Kin Shriner (born December 6, 1953) is an American actor, best known for playing Scott Baldwin on both daytime serials General Hospital (1977–1993, 2000–2004, 2007–2008, 2013–) and Port Charles (1997–2000, 2001).

Personal life

Shriner was born in New York, New York, the twin brother of fellow actor, Wil Shriner. Kin is the elder by six minutes. Their parents were Eileen “Pixie” McDermott and humorist and television host Herb Shriner. While he was in high school, both of Shriner's parents died in a car crash. He and his brother Wil then moved to Texas, where they were raised by their grandmother.^[1]

Acting career

After once working as a door-to-door Fuller Brush salesman,^[1] Shriner began to appear on GH as Scotty Baldwin.^[2] From 1980 to 1981, Shriner was cast as Jeb Hampton, a friend of the Dekkers', in the early days of the short-lived NBC soap opera Texas.

Shriner joined the cast of As the World Turns as Julia Larrabee (Sarah Brown)'s brother Keith Morrissey from February 2005 to January 2006.^[2] His role drew favorable reviews, though his character wasn't well received by many fans of the show as he broke up popular couple Holden (Jon Hensley) and Lily Snyder (Martha Byrne). Shriner called the ATWT role "the most fun I've had in a long time."^[2]

He has had guest-starring roles on Baa Baa Black Sheep, Full House, and Justice League Unlimited.

In February 2011, it was announced that Shriner would fill in for the temporarily unavailable Ted Shackleford as Jeffrey Bardwell on The Young and the Restless. His run as the character aired from April 20 to September 16, 2011.^[3]

General Hospital

Shriner began to appear on GH as Scotty Baldwin. He has played the role in five decades and said that it has "been a part of his entire adult life.".^[2] On February 19, 2013, Kin Shriner reprises the role of Scott Baldwin on General Hospital, a few days after his ex-wife Laura Spencer, played by Genie Francis, returns to Port Charles. He had last been seen in 2008 when he and Laura boarded a plane for Paris.

Drinking! Deceit! Debauchery! And some of it even happened on screen. General Hospital was one wild and crazy place in the late '70s and early '80s under the command of the brilliant yet oh-so-lethal exec producer Gloria Monty. In honor of the ABC soap's 50th anniversary, TV Guide Magazine gathered three survivors of the era — good friends Tony Geary (Luke), Jane Elliot (Tracy) and Kin Shriner(Scotty) — for a raucous lunch near the GH studio. Shriner shows up at the restaurant in a bright cherry-red shirt, the exact same color as Geary's pants. Says Geary with a laugh: "I hate to tell ya, but we're both halfway there now." Elliot, for reasons to be revealed later, is wearing a large smock. Geary orders pasta. Shriner and Elliot get the fish tacos, with Elliot noting, "Kin, who has way too much time on his hands, called me yesterday to discuss in detail the fish tacos he was going to have here today." Soon enough the memories are flying. Who quit the show in a tiff over $50? Who got arrested on the way to work? Who had a steady stream of sexmates coming in and out of the dressing room? It's all here and lots more, so get ready for the full Monty!^[4]

Kin Shriner already plays the longest-running character currently in daytime drama—Scott Baldwin on ABC's General Hospital. Now he's in the record books for an entirely different reason: Scott is the first character in soaps to have his ear chewed off! Credit for the crime goes to Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary)—currently suffering from a wackadoo personality disorder—who went all Hannibal Lecter on poor District Attorney Baldwin and sent him to the hospital. Of course, we ignored doctor's orders and demanded an interview with Shriner! How did you find out about this atrocious—yet pretty damn amusing—assault on Scott Baldwin? "Did the execs warn you or did it just pop up in a script?" asked Michael Logan. "I uncovered it in a script. I read that scene and was, like, 'Whaat?' Then I right away called up Jackie Zeman (Bobbie) and said, "What's with this ear-bite business? I've been on this show 38 years and this is what they do to me?" And she said, "Well, I think it'll be funny." [Laughs] "Yeah, because it wasn't happening to her!" exclaims Shriner. "So how is this going to work? Will Scott's ear be maimed for life or will this problem be like Maxie's heart-transplant scar—gone by next Tuesday?" asks Logan. "That's what I was wondering at first. Is this like Stephen Nichols who went all those years on Days of Our Lives with a patch on his eye? I mean, if they're gonna do that, why didn't they have Luke bite off Scott's nose and then he could have a metal one like Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou? I love that movie! But, then it turns out that Bobbie grabbed Scott's ear when it went flying so that it could be sewn back on. For a while I'm doing scenes with a big bandage that looks like I have a cauliflower attached to my head. But you know actors. By the third show you're like, 'Uh, could we just lose this thing? It's kind of distracting.' So the bandages get smaller and we move on. But I love it. I'm a good sport. Whatever they cook up, I'll take it. Cut off my ear, shave my head, poke my eye out like the Three Stooges. I don't care."^[5]

Port Charles

Plans to spin off General Hospital were announced in December, 1996.^[6] ABC had previously passed on the idea of a GH spin off proposed by former head writer, Claire Labine.^[7] Tentatively titled GH2, the series was set to revolve around interns at the medical school across from General Hospital. Wendy Riche, executive producer of General Hospital, was hired to fill the same role for the new series. Riche said of the new show, "This will be a multigenerational show, which is the kind of drama we've always done at GH".^[7] It was later announced that the series would be titled Port Charles, after the fictional city the series are set, and would star Jon Lindstrom and Lynn Herring, playing their roles from GH. ^[8] The series premiered with a two hour prime time special, that aired on June 1, 1997.^[9] It started in its regular timeslot, the following day, replacing the canceled The City.^[10] The series also featured the return of General Hospital characters Scott Baldwin (Kin Shriner), and Karen Wexler (Jennifer Hammon). After the series premiered, it was unclear if Lindstrom, Herring, and Shriner would remain with the series. It was later confirmed the actors would stay on the show.^[11]

Filmography

Television