SAD NEWS General Hospital Alum Joe Marinelli Has Dɪᴇᴅ

Joe Marinelli passed away from cancer on June 22nd. The actor, who worked on General Hospital (GH), also appeared on Santa Barbara. He worked on multiple shows, including the Apple TV+ drama The Morning Show. Not a stranger to the big screen, he also appeared in films like Sideways. But, what was his role on GH? Read on to find out more.

Widely Reported Death

From blogs to mainstream media, news of Joe’s talent and sad death from cancer was reported on nearly every social media platform. For the purpose of this article, let’s take a look at his time on the ABC drama. He only appeared in 14 episodes, with his last appearance coming in August 2001. During that time he acted the role of Joseph Sorel.

In the show, he was a threat and enemy to Maurice Benard’s character, Sonny Corinthos. As everyone knows, Sonny is the crime boss, and the mobster who arrived in Port Charles, Joseph Sorel, didn’t like him at all. He had a daughter named Angel, played by Angel Boris, who kept her identity a secret. Soap Central reminded fans that she liked Sonny and had no reason to love her father, who killed her husband, Donnie Ellis.

The Murderous Ways of Sorel

Quick to kill, Joe Marinelli’s character, Joseph Sorel tried killing Sonny twice. First, he got him shot outside a police station, and later, stabbed him at Lily Corinthos’ grave. It was Angel who stepped in to save him. She took Sonny under her wing, and nursed him back to health. Although she hid her relationship to her dad, Sonny later learned she was Sorel’s daughter.

Inevitably, the two characters grew close, mainly based on their shared experiences with the mob. However, Angel didn’t stay for long, as the police figured out that she had killed her father. She eventually left Port Charles with the help of Sonny and Jax (Ingo Rademacher). She wanted to confess in a fit of remorse, but they decided to send her to Greece instead.

While he was on the show, Sorel also arranged hits on various other people, including Emily Quartermaine, and arranged an assault on Carly Spencer. So, some people might feel he deserved to die at the hands of his own family

Tributes to Joe

There have been many tributes to Joe Marinelli, but they seem to be scarce from General Hospital cast members. It’s possible that’s because 14 episodes doesn’t add up to much in a popular daytime drama that has run for over 60 years, with more than 15,000 episodes having aired by 2022.

Still, as he appeared in other shows and movies, Joe was remembered with fondness. Leigh J. McCloskey from Santa Barbara remembered him, as did his The Morning Show co-star Mark Duplass. It was his role on Santa Barbara where he is possibly best remembered as Bunny Tagliatti.

A sweeter man or a dearer friend you could not find than Joe Marinelli. I knew Joe was sick and so admired his indefatigable spirit throughout what sounded like a very difficult, if not impossible, ordeal. Joe was a champion. He was a great acting partner, teacher, philosophical friend, passionate believer in people…

Do you remember the days when Joe Marinelli acted the role of Joseph Sorel, who tried to kill Sonny? Let us know in the comments below, and come back here often for all your General Hospital cast news and updates.