     
Update
Sunday, March
15th 2009
Jay
Pickett hasn't appeared on General
Hospital in his recurring
role as Detective David Harper so
far this year, but I trust he'll be
back in Port Charles soon. There's
always somebody who needs arresting.
In the mean time Jay made an appearance
on the Showtime series Dexter
and he also co-stars in the Antonio
Sabato Jr. film Drifter:
Henry Lee Lucas to be released
this fall.
Jay Pickett on Dexter
It's
not new news anymore, but I attended
the annual GH Fan Club Weekend in
L.A. this past summer. I got lots
of pictures and most importantly an
opportunity to speak with Jay.
Here
are some of those pictures (click
to make them larger):
Jay Pickett
at the 2008 GHFCW |
Jay "arrests"
a fan |
Jay and I |
Jay enjoys a
beverage |
I've finally transcribed the interview
I did with Jay that weekend. Here
it is:
Jay
Pickett Interview
July 2008
| TERESA:
I just want to ask you a few questions
for the website. If… when
they give Harper a storyline what
would you like it to be?
JAY:
I like the way you said that.
You know, first of all, I’m
happy to be on the show and
to be playing Harper and doing
what I’m doing. It’s
been great honestly to be back
in the Port Charles family.
But it would be great to have
a story. I’d love to have
a love interest. That might
be the first thing I’d
pick.
TERESA:
Anybody in particular in mind?
JAY:
There are a lot of beautiful
women on General Hospital. I’d
be happy with anyone.
TERESA:
It always seems like two men
are after them though.
JAY:
Yeah, exactly. That and I’m
actually trying hard to have
Harper be a tougher cop: at
least, if nothing else, to be
tough. To actually have him
solve a crime would be cool.
So I wouldn’t be picky,
you know. I think just a story
would be nice, but in the mean
time just playing Harper going
around arresting people is cool,
too.
TERESA:
So how did it come about? Did
they come looking for you?
JAY:
Yeah, I got a call from out
of the blue asking if I would
be interested in playing this
role, the Harper character,
and I said, “Of course.”
It’s nice when it comes
to you like that.
TERESA:
It doesn’t usually?
JAY:
Well, not usually, but in this
instance I’ve known Bob
Guza for a long time and they
know my work from Port Charles.
I appreciate them acknowledging
that work and giving me this
role, I mean without having
to read for it.
TERESA:
You played Alcazar when Ted
King was sick, right? Was it
based on that at all?
JAY:
I think that was part of it.
I think Bob Guza was trying
to find something for me and
I appreciated him doing that.
Actually, I was supposed to
do more with Alcazar, but Ted
came back sooner than they thought.
So I think Bob wanted to give
me something else. He said he
was looking for something and
Bob is one of those guys when
he says something he means it.
He’s a man of his word.
So the Harper thing came along
and he handed that to me.
TERESA:
All right. Now he’s just
got to make it bigger.
JAY:
Exactly. You’ve done great
so far Bob, now just expand
it some.
TERESA:
Right.
JAY:
Right.
TERESA:
Do you and the other former
Port Charles people get together
often?
JAY:
Some of them like Brian and
Erin. We live fairly close to
each other and we’ve got
little boys close to the same
age and so we’ve gotten
together a couple of times.
I talk to Marie on the phone
occasionally. Of course Michael
Dietz is still one of my very
best friends. Thorsten. I’ll
talk to Thorsten every once
in a while too. So I keep track
of them.
TERESA:
Isn’t he in New York now?
JAY:
He is, yeah.
TERESA:
Do you know of any other Port
Charles people who are going
to be migrating to GH anytime
soon?
JAY:
No clue.
TERESA:
I guess I’m going to let
you go. Kin’s waiting
for you.
JAY:
I appreciate that. I appreciate
you doing the website.
TERESA:
I’m happy to do it actually
my sister and I originally put
it together back in 2000. She
passed away in 2001.
JAY:
I’m sorry to hear that.
TERESA:
I hadn’t done anything
with it in a few years and then
you came back on to GH and I
thought, well I better fix that
up.
JAY:
I’m glad you did. You
updated it nicely. Do me a favor
and email anything that you
want.
TERESA:
Anything?
JAY:
Any questions. Honestly, if
I can help you with anything,
yeah.
