magazine Summer Edition event on June 4. “We have a lot of lovely actors on the show, and when we lose one, it’s a killer. It’s just a killer,” she said.
General Hospital just wrapped up an episode and a tribute that’s got us all sobbing harder than a kid who dropped their ice cream. Rest in peace, Johnny Wactor—you’ll always be the soap star who left us wanting more.
