General Hospital star John J. York celebrates his birthday

General Hospital star John J. York, one of the show's longest-running cast members, is celebrating his birthday today. A favorite among fans since his debut in 1991, York plays Malcolm "Mac" Scorpio in Port Charles.

General Hospital, Happy birthday, John J. York

Prior to joining the cast of GH, John J. York, born on December 10, made appearances on TV shows including Dynasty, Family Ties, and 21 Jump Street. On the big screen, he appeared in the Gary Busey film The Bear (1984).

The actor screen-tested for the role of Jake on The Bold and the Beautiful in 1990. That part went to actor Todd McKee (Ted, Santa Barbara), but the following year, York joined the cast of GH as Mac, the estranged brother of Tristan Rogers' Robert Scorpio.

The two brothers moved past their estrangement. The following year, after Robert and Anna (Finola Hughes) were both presumed dead in a boat explosion with Cesar Faison (Anders Hove), Mac became a surrogate father to Robin (Kimberly McCullough), Robert and Anna's daughter.

He later took on a paternal role in the lives of Felicia's (Kristina Wagner) daughters, Maxie (Kirsten Storms) and Georgie (Lindze Letherman).

York was born in Chicago, Illinois, and he attended Brother Rice Christian Brothers High School.

The actor, after coming to Los Angeles, was cast as the series lead in the Fox program Werewolf, which ran for one season.

Mac and Felicia, General Hospital

Mac Scorpio (John J. York) and Felicia Scorpio (Kristina Wagner) have one of Port Charles's more stable relationships on General Hospital | Image: Disney/Christine Bartolucci

In 2013, after years of taking a back seat to Felicia's attachment to Frisco (Jack Wagner), the father of their daughters, Felicia made her choice at the Nurses Ball as to which man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Despite Frisco serenading her, Felicia chose Mac!

In real life, York faced a health crisis when, in 2022, he was diagnosed with not one, but two blood cancers, Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) and Smoldering Multiple Myeloma. Both affected his blood and bone marrow. York took a break from GH to deal with his condition. After a donor was located, York's health took a turn for the better and in 2024, he returned to General Hospital. Read about his courageous journey here.

That's when the story of Mac being the biological father of Cody (Josh Kelly) finally played out. At first, Cody lied to Mac that he was his son, but then, as soap secrets tend to do, the truth came out.