TERESA:
Okay. Thank you.
|
|
|
Jay
Pickett was born February 10th 1961
in Spokane Washington. He grew up
in Caldwell Idaho, where he graduated
from Vallivue High School. He received
a B.A. in acting at Boise State University
and an M.F.A. in acting from UCLA,
appearing in theatrical productions
at both schools.
Jay
is five feet, eleven inches tall,
has brown hair and green eyes. He
is a self-confessed neat freak and
according to him, he’s always
been that way. He enjoys most sports,
including football, basketball, baseball
and skiing. He is also an expert roper
and western rider.
In
the late eighties he started getting
small guest roles in television series
and movies. Have a look at his credits.
But it's hard to make a living that
way and Jay had to occasionally take
other jobs. He drove the Super Shuttle
in California and once picked up Nicholas
Pryor (Victor). The seasoned actor
was nice enough to give a young Jay
some advice. (And, no, I don't know
what it was.) Like his character,
Jay also used to substitute teach
on occasion.
|
In the
nineties he continued to make guest
appearances on prime time television,
including Matlock and a Raymond
Burr-less, Perry Mason movie. He
also appeared in the feature film
Rumplestilskin (with DS9 actor Max
Grodenchick) and had his first soap
opera appearance as Dr. Chip Lakin
on Days of Our Lives.
He's been
married since 1986 to wife Elena,
a national sales manager. He has
two daughters, Maegan and Michaela.
For Christmas, Jay and his family
always drive
|
Jay as ChipLakin |
home to Idaho and Oregon to see both
sides of the family. No Los Angeles
Christmas for them.
Jay
was with Port Charles from its premiere
in 1997 to its demise in 2003, delivering
consistently great performances in
the storylines he was given.
Apparently
after PC, with the exception of a
couple of TV appearances, Jay was
off the acting radar until a 2006
General Hospital appearance. He stepped
in for a day as Lorenzo Alcazar, replacing
the ailing Ted King. This was enough
to get him a shot at the recurring
role on GH of Detective David Harper
in 2007. They haven't given him much
to do yet, but Harper pops up a few
times a month to try and bring a little
law and order to Port Chuck. (Which
is kind of like trying to empty a
lake with a thimble.)
And
that's about it... for now.
|
There's
not much to the David Harper story...
yet. He's a recent addition to the
PCPD, the most singularly ineffective
law enforcement entity since Barney
Fife. Yes, Harper gets to question
people occasionally, but he rarely
gets an honest answer. Once in a while
a suspect will spend the night in
lock up, but no one has been succesfully
prosecuted in recent memory. Harper
spends most of his time trying to
ferret out information on crimes,
while the rest of PC's unconcerned
citizens parade their personal affairs
through the interrogation room and
basically ignore him. He can occasionly
be seen in the background rolling
his eyes and wondering why Mac is
giving him a paycheck. |
Jay
Pickett's first appearance as Det. David
Harper on General Hospital
Jay Pickett's latest
appearance as Det. David Harper
on General Hospital (Sept.
2008)
 |
When
I first saw Port Charles (at its evening
premiere in 1997) I was more than
a little impressed with one Frank
Scanlon and the fellow portraying
him. The character was smart, brave,
sexy and likeable. For those nor already
in the know, I'mgoing to give you
a little history. Frank is the oldest
son of Mary Scanlon (Pat Crowley)
and her first husband. Frank has one
sibling, Joseph Parnell Scanlon (Michael
Dietz, David Gail, Alex Mendoza).
Frank's father was an abusive alcoholic,
and Frank acted as the responsible
male family member at a young age,
looking after his younger brother
and trying to hold things together.
He earned a football scholarship to
Notre Dame, where he hoped to become
a doctor. He suffered a knee injury
and his father passed away, so he
returned to Port Charles to help support
the family. He helped his brother
Joe enter medical school and become
a doctor. He became a substitute science
teacher and a paramedic.
|
 |
The
first night of the show, Frank helped
to rescue his brother and the other
interns from crazy Greg Cooper who
was holding them hostage in an unfinished
part of the hospital. Frank promptly
became involved with intern Dr. Julie
Morris (Lisa Ann Hadley), who rented
the basement in the Scanlon house.
