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On call at 'General Hospital'
Even in the seven years when she was off the ABC soap General Hospital, Emma Samms' character-Holly Sutton Scorpio-was so popular that the residents of fictional Port Charles, N.Y., talked about her long after she supposedly died in a plane crash. ''At least they didn't give her amnesia,'' Samms says of Holly's miraculous return as a scam artist-turned-model citizen last January. Wouldn't you know it: Holly was just in a coma! (Samms, meanwhile, spent the time starring in ABC's Dynasty and making movies.) Now Samms' miraculous new Hospital contract includes big bucks-and guaranteed time off to make films, TV movies, and a prime-time series pilot. On camera, in her made-for-TV movies and feature films, Samms exudes an ethereal sweetness and charm. Off camera, she's got a refreshing sense of humor about herself that keeps her from ever losing her cool. ''Laughter is the world's best olive branch,'' Samms says. The British-born actress, 31 and recently divorced from her husband of less than a year, loves photography (she snapped Neil Simon at home for Architectural Digest) and works with the Starlight Foundation, an organization she cofounded in 1982 that grants wishes to critically ill children. She describes herself as a ''homebody''-and a big fan of daytime TV. ''We work so hard in soaps,'' she says, ''and there's no room for temperamental types or egos. I really like that. Besides, I pay my mortgage. And I'm not too sure I want to be any more famous.'' Wait till she hears what they say about her in Port Charles.
