How Jane Elliot's Knockout Audition Led To The Creation Of A New General Hospital Character
"General Hospital" fans can't get enough of Jane Elliot as Tracy Quartermaine. Elliot started playing the character in 1978 and, as of 2023, still makes appearances on the show from time to time. But something fans may not realize is that when Elliot first auditioned to be on the sudser, she inspired the creation of Tracy's character.
In an April 2023 interview with Soap Opera Digest, Elliot explained how she was friends and co-stars with Deidre Hall on a show called "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl." Hall was on "Days of Our Lives" as well at the time, and Elliot was amazed by the stability of Hall's career. In contrast, Elliot said, "I was hand-to-mouthing it, paycheck to paycheck, job to job. ... And she had this stable life."
Much to her chagrin, Elliot discovered her agent turned down a small soap opera role she was offered for "Days of Our Lives." He later on got her a different audition for "General Hospital" for the character Gina Dante. Elliot did the audition without knowing the material. The executive producer of "General Hospital" at the time, Gloria Monty, called Elliot's agent afterward. "She said, 'We're not hiring her for Gina, but we're writing a role for her.' And they wrote Tracy Quartermaine based on that audition," Elliot told the outlet. She also mentioned how she poured a lot of her real-life mother's characteristics into the role of Tracy.
Elliot auditioned with little preparation, so she just had to go for it
In 2021, Jane Elliot was interviewed by "The Daily Drama Podcast" and talked more about her experience deciding to work on a soap opera and auditioning for "General Hospital." Elliot explained how she didn't have the same look as the Gina Dante character, but Gloria Monty auditioned her anyway. However, on the day of the audition, Elliot had been hard at work helping a friend move.
"And I was literally schlepping boxes and furniture when Dick called and said, 'You're testing for 'General Hospital' tonight," Elliot told the podcast hosts, Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson. Thankfully, Elliot and the show's makeup artist had a mutual friend, so he helped her get ready.
She couldn't fully memorize the lines before auditioning, but that didn't bother Elliot too much. Burton and Anderson were impressed when Elliot told them the role of Tracy Quartermaine was written specifically for her. She also said with the kind of auditioning where you're not fully prepared, like what she did for "General Hospital," there's no room to question any choices and you just have to go for it. "I call soap opera acting dive acting," Elliot said. "You just dive. You just jump off the dive. And it's very freeing."
Elliot won a Daytime Emmy for Tracy Quartermaine
Jane Elliot also appeared on other soap operas, such as "Days of Our Lives" and "All My Children." Tracy Quartermaine has had a weird and wacky life, and Elliot has spent over 1000 episodes playing the role. Elliot's contribution to "General Hospital" didn't go unnoticed either. She won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 1981 (and according to Soap Opera Digest, she was the first female actor on "General Hospital" to earn that honor).
Elliot had a stretch where she wasn't submitted for Emmys, but in 2014, executive producer of "General Hospital" Frank Valentini told her he was submitting her for the ballot, even when she turned it down. Elliot became a nominee for that year's awards show. "That is how much he believes in me, how much he cares," Elliot told TV Guide at the time. "I have never had a producer go out of his or her way to support me the way Frank does."
When questioned why she had turned down being included in the Emmys so often instead of chasing awards like actors often do, Elliot admitted that, "I'm in this business for the fun part — the make believe. That's my reward, my joy."