Frank and Julie stayed together despite
the fact that he found out she was
lying about her true identity. She
was really the daughter of the famous
Dr. Bennett "I am such a jerk"
Devlin. (Edward Albert) Of course,
when he came to town, he tried to
break up Frank and his little princess,
Julie. There's probably many a moment
when Frank wishes he had taken that
coaching job and the beamer and saved
himself a lot of trouble down the
line. But Frank was immune to Devlin's
string-pulling and decided to stay
with Julie. |
Frank
then got involved in the life of teenager
Lark (Anastasia Horne), a student
in one of his claseses. Lark was neglected
and abused by her alcoholic mother.
But she was mistrustful of Frank's
helping hand, sure at first that he
could only be interested in her sexually.
When her mother had to be carted off,
Lark came to live with Frank as a
foster child, much to Julie's chagrin.
Frank's desperate efforts to help
Lark came to a climax when she threatened
to jump off the GH roof. But it was
Frank who fell when he tried to rescue
her. |
Frank
hovered on the brink of death for
days, until Bennet Devlin secretly
gave him an experimental drug, DL56
stolen from Karen Wexler and Jake
Marshak, that regenerated Frank's
nerves. Unfortunately it also caused
addiction and changes in brain chemistry
that made Frank increasingly violent
and cranky. Which might be why he
didn't notice that Julie was becoming
increasingly violent and cranky too.
Her father was the first of the General
Homicide victims, and the mystery
coincided with Frank's addiction problems
with DL56, which he got first from
Devlin and then from Chris Ramsey.
|
Frank and Joe
Scanlon |
By
the time Julie was revealed as "the
killer" brainwashed by Greg "It's
like Visa, I'm everywhere" Cooper,
Frank's addiction was out in the open
and Karen had helped him to kick the
habit. Julie went to prison and Frank
was unaware that she was carrying
his child.
|
Frank and Courtney |
A
shaky Frank, still moody and temperamental,
was then drawn into the life of Courtney
Kanelos, Joe's former paramour (and
Frank's) who had this cute kid with
cancer, Neil, whom she was passing
off as Joe's son. She wanted Joe and
she wanted Frank to help her get Joe
away from Karen. So they came up with
a plan to make Karen think Joe was
a pervert. It included Frank and Courtney
keeping Karen under constant observation
from a seedy apartment across the
street. It almost worked, but Joe
and Karen eventually proved immune
to the manipulations. |
However,
when Neil got sick again, it was revealed
(to no one's surprise) that Frank
and not Joe was Neil's real father.
For some reason Joe got mad at Karen
for this and it did break them up.
But by then Courtney had decided that
she was really in love with the real
father of her son, Frank. And they
got themselves an apartment and settled
down to pretend domesticity. Frank
(still a bit on the wild side) got
himself into trouble, gambling and
what not, to support his new family.
It was also reavealed that Julie had
delivered a child that had been adopted
by Scott Baldwin. But little Christina
was of course Frank's daughter. He
wasn't going to tear Christina away
from her family, but he did want to
at least see his child. He got one
visit and was bonked on the head by
crazy Julie, who kidnapped her daughter
and was never heard from again. |
Frank
became increasingly stable, more and
more like his former nice self, settling
down to work at the Recovery Room
and as a Paramedic. Courtney stayed
true to form and was scheming, greedy
and deceptive. Eventually she alienated
Frank, by, among other things, getting
him arrested for harboring a fugitive
(the innocent Jamal), and revealing
to a seedy newspaper that Joe had
been exposed to the AIDS virus. Courtney's
naughty deeds were laid out for the
town to see on video at one of Amanda
Barrington's fancy parties. |
Frank and Christina |
Courtney
left town in disgrace, and went back
to Europe to pursue her career as
a party planner. Frank kept custody
of son Neil who was none too happy
with his Mom. |
April
2001
This
story was the second book presented
in Port Charles' telenovel format.
The first was "Fate" which
did not involve Frank much, although
they did show some of the beginning
of his courtship of Karen during
that time. This included a condiment
fight you could see coming from
a light year away.
The
"second book" however focuses
the story on Frank and Karen. The
two of them, along with Rhonda and
Scott attend a charity auction where
they spot a very old computer. Rhonda
comments that it was like one her
father had and Karen said she liked
the computer. Frank buys the computer
as a gift for Karen. They try to put
it in her place, but it doesn't fit.
