Scott "Scotty" Baldwin is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera General Hospital and its now-defunct spinoff Port Charles. The character debuted played by child actors in the 1960s until Kin Shriner assumed the role in 1977. Scotty is often remembered as part of the love triangle with Luke and Laura Spencer; when Scott's wife Laura Webber left him for Luke Spencer, his devastation led to a drastic personality change, and the character became one of General Hospital's long-running villains. However, on Port Charles, the character was portrayed in a more heroic sense.
Casting
The character was originated as a child in the 1960s, played by the child actor Johnny Whitaker in 1965. He was succeeded by Teddy Quinn in 1966, Tony Camp from 1969 to 1972, Don Clarke from 1973 to 1974, and Johnny Jensen from 1974 to 1975.
The character of Scott is most commonly associated with Kin Shriner, who assumed the role beginning August 2, 1977. Shriner left the series briefly to play Jeb Hampton on Texas, and returned in 1982 for a one-year contract. He returned again on November 27, 1987, and left on December 24, 1993. Shriner reprised the role in 1997 on the spinoff Port Charles. He left Port Charles in 2001 and returned to the original series, until his departure in 2004. Shriner returned in 2007 and departed again in November 2008. With the departure of actress Rachel Ames as Audrey Hardy, Scott became the oldest character (in real time) appearing on General Hospital, having been introduced in 1965.
On January 14, 2013, it was announced that Shriner would return to General Hospital on February 19, making him the latest in a slew of returning fan favorites.
Character development
When Kin Shriner assumed the role in 1977, Scotty is a respectable young adult. He enters law school and has a promising future with his career and young love Laura Spencer. The two marry in 1979. However, when Laura is raped by Luke Spencer and subsequently falls in love with Luke, Scotty's devastation hardens his character. Laura leaves him and marries Luke in 1981. Scotty leaves town as Shriner left the series to pursue other opportunities. Executive Producer at the time Gloria Monty asked him to return a year later, ready to turn his character into a "rat." Scott becomes known for lying and scheming. Fans accepted the change, both because he was more interesting to watch, and because they understood the character's past and felt that the betrayal of both the love of his life (Laura) and one of his good friends (Luke) left him a broken man, and in turn caused him to become bitter and jaded about the world. Shiner explained in 1982:
Storylines
1965–75
The young Scotty Bentley first came to Port Charles with his mother Meg Bentley and stepsister Brooke, after the death of his father Lloyd. There was a lot of family strife in the first couple of years as Meg became engaged to the dashing Dr. Noel Clinton, sending Brooke into a tailspin. Brooke never liked her stepmother Meg and felt that the engagement to Noel was a slap in the face to her dead father. In retaliation, Brooke seduced Noel, and the two left town and wed. Meg was devastated. A short time later, she met and married Lee Baldwin. Lee adopted Scotty, and the three became a family. Unfortunately, Meg developed breast cancer and had to have a radical mastectomy. The illness caused Meg to have a mental breakdown, and Lee had no choice but to put her in a sanitarium where she died soon thereafter. Lee now had to raise Scotty on his own. Scotty eventually left the show (went away to law school) for a time.
1977–83
When he returned, he obtained a job at the hospital, where he met the young Laura Webber. They fell in love and, after many obstacles (including the manipulations of Scotty's on-again/off-again lover and Laura's nemesis Bobbie Spencer), they finally married, but their happiness was short-lived. Laura went to work at the Campus Disco for Bobbie's shady brother Luke, who became obsessed with Laura and eventually raped her. In spite of this, Laura fell in love with Luke, ran off with him, and later divorced Scotty after less than two years of marriage.