John Stamos Got A Stern Warning From His Boss When He Left General Hospital

Fans may know John Stamos from his most famous role as Jesse Katsopolis on "Full House," but ardent "General Hospital" fans remember his days as rocker Blackie Parrish. Blackie was a homeless teen who was adopted by Drs. Rick and Lesley Webber (Chris Robinson and Denise Alexander). He soon formed a band called Blackie and the Riff Raff, whose lead singer was Frisco Jones (Jack Wagner). Desperate for a song, he stole one from a bellboy named Josh Clayton (Jimmy McNichol). When a struggle ensued over Josh's tape — which proved that he was the one who wrote the song — Blackie's girlfriend Lou Swenson (Danielle von Zerneck) fell, hit her head, and died. While he wasn't held accountable for her death, he was prosecuted for stealing the song and ended up sentenced to two years in prison and was never seen again.

Stamos was on "GH" from 1982 to 1984, during the time that legendary executive producer Gloria Monty was running things and had saved the sudser from being canceled by adding a healthy dose of action and adventure stories. He discussed his time on the show in his new memoir, "If You Would Have Told Me" (via Michael Fairman TV), recalling that when he decided to move on to other career opportunities, mulling over the idea of being on a TV sitcom, Monty took him to lunch and bluntly stated, "You know, if you leave, dear, you'll never work in this town again."

In former "General Hospital" star John Stamos' autobiography, he explained that at the time he earned $400 per episode of "General Hospital," but made $450 if he worked overtime. On his way to lunch with Gloria Monty, he bumped into legendary crooner Dean Martin, who didn't mince words when he advised the young man to "Get out while you can."

While Monty's words sound harsh, soap veterans like "Young and the Restless" star Eric Braeden (Victor Newman) have said that soap actors are often looked down on — especially a few decades ago. "I saw how disrespected actors in daytime were," he told TV Insider of his start in soaps in the '80s. Monty's warning, then, that Stamos wouldn't work again, could have been less an actual threat and more a concern that he would be hard-pressed to find work if producers learned he was on a soap. Fortunately, that didn't happen, and Stamos went on to greater fame on "Full House," which ran from 1987 to 1985.

He would later make the reboot show "Fuller House" a reality in 2016 by serving as executive producer and reuniting the cast from the original series which aired on Netflix. Despite being hugely famous from his work on the "Full House" franchise, he never forgot his soap opera roots, and has often talked about his time on "GH." In a May 18, 2020 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Stamos wrote, "Without @GeneralHospital I'd still be flipping burgers at my dad's burger joint. I am eternally grateful to 'GH' and all the folks I learned so much from on that show."