Frank takes it to his garage where
he devotes a lot of time to flirting
with Karen and getting the computer
in working order.
|
|
Karen
goes away to attend a special medical
seminar (Marie Wilson's maternity
leave) and while she's gone Frank
begins to exchange messages with someone
through the computer. The creepy computer,
Nellie, can do this sans modem, or
even being plugged in. He is talking
with "Cookie" a troubled
teenager. He attempts to be her friend
and give her good advice, as she deals
with the death of someone close to
her and starts drinking. |
Frank and Karen
on the bleachers |
When
Karen gets back Frank is beginning
to be aware that "Cookie"
believes that the year is 1973,
and he may be communicating over
time. Karen doesn't believe a word
of it and thinks Frank is obsessed.
She
worries about his behavior and her
mother's alcoholism and her own fear
that she will start popping pills
again to deal with stress.
Frank
tries to prove Cookie exists, by carbon-dating
a carving at Kelly's and having Cookie
leave a message behind a brick in
the wall. Convinced himself, he goes
on a bender to deal with the fact
that he is face to face with a time
anomaly. Karen, dealing with the secret
that she is a "match" for
the liver-needin' Arianna, almost
dumps Frank for his behavior. But
they make up and consummate their
relationship. She decides to help
Arianna and warns Frank to be careful
and not screw around with time. He
forgets her advice and i.m.s a drunken
Cookie, not to go to the shcool dance
and sleep with that boy she likes.
As Karen walks through the hospital
she fades out of existence. Frank's
advice has caused Karen never to be
concieved.
|
Frank and Cookie |
A frantic Frank searches for a Karen
that no one else remembers. He finds
a destitute, drunken Rhonda who never
had a daughter and was carted off
to a mental ward in 1973 because she
thought her computer talked to her.
Family and friends are ready to throw
a butterfly net over Frank, who pretends
everything is cool and convinces Ian
and his imported new-age Voo-Doo doctor,
"The Chief" that Karen is
the key to saving a fading Arianna.
The Chief provides a drug that can
send Frank back in time, more or less,
to 1973. |
|
Once there he flounders around in the
past, but somehow manages to set things
straight and return to the present
which now once again contains Karen
Wexler and his chance for true love.
Sure
the "Time in a Bottle" stuff
was a little out there for a daytime
drama, but not compared with the storylines
to follow most of which did not feature
Frank Scanlon. Starting with "Tainted
Love" Port Charles got super
weird with vampires and angels and
slayers and witches and freaky candles
and a punk ass bitch drummer named
Ricky Garza who tries to make time
(ultimately successfully) with Frank's
woman.
|
Frank and Karen
reunite |
In
"Torn" (the eighth telenovel)
Frank compensates by succumbing
to "The Avatar", wearing
a stylish dark cloak and kicking
Ricky's skinny butt. He shakes off
that demon, but in due course he
falls prey to the epidemic of vampirism
in Port Charles. This puts the kibosh
on his relationship with Karen and
any further significant contribution
to storylines. Port Charles permanently
faded into the past in October of
2003.
|
Frank is revealed as
the Avatar
Click to enlarge
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Port Charles
Fan Club Dinner 1998 |
|
|
Port Charles
Fan Club Luncheon 2000 |
|
|
Credits
found on the IMDB, ABC.com and a
google search. Additional information
on screen or theater credits would
be greatly appreciated. Titles are
linked to additional information
about the project.
General
Hospital (2007- 2008)
Television Series - David Harper
Jay Pickett's first
appearance as General Hospital's
Detective Harper was on October
9th 2007. He's the new kid at the
PCPD. So far his contributions have
been minimal, but he asks really
good questions and he looks really
good doing it. "I'm new to
the department, so I'm still trying
to figure out how things work."
- Det. David Harper
The
Clear Horizon
(2008)
Short Film - Bobby
A short which has thus far only
been seen at the Hoboken Intenational
Film Festival on June 1st 2008.
"Fleeing the FBI and his most
notorious client, a tormented defense
attorney escapes on his sailboat,
but when he washes up on the shore
of a Mexican penal colony, he discovers
that the past he desperately wants
to forget... has not forgotten him."
— IMDB
Saving
Grace (2007)
Television Guest "Would
You Want Me to Tell You?"
- Eddie
Aired August 20th
2007.
General
Hospital (2006)
Television Guest - Lorenzo Alcazar
On March 23rd 2006
Jay Pickett stepped into the role
of Alacazar for an ailing Ted King.
YouTube
video and an interview.
