Many of us were shocked to learn of Tyler Christopher’s death on October 31, especially since most fans of “General Hospital” (GH) were anticipating for him to return triumphantly to the industry he loved.
Though we never expected anything less from him, the amount of affection that has been shown for him has been overwhelming and touching.
Kimberly McCullough Takes Us On a Walk With Tyler Christopher
One tribute that particularly stood out to us was from Kimberly McCullough, who has been friends with him since their early days on “General Hospital,” when she played Robin Scorpio and he played Nikolas Cassadine. Actors and fans have been reaching out to offer their thoughts, sadness, and affection for him.
She shared her memories and talked about Tyler Christopher the person and buddy on social media, much like a lot of other people do, especially on Instagram stories.
A true friendship
Unfortunately, Instagram stories only last 24 hours, but special thanks to She Knows for the transcript of her 20 minutes story.
After inviting us to take a walk with her to tell us about her friend, and it’s something special to hear.
“Let me tell you about my friend, Tyler Christopher,” Robin’s longtime portrayer said in the post’s video. And over the course of nearly 20 Instagram stories, that’s exactly what she did. She shared a beautiful tribute, filled with joyful memories and laden with so much emotion it tore at our hearts.
“I want to talk about Tyler Christopher, the person,” McCullough began. “If you’re a fan of his or even if you knew him personally, go on a walk with me.”
“I first met Tyler when I was about 16,” she recalled. “And as some of you may know, Nikolas and Robin had a very sweet friendship. But so did Kimberly and Tyler. We were a part of this acting class, which is where I met a lot of my really good friends, and we were also part of a friend group.
I once went through a pretty difficult period in my life while I was going through a breakup. He said he was sorry for not being there for me, but I was so lonely. “I hope you’ll forgive me,” he said. And it gave me the impression that Tyler was indeed my buddy, that I wasn’t insane, and that I was loved.
“I mean, what 20-something TV celebrity, at the pinnacle of his profession, says, ‘I hope you’ll forgive me?’” However, such was the nature of our friendship. To me, Tyler resembled an older brother. And the best thing was that our relationship was never romantic. It added to the sweetness and simplicity of our bond.
“The second thing I want to tell you is how Tyler always supported me when I wanted to make a transition into directing and how much that meant. It was like he could see it as clearly as I could. He would always say, ‘Yeah, go, go, go, go. Keep going, keep going. I know you’re gonna do it!’”
He even went so far as to put me up in his house in Austin, Texas while he was shooting a TV show. I was shadowing on an ABC Family show and he totally took care of me while I was there. He would even make coffee in the morning before I went to work and leave me a little note, like, ‘See you at work.’ It was just thoughtful.
“The third thing I want to tell you is about how freaking funny this dude is. I remember Finola (Hughes) came up to me one day after working with him and she was like, ‘I didn’t know he was so funny. Tyler is so clever. He just says this stuff under his breath and if you’re not listening very carefully, you’ll miss it.’
“And I was like, ‘I know, I know! No one knows. He’s a freaking stand up comedian in the body of a prince.’
“Tyler was so funny. He would tell these stories and my stomach would hurt so bad. I would cry like those cartoons where the tears shoot out of the side of your eyes.
“So, I guess my point to all this is to tell you that even though Tyler had his own struggles, he found a way to be all of these things for me as a friend. He found a way to be empathetic, generous and had a way of just making me laugh like no one else could. We shared a love of hip hop and robust sound systems in our cars. We shared a love of dogs and we shared a love of finding the emotional truth in our craft.
“And even though I’m super sad today. I’m so grateful that I got to know someone like that and grateful that I got to have a good friend for over 30 years. Rest in peace, man.”
Stories such as these truly reveal a lot, and “General Hospital” spoilers appreciate Kimberly sharing. Even if it’s not always positive, we fans enjoy learning about our favorite celebrities and their personalities.
Because Christopher was one of us, his loss serves as a reminder that humanity is a shared experience.
Which Tyler Christopher story is your favorite? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below, and be sure to return to “General Hospital” for the most recent rumors, spoilers, and developments.