Hart Jessup




There's an old biblical saying "The sins of the father have come back to haunt the son." Fortunately, that does not always happen, at least in the case of Hart Jessup. Although his character was introduced in 1991, he also has the distinction of being the most challenging character to cast due to the unfortunate circumstances of the actors. The first Hart was played by Jeff Phillips who is now Matt Cory on AW. He played the role from 1991 to 1992. Then there was the actor who was the most popular Hart, Leonard Staab who only played the role in 1993 but left due to a hanggliding accident. The third Hart was played by Sean McDermott and when his character left Springfield for Canada in 1993. He was often talked about but never seen. The next Hart was newcomer Marshall Hillard who joined Guiding Light in 1995. Marshall who was unceremoniously fired when he walked into his Dressing Room, and saw his predecessor Frank Grillo sitting in his chair. However, he has managed to win over the fans acceptance considering the fact that unlike his other predecessors who were fair haired, Frank has dark hair and eyes. Frank Grillo has played the role of Hart since 1996.

Hart came to Springfield to look for his father who was Roger Thorpe. Roger and Hart's mother Laura, were Spies in the AGENCY and in sharing their love, their son was produced although Roger never knew until a couple of years ago. He was raised by his Grandfather, Mr. Jessup who ran a successful farm and developed a love for horses that he would pass on to his only grandchild. Hart was a good man with a good heart, but with a father like Roger Thorpe, it was hard for people to believe that there was some good in the Thorpe Blood. However, Roger was thrilled to have a son and when the two of them started spending time with one another, Roger's daughter Blake, became very resentful of the attention that her new half-brother was getting from their father. Yet, the one thing that Hart did have was love and stability, yet when his father betrayed his grandfather by stealing the Jessup Farm due to a bad business deal, Hart was so devastated that he chose not to have anything to do with his father again.

Another problem that Hart had was the fact that he often found himself in complicated situations with the opposite sex. This was never more true when he started dating Julie Camiletti although she would go after Dylan Lewis of the Lewis Clan. He also had a one night stand with Bridget Reardon who was the manager of Company, a successful rooming house and restaurant. What he didn't know was that the union had produced a child who was named Peter. It was around this same time that Nadine Cooper who had married Billy Lewis was desperate to hold on to her husband even though she knew that he still loved Vanessa so she hid Bridget in an Attic Room and when Peter was born, she tried to pass the child off as Billy's. However, her scheme was caught on to, Billy left her and when Bridget and Vanessa decided to fight for custody of the child, they both managed to reach a truce so they shared co-custody of this beautiful little boy.

However, they both agreed that Roger would have a relationship with this child, and despite his faults, you never saw a more doting and loving grandfather to a child. Well, Hart eventually returned to Springfield after living in Vancouver, BC for several years and when he realized that he had a son, he tried to make up for lost time by being a father to his child since he didn't have either parent growing up. Yet, when Bridget realized that Hart had fallen in love with Dinah Marler, (Vanessa and Ross's daughter), she decided to give her relationship with Dylan another try so she moved to Minneapolis, MS where she is currently working towards a Degree at the State University.

Hart and Dinah got involved and the two of them were happy for a time, but when a newcomer came to Springfield, Hart's feelings once again were in question. Her name was Cassandra (Cassie) Layne, who had started working at Lewis Oil as a Secretary. She was a former exotic dancer, who was a single parent to her daughter Tammy, after her husband Rob Layne left her, but she didn't realize that she had ties to one of Springfield's most memorable citizens. Reva Shayne Lewis. The two fell in love with one another and when Cassie realized that she was pregnant with Hart's baby, she decided to keep quiet because she didn't want Hart to come back to her out of obligation. Hart then married Dinah but of course he still loved Cassie. Dinah then shot him and fled town with the help of her mother. Hart died in the hospital leaving Cassie all alone. Hopefully she will find someone else she can love as much as she loved Hart.

Last Updated 3/24/99. E-mail me with any comments or suggestions at addip@isholf.is.