What Happened to Gladys on GENERAL HOSPITAL
Gladys Corbin on GENERAL HOSPITAL was quite a character but as her appearances were sporadic, some might not remember everything. But that’s where we come in! The character first appeared in July of 2019 and was played by Mel Harris, then when Gladys returned for another visit in September, the role was recast with actress Bonnie Burroughs, who continued to play the recurring role until her exit in October 2023.
Gladys Corbin met with Sonny Corinthos at a cafe in July and was not particularly happy to see him. He told her about Dev Cerci, the young man from Turkey, who needed help staying in the United States. Sonny asked Gladys to pretend to be Dev’s grandmother by claiming that Dev was the child of her son, Brando Corbin. While initially reluctant, Gladys caved and agreed to the deception after Sonny offered her a hefty paycheck for her efforts.
In September, Gladys traveled to Port Charles where she spent some time with her cousin, Mike Corbin, and met Sonny’s wife, Carly Corinthos. She also met her “grandson,” Dev and put on a big show with big hugs and everything for show since a suspicious Jasper “Jax” Jacks was present. Sonny later took Gladys aside to warn her not to try renegotiating the deal they had made.
At Christmas, Sonny was surprised to find Gladys visiting Mike at Turning Woods and planning to take her cousin to the track. She explained that since Yvonne had taken a turn for the worse, she was trying to distract Mike. Gladys also revealed that she had a friend, Dot, who also suffered from Alzheimer’s and at the end, just wanted to die with dignity. Learning that Gladys was alone at Christmas, Sonny agreed to Mike’s suggestion that she spend the holidays with the Corinthos family.
Carly wasn’t thrilled with the new houseguest, but Gladys was touched to have family around her for Christmas. Sonny caught her out on the porch leaving a voicemail message for her late son, and she admitted it was her way of keeping him in her heart. Gladys continued to hang around and began to insinuate herself into Sonny, Carly, and Dev’s lives, asking questions about the family coffee business.
During a tour of the coffee warehouse, shots rang out and Carly was saved by a guy Gladys was shocked to recognize as her son! Confronted by Sonny and Carly, Gladys admitted that when Brando came home from the war, he was in a bad place and did terrible things so when he disappeared again, it was easier to say he’d been killed in action. Sonny advised Gladys not to lie to him again and then instructed her to adjust their own lie to now say that a woman had left Dev with her claiming Brando was his father.
In October 2020, Gladys resurfaced to attend Mike’s memorial service where she began pressuring Sonny to make Brando a part of his organization and clearly wanted to be part of the “Family.” However, when Sonny was resistant to the idea, Cyrus Renault stepped in and offered Gladys support for her and her son. She then reappeared in March 2021 to visit Brando in the hospital after he’d been shot. He accused her of having ulterior motives, but she insisted she was just staying in Port Charles until she was sure her son was okay. However, she quickly found herself coming forward as a witness claiming she’d seen Jason Morgan killing Franco Baldwin!
Unfortunately, Cyrus used Gladys as a way to test Brando’s loyalty, and when he refused to shoot his own mother, everything went to hell in a handbasket and Gladys got hit in the crossfire! After recovering from her wounds, Gladys retracted her statement. Next, she began sticking her nose into Brando’s relationship with Sasha Gilmore and was stunned to discover the young woman was pregnant! Gladys also wasn’t thrilled that her son was turning down work for the Corinthos family to protect his child from the mob. Although upset when Brando insisted she move out of his apartment so they could have the room for a nursery, Gladys happily accepted Sasha’s offer of a job at Crimson because of the perks.
Gladys recorded a conversation between Maxie Jones and Brook Lynn Quartermaine about how Valentin wasn’t Bailey’s biological father and used that tape to blackmail Brook Lynn into letting her splurge with the company credit card. That didn’t last very long, and when Gladys cozied up to Austin Holt, she let slip enough that he warned Valentin something was up. However, she put the scheming on the back burner to offer her support when Brando and Sasha’s baby was born and placed in the NICU because he had been deprived of oxygen for a period of time. And when little Liam died, she was there to help his parents grieve.
When Sasha began acting erratically because she was popping pills, Gladys did what she could to protect her daughter-in-law and stole a photographer’s memory card to delete the incriminating photos. She wanted to tell Brando the truth, but agreed not to if Sasha got clean… and allowed her to move in with her and Brando! Gladys was heartbroken when Brando was murdered by The Hook, and agreed to take over his role managing Sasha’s finances as the guardianship was required as part of her plea bargain. And that money came in very handy when Gladys snagged an invite to Selina Wu’s backroom poker games. Unfortunately, she started losing money hand over fist and was running out of ways to pay off her ever-growing debts!
Sasha was upset when Gladys sold Brando’s garage but accepted her explanation, not realizing she’d really done it to help pay what she owed. Also in on the poker games was Cody Bell, who threatened to reveal her secret, so she framed him for stealing an expensive bracelet from her during the 2023 Nurses Ball. Cody insisted to Sasha that he’d been set up by Gladys, but couldn’t reveal exactly why. Gladys bought more time to pay back Selina by offering her inside dirt on Sonny.
Gladys was concerned when Sasha started making moves to have the guardianship dissolved, and was stunned to discover her psychiatrist was Dr. Montague, who also played in Ms. Wu’s games. Cody confronted Gladys with Damian Spinelli’s help and tried. to get her to recant her accusation against him, but Selina interrupted and discovered the listening device. When Ms. Wu put the heat on, Dr. Montague offered to pay off Gladys’ debts… in exchange for a favor!
Initially, the doctor prescribed medication that would keep Sasha unstable, but Gladys was horrified when she hallucinated and stabbed Cody! When Sasha was committed to Ferncliff, Gladys got a restraining order against Cody, who was determined to expose her plan. Later visiting Sasha in the asylum, Gladys was stunned by her condition, but Dr. Montague warned he wouldn’t let her go until Gladys paid him $50 grand. With Selina also demanding repayment, Gladys was stuck when she couldn’t sell Sasha’s stock in Deception and had to go to Nina Reeves for help. Naturally, she painted herself as the victim being blackmailed by Dr. Montague!
When Cody broke Sasha out of Ferncliff, Gladys was desperate to get her back and have him arrested for kidnapping. But as the walls closed in on her, she decided to skip town instead. However, Sasha confronted her and a repentant Gladys promised to turn herself in and testify against Dr. Montague. Unfortunately, she secretly called the cops and Sasha was dragged back to Ferncliff! But before Gladys could pack up and leave, Sam McCall intercepted her and delayed her long enough for Sonny to arrive. He blasted his cousin for what she’d done to Sasha and declared he was sending her back to Bridgeport where she had better keep her nose clean or she’d be going on a much more “permanent” trip, if you know what he means!
Stay tuned to GH to see if that’s really the last we see of Gladys!
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