STEVE Burton was a member of the General Hospital cast on and off from 1991 to 2021.
It was confirmed that he would return to the soap to reprise his role as Jason Morgan in early 2024 after being fired from the show.
Why was Steve Burton fired from General Hospital?
Following the onset of rumors regarding his status on General Hospital, Steve Burton took to his Instagram account to announce that he had officially been let go from the TV show.
Alongside a video of him explaining why he's been fired, Burton wrote, "Hey! I wanted you to hear it from me. I love and appreciate all of you!"
“I wanted you to hear it from me personally,” he said in the video.
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"Unfortunately, General Hospital has let me go because of the vaccine mandate. I did apply for my medical and religious exemptions, and both of those were denied. Which, you know, hurts. But this is also about personal freedom to me."
The vaccine mandate for Zone A at General Hospital went into effect on November 1, 2021. Zone A includes those present on set when the actors aren’t wearing masks, and the actors themselves.
Burton tested positive for Covid-19 in August 2021, per Soaps.com.
General Hospital remained the only daytime drama series on television to require a vaccine from its actors.
On January 4, 2024, General Hospital announced that Burton would be returning to the show as Jason Morgan once again.
The announcement came in the form of a promo video that aired at the end of General Hospital's 60th anniversary special.
When will Steve Burton return to General Hospital?
As Daily Drama reported, while speaking on The Daily Drama Podcast on January 31, 2024, Burton told co-host Bradford Anderson that he was due to return to General Hospital "next week."
In the January 16 episode of the podcast, Burton said that he anticipated his start date would be within the next few weeks.
"We can do some creative, fuzzy-ish math. I don’t know how far ahead GH is right now, but I can guess in my experience in life that it could be 3-4 weeks," he said, per the outlet.
"But if I start in a couple of weeks, and we add four weeks to that, we’re going to have an estimated guess."
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According to Soaps.com, viewers can expect to see Jason on screen at the conclusion of February sweeps.
Who is Steve Burton?
Born on June 28, 1970, Burton is an American actor and director.
His full name is Jack Stephen Burton, and he was born in Indianapolis, Indiana.
After graduating from Beverly Hills High School in 1988, Burton stepped into his longtime role of Jason Morgan on ABC's General Hospital.
In 1998, Burton won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Aside from his time on the soap opera, Burton has appeared in various films, television shows, and video games.
He had roles in the sci-fi miniseries Taken, as well as 2001's The Last Castle.
Burton is a voice actor for the Kingdom Hearts video game franchise, as well as the Final Fantasy franchise.
In 2012, he left his position at General Hospital and began a run on fellow soap, The Young and the Restless.
He portrayed Dylan McAvoy on the show until 2016, earning another Daytime Emmy Award.
He returned to his position on General Hospital the following year in June of 2017.
Burton married Sheree Gustin in January 1999, but the pair split in July 2022.
As People reported, they finalized their divorce in December 2023.
The former couple has three children together: Makena, Jack, and Brooklyn,
What is Steve Burton's net worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Burton has an estimated net worth of around $3 million.
The accomplished actor has also appeared in Cyber Tracker and Cyber Tracker 2, as well as Days of Our Lives.
Burton is credited with directing the 2005 short, Laws of Gambling.
He appeared on High Stakes Poker season three and donated his earnings to his fan club for the building of a clubhouse.
