December 19, 1991, was a cold day in Port Charles. You might even say… a Stone Cold one. That’s

because on that date, a certain Steve Burton made his debut on General Hospital — although not as

steely-eyed, black-clad hitman Jason Morgan.

No, when first we caught a glimpse of the actor’s unforgettable baby blues, he was playing kind-hearted, sweater-loving med student Jason Quartermaine. Yet from the start — long before the accident which would forever change the young man’s life — there was something a bit rough-around-the edges where Alan and Monica’s son was concerned.

Business as Usual

In many regards, it was just another day in the Quartermaine mansion. Translation: The clan was bickering in the wake of yet another shake-up at the family business, ELQ. Alan was out, Ned was in, and — as seen in the clip below — tensions were high. Then into this dysfunctional dynamic walked a handsome young man with killer hair, a traffic-stopping smile and piercing blue eyes. “Well, well,” said a disgruntled A.J., “‘the bastard son returns.”

Proving himself far more than the fresh-faced preppy he appeared, Jason hauled off and slugged his half brother, then apologized if he’d “messed up the rug.”

Perhaps recognizing the mischievous glint in Jason’s eye, grandfather Edward beamed his approval. “I like you, boy… and you have one hell of a right hook!”

Jason Quartermaine had come home and, with Burton taking over the role from the children who’d previously played the part, life in Port Charles would never be the same.

One Door Closes, Another Opens

Flash-forward 30-plus years, and everything has changed all over again. Again and again, even. Jason went from being his family’s pride and joy to being Sonny Corinthos’ Mob enforcer. Jason’s innate goodness remained intact — he tried to be there for those that he loved — but he had, as your grandparents might say, fallen in with a bad crowd, one whose lives were so dangerous that his late “widow” Sam McCall pulled out of their relationship in order to safeguard her children.

Behind the scenes, things were dramatic, too. In the fall of 2021, General Hospital put in place a COVID-19 vaccine mandate to protect the health and well-being of its cast and crew. Burton refused to comply and was let go, only to be hired shortly thereafter by Days of Our Lives to reprise his first soap role, that of Harris Michaels (who, perhaps not coincidentally, soon came to seem an awful lot like a certain Port Charles made man)

‘Dead’ Giveaway

Three years later, after the vaccine mandates had been lifted, Burton resurrected Jason for a second time. (He’d previously left for a few years to play Nikki Newman’s surprise son Dylan McAvoy on The Young and the Restless, then pulled a U-ey and headed home to Port Charles to once again squeeze into Jason’s trademark tiny T-shirts.) Even when he was leaving General Hospital, he’d expressed an interest in a comeback. “Maybe one day… ” he said at the time of his exit, “I can return and finish my career as Jason Morgan. That would be an honor.”