Maurice Benard Has a 45-Minute ‘General Hospital’ Comedy Set
When you think of Maurice Benard, comedy is not the first thing that comes to mind. Benard has played General Hospital’s favorite mobster, Sonny Corinthos, for 30 years. The character is anything but funny. He can be described as mean, ruthless, and even a little scary.
At the same time, Corinthos is also kind and loving to those he loves. Soaps rarely give actors a chance to make people laugh, but Benard is doing just that off-screen.
Maurice Benard does a stand-up comedy routine on ‘General Hospital’
Benard talked about stand-up comedy on his State of Mind podcast while interviewing GH co-star Tabyana Ali, who also spoke of her own experience performing in comedy clubs.
“I do 45 minutes up there, on all General Hospital,” he told his guest. “When I do it, these are my fans from GH, so I don’t care if I suck or whatever; they laugh.”
Benard knows doing a routine about his soap is easier because the audience is familiar with his material and loves him already. He admitted to Ali that he “could not do that” when she spoke of her own routine of original comedy in front of total strangers.
What does Maurice Benard talk about in his stand-up routine?
Benard told Entertainer! Magazine in 2018 that his father Humberto Morales was a large part of his show. “I had a whole show about myself first,” Benard explains.
“It’s me riffing about goats, llamas, my mom and dad and my life. Then I go into GH. There’s quite a bit about GH and Steve Burton, who plays Jason. It’s easy to poke fun at GH and Steve … then, I bring my dad out. I’m telling ya, my dad, if he had been an actor or comedian, he’d been right at the top. That’s how much charisma he has.”
Unfortunately, his father died in 2021. Regarding the General Hospital part of his routine, he said, “I’m pretty honest—without getting fired.” Fans enjoy the funny side of the soap star, “I hear all the time, ‘I didn’t know you had that side,’” he said.
“I love doing standup, but being on GH is like a family. The job is incredible.” The General Hospital star said that Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy are two of his favorite comedians.
Maurice Benard has a funny friend in Marcus Coloma
Benard has become close with many of his General Hospital co-stars. One of his good friends is now ex-Nikolas Cassadine, Marcus Coloma. Both actors are very funny, especially together. According to Soaps, Coloma shared a video on Instagram asking his Benard for advice for a “friend” who sounds an awful lot like his Nikolas character.
“He’s happily married,” the actor explained to his friend, “loves his wife more than anything. They got in a massive fight, they’re having a really rough time, and this girl is messing with some stuff. Anyway, long story short, he thought they were divorced. He had intimate relations with his son’s girlfriend.”
Benard then told Coloma about his “friend” who had amnesia, fell in love with someone, then remembered who he was and ran back to his wife, who he found about to marry his best friend. Hmmm, it sounds a bit like Corinthos.
Benard could barely finish his story without breaking down laughing. “It’s like a soap opera!” Benard exclaimed.
