• Formed a cartel with others to control distribution of a dangerous toxin in 1991.
• Is not actually an Ashton heir, more like an Ashton fake.
• Is somehow involved with the Fluke scam.

One of the more colorful nut jobs to hit Port Charles, Lord Larry Ashton has a special place in General Hospital history.  He was married to Tracy Quartermaine and is Ned Ashton's father.

Lord L first appeared in 1988, when he parked his yacht, the Aphrodite, in the Port Charles Harbor.

 He was up to his bloodshot eyes in debt and anxious to reclaim his former fortune by finding a lost Chinese civilization. To do this, he required a key called the Dragon Bone. Only on General Hospital could they make this up. He was short a couple of other items, like an emerald and a map of some kind.

Ashton had company, someone after the Dragon Bone named Domino. However, he had bigger problems than Domino. His ex-wife Tracy wanted part of the treasure. She moved in for the kill by blackmailing him for a share of any profits, which would go not only to Tracy but to Ned as well. The blackmail? Tracy would reveal that Larry was an imposter and not the real heir to the Ashton fortune.

It turns out that the Dragon Bone was buried near the grave of Robert Scorpio's dog Friday, and Larry never did locate the lost Chinese civilization. I'm still not sure how one searches for a civilization. Larry remarried, this time to a woman named Arielle. Misfortune followed when the Lord title was reclaimed by Charlie Prince, the real heir.

We hadn't seen the last of Larry.  He returned to Port Charles, single again, apparently, and formed a cartel with Harlan Barrett, Leopold Taub, and Cesar Faison.  They planned to control the worldwide sale and distribution of carbon disulfide, a toxic chemical manufactured at a cannery in Port Charles. The cartel forced the current CEO of ELQ, Paul Horsby, to marry Tracy in order to gain control of her ELQ stock. If for some reason that didn't work out, Hornsby was under orders to kill Larry's ex-wife.

On Founder's Day, the Port Charles Police Department moved in, broke up the cartel, and the toxic chemical was destroyed.

It is now 2014, and Lord of the Drink is back, thanks to a new partner, Jerry Jacks. Tracy traded ELQ stock for the return of "her husband," whom she believed to be Luke. Instead, she got Ashton. Now he's ensconced in the Quartermaine manse helping himself to as much liquor as he can hold.

On the QT, he is updating Jerry Jacks on ELQ and on the family.  The question is, regarding Jerry, Lord Larry, Helena, Faison, a veritable Who's Who of Port Charles Crime -- how are any of them involved in bringing down Sonny and "Fluke?"  What's their game?  We don't know the answer to that yet.  But Lord Larry Ashton is somehow mixed up with that nefarious group.

About the Actor

Hugh Napier played Larry originally in 1988 and is back in 2014.  The 68-year-old British-born actor has distinguished himself on several soaps, beginning as Gunnar St. Clair on As the World Turns from 1982-1985.  He also appeared as Mike Roy #2 on All My Children from 1984-1985, before joining GH in 1988.  He has appeared on several prime-time television shows, TV movies, and miniseries: The Kennedys of Massachusetts, Flight of the Intruder, Criminal Behavior, and Acapulco Heat.  Film credits include Tomorrow Never Dies in 1997.