Making his first appearance on July 23, 1993 and his final appearance on August 1, 2017, Stone Cates — portrayed by Michael Sutton — was one of the most prominent individuals on the ABC soap opera General Hospital, prior to his character’s passing in 1995 at just 19 years old due to AIDS-related illness.
Given his prominence on the soap opera from 1993 to 1995 — with guest appearances in select episodes in 2010 and 2017 — those who might be binge-watching General Hospital, or simply taking a trip down memory lane, might have questions regarding the character that was Stone Cates.
Fortunately, we got you covered. For all things Stone Cates, just keep scrolling…
Who is Stone Cates?
For those who are unfamiliar with Stone Cates, his mother and father died, leaving his brother — Jagger Cates, who eventually went on to date Karen Wexler — to take care of his siblings. When the burden became to much, his brother had to give Stone and his sister up, causing him to live with mobster and owner of The Paradise Lounge, Sonny Corinthos.
As for his storyline on the show, Stone was introduced in an episode of General Hospital that aired on July 23, 1993, where he helped out Karen at a party after someone slipped a drug into her drink. While that relationship did not progress, Sonny started seeing Karen instead, getting her hooked on drugs and leading her down a bad path.
After a great deal of searching, brothers Stone and Jagger were eventually reunited, with the latter falling in love with Karen, popping the question, and ultimately breaking her self-destructive cycle of drug use. On their wedding day, Jagger and Karen left town for Chicago on his motorcycle, leaving Stone in the Big Apple all alone.
Afterwards, Stone began dating Robin Scorpio, a woman who aided him while he was sick with what was seemingly the flu. The viewer learns later on that this presumed flu was actually HIV, which naturally leads to complications later down the line.
In an attempt to shoot Sonny, Stone finds himself with a bullet wound instead, getting blood on Robin’s hands. Because of this, both individuals test for HIV again — Robin was negative, however, Stone’s test revealed that he had contracted AIDS, ultimately leading to his death. Despite losing his vision due to AIDS-related illness, Stone saw Robin one last time before he passed away, resulting in his termination from the soap opera, with the exception of appearances in flashbacks and visions later down the line.
While Stone Cates is greatly missed on our television screens, viewers can catch episodes of General Hospital on ABC regardless.