Landslide
(2004)
Television Movie - Stewart Hancock
By all accounts a truly
terrible TV movie, but I believe
Jay gets to play the bad guy in
this one so I'm going to ignore
the warnings and pick it up anyway.
It's available on DVD, but they've
changed the name to Buried
Alive. Yes, that's much more
subtle.
Port
Charles (1997 - 2003)
Television Series - Frank Scanlon
It's gone now, but you
can still see repeats on Soapnet
every once in a while.
Rumpelstiltskin
(1996)
Feature Film - Russell Stewart
Here's a short review.
Not many people liked, but I believe
Jay's character dies toward the
beginning of the film so it's not
his fault.
Hotline
(1996)
Television Guest "The Gardener"
- J.M.
A young man (Jay Pickett)
is hired as a live in gardener for
a women and her older husband but
it turns out that he has been hired
for more than his horticulture abilities.
A
Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of
the Jealous Jokester (4/10/95)
Television Movie - Unknown
Starring Hal Holbrook
and not Raymond Burr. I don't know
what Jay does in it. Aired on April
10th 1995.
Days
of Our Lives (1991-1992)
Television Series - Dr. Chip Lakin
Jay was only of
this soap briefly but apparently
got to have a fictional fling with
a daytime diva almost 20 years his
senior. "In 1992, Julie (Susan
Seaforth Hayes) was nearly killed
after a bomb planted at a museum
party by Raffi Torres exploded.
Julie was caught in the blast, but
lived after a life saving procedure
was performed by Dr. Chip Lakin,
who she later dated." —
From
Soap Central Character History
Matlock:
The Witness Killings (1991)
Television Movie Guest - Gary Andler
or Doc
Jay's character is listed
with one name on the IMDB
(Gary Andler) and another on TV.com
(Doc). Hallmark shows Matlock a
lot, so I'll solve this mystery
sooner or later. Originally aired
as a TV Movie. Reruns are frequently
shown in two parts. Originally aired
October 18th 1991.
Eve
of Destruction (1991)
Feature Film - Man in Jeep
I'm guessing it's
not a very big role. Released January
18th 1991.
Jake
and the Fatman (1991)
Television Guest "Let's
Call the Whole Thing Off"
- Johnny Burgess
McCabe is prosecuting Robert
Burgess - a big crime boss, when
his main witness is murdered on
his way to court. Jake tracks down
Burgess' ex-girlfriend, and has
to bring her to court before the
judge dismisses the case. Aired
January 2nd 1991
Rush
Week (1989)
Feature Film - Parker
Mr.
Belvedere (1989)
Television Guest "Homecoming"
- Keith Elliot
Synopsis: With Homecoming
days away, Heather finds herself
considering being dateless that
is until she meets Keith Elliot
and is swept off her feet, that
is until he tries to rape her. Meanwhile,
Wesley is making a video about Mr.
Belvedere's career but is having
a hard time getting anything interesting.
Aired November 18th 1989
China
Beach (1988)
Televsion Guest "Waiting
for Beckett" - Filmore
Cross
Cherry is taken
in by a deserter (Jay Pickett) who
claims to know her brother, and
who is pursued by a determined officer
from the CID. Aired May 18th 1988.
You
Tube Video
Rags
to Riches (1987)
Television Guest "Russian
Holiday" - Alex Leskov
The Russian diplomat
and his son (Jay Pickett) visit.
Rose decides he's too stiff and
needs to be shown a good time. Rose
sneaks him out of the embassy without
anyone's knowledge or consent. He
becomes very infatuated with her
and decides he no longer wishes
to return to Russia. Aired December
11th 1987.
Dragnet
(1987)
Feature Film - Role Unknown
Released June 23rd 1987
|
Bonus Feature
A short film directed
by Jon Lindstrom
Starring Jay Pickett and Julie Pinson
A Chance Encounter
  
 |
This
page was written by Teresa and Tracy
Murray, T 'n' T, copyright 2001-2008.
Page design is entitled "Spotlight
in Green". General Hospital and
Port Charles are owned by ABC/Disney
and no one is saying otherwise. This
page is Jay Pickett's for the asking.
Should he wish it out of existence
we would willingly wring its little
neck. He could, theoretically, have
us transfer it to his domain www.jaypickett.com,
that we deduce his accountant got
him for his birthday. Send comments
to T
'n' T.
|
hit
counter
|
