The powers that be at General Hospital are honoring John Reilly (ex-Sean Donely), who passed away in January of this year, in a very special way. The ABC soap opera has cast the actor's real-life daughter, TikTok star Caitlin Reilly, for its upcoming tribute episode.
As Soap Central previously reported, GH writers began penning the special episode soon after the actor passed away, with executive producer Frank Valentini sharing that Reilly "was a huge part of the [show's] history" and would be honored this spring.
Variety reports that for the upcoming episode, the soap has cast his daughter as Sean and Tiffany Hill's (Sharon Wyatt) on-screen daughter, Annie (formerly known as Anna). The character was last seen in August of 2013, with actress Courtney Halverson in the role. As fans may recall, Sean had been poisoned by polonium and had teamed up with Luke (Anthony Geary) to track down the cure, and Anna/Annie was also involved in the quest to get the medicine that her father desperately needed to save his life.
Says Caitlin Reilly about coming to GH, "Words can't describe how honored I am to be playing my dad's daughter on the show. I grew up on the set of General Hospital, watching him work for years, so it's exciting to dive into a new character in honor of him. He'll absolutely be by my side in spirit on set rooting me on. It fills my heart with gratitude to be a part of this tribute to him, and to feel so close to him working on a show he loved so much doing."
Reilly is an actor, comedian, writer, and producer with several credits to her name, including Meredith and Laurie Have a Web Series, Let's Unpack That, and Jared and Ivanka: Making America Great Again. She is best known for her TikTok impression videos in which she portrays a myriad of characters such as TikTok singers, WASP-y moms, "the elegant soon-to-be-dead mother in every children's film," and "the sad lead girl in every Netflix teen film."
John Reilly's daytime career included roles on As the World Turns, Passions, Sunset Beach, and General Hospital -- the latter of which he starred on from June of 1984 until 1995, with further sporadic returns in 2008 (for the GH primetime spinoff General Hospital: Night Shift) and in 2013.
At this time, GH has yet to announce an airdate for John Reilly's tribute episode, so keep checking back to Soap Central for updates as they come.
What do you think about GH casting John Reilly's real-life daughter, Caitlin, as Sean's daughter, Anna (now called Annie)? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
