Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) on General Hospital still has his State of Mind podcast on YouTube, and this Sunday, he hosted Fritz Coleman. He’s the longtime and widely loved weather guy from NBC. Read on for more details.
The Backstory Of Fritz
When Maurice introduced Fritz on the podcast, he reminded his followers about his long career as an Emmy Award-winning weatherman for NBC. Of course, Fritz is also known as a standup comedian.
As usual on the podcast, GH fans heard the duo discuss lots of things. And, with Fritz Coleman, they covered subjects like retirement, figuring out your new retired identity, and down-to-earth ways to find happiness.
Mental Health Discussed
Of course, with Maurice Benard, the conversation always turns to mental health. His guest, Coleman revealed his struggle with sobriety. In his case, he found that doing meaningful things helped to change his attitude toward life.
In his chat, ABC fans heard Fritz tell Maurice that he doesn’t have mental health issues at the moment. He said:
I had what my therapist called a low baseline. That is even if I had no stressors in my life, either physical or emotional stressors, I was always mildly depressed. That’s why early in my life, I had a little problem with alcohol.
Next, the real-life Sonny Corinthos heard that it’s been over 40 years now since Fritz drank alcohol. Then, he explained what helped him. He added, “I learned what makes me feel better and emotionally engages me is to be busy and read and engage my mind and soul outside my own body.” That taught the weatherman how to not “dwell on [his] own stuff so much.”
The Best Part Of His Career
Despite his long career as a weatherman and as a comedian, getting sober was the “best” part of his career. He told Maurice Benard, “People who have not had a problem with substances don’t understand when I say this. They say ‘what was the best part about your career?’ and I say my ability to stay sober for 40 years.”
Then he added, “That was the greatest gift I gave myself and I wouldn’t have had a career that long were I not sober.”
Talking about his addiction, Fritz Coleman explained that there was a generational addiction in his family. He said, “See, the problem was I was working at comedy clubs and I was getting free drinks seven nights a week.” And, he noted that it was a “recipe for disaster.”
Generational Alcoholism
His “father was an alcoholic and his father was an alcoholic.” So, he told the GH audience that he saw a therapist and yes, he probably would have “ended up an alcoholic” if he hadn’t gone sober when he did.
Sobriety is a scary thing because it takes courage, desire, and self-admission that drinking isn’t the answer. Many people struggle with sobriety, so naturally, many General Hospital fans appreciated Fritz talking about it.
Viewers Comment
In the comment section, one follower wrote, “I can so relate to this in a lot of ways…”
Here are a few more responses from the discussion area:
- Wow, this is great to see Fritz Coleman.
- fantastic therapeutic conversation.
- Hello Maurice and Fritz. This was an awesome conversation and I enjoyed your life’s experiences along the way. Maurice this is another fantastic SOM show.
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below, and remember to come back here often for all your General Hospital cast news and updates.