Anthony "Tony" Cassadine is a deceased fictional character on the popular soap opera General Hospital. He was portrayed by Andre Landzaat in 1981.
| Anthony Cassadine | |||||||||||||||
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| General Hospital | |||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Andre Landzaat | ||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 1981 | ||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 1981 | ||||||||||||||
| Cause/reason | accidentally frozen to death | ||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Tony | ||||||||||||||
| Aliases | Tony Castle | ||||||||||||||
| Gender | Male | ||||||||||||||
| Died | July 1981 | ||||||||||||||
| Title | Russian Royalty | ||||||||||||||
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Tony Cassadine was a Greco-Russian aristocrat and the brother of Mikkos Cassadine. Tony came to Port Charles under the pseudonym of wealthy businessman Tony Castle. He and Alexandria Quartermaine were lovers while trying to recover the stolen Ice Princess diamond.
Tony Cassadine and The Ice Princess Saga[]
Tony Castle, was a debonair bachelor who lived on a huge yacht and dated Lesley Webber. Unbeknownst to the people of Port Charles, he was, in reality, Tony Cassadine, one of the notorious Cassadine brothers who wanted the coveted Ice Princess diamond for themselves. Tony Castle and Robert Scorpio were partners, but Scorpio's phone conversations indicated another secret alliance with a blonde tart by the name of Emma Lutz who could be a missing link in the dock thefts. The culprit turned out to be Emma's cab driver husband, Charlie. Luke Spencer found out he supplemented his income by stealing shipments from the Port Charles docks. Emma did indeed have the Ice Princess in her possession previously, but hoping to join the Port Charles "elite" she gave the gross looking statuette to Lila Quartermaine, who was sponsoring an art auction to benefit General Hospital. Luke, Robert, Alex, Edward and Tony all planned to steal the statuette on the night of the auction.
Robert Scorpio, Luke & Laura Chase The Ice Princess[]
Robert who had been stringing Tony along as a partner while hoping to learn his plans, now warned Luke that the Ice Princess must not fall into the wrong hands--it would cause catastrophic global consequences. The wrong hands belonged to Alex and Tony, he added, and under no circumstances should Luke turn the piece over to either of them--if he was fortunate enough to come across it before they did. Luke was wondering could Robert be trusted or if Robert was trying to get him to turn the Ice Princess over to give to him instead of Alex. Robert's message carried some weight and Luke mulled it over as he tried to shake the man Tony had shadowing him and the demure elderly, Mrs. O'Reilly, whom Robert had put on his tail. Luke and Laura Webber had a celebration planned if his PI work was successful he would get the $50,000 bonus from Alex. The coveted Ice Princess was now on the auction block with Alexandria, Tony Cassadine and Robert Scorpio all competing for highest bidder. Then the lights went out! By the time the guards had the lights back on, Robert had released O'Reilly from the case where Luke had shoved her. It was obvious to everyone that both Luke Spencer and the funny black sculpture were missing. Laura was certain Luke had gone to collect his bonus from Alex and she waited. Laura's only visitor, however, was Robert Scorpio, who frightened her by telling her Luke was in way over his head this time and if he surfaced anywhere in Port Charles he was a dead man. Although Laura couldn't pry any details out of Robert, her concern for Luke's safety was high. Alex waited for Luke at the appointed spot and was instead confronted by Tony Cassadine, who threatened her if she did not turn over Spencer and the diamond. Alex had no answers for him or for her generous uncle Edward. Luke had disappeared completely without collecting his $50,000 fee. Laura, with Robert's information, was beginning to piece together the importance of the diamond and all its key players. Robert had told her Alex duped a scientist into stealing the diamond for her. Laura figured out that Kurt Wheeler whom Alex introduced her to months ago was also James Duvall, whom Robert claimed had disappeared. The office files held no clues, but in a search of Wheeler's apartment they found a handkerchief with the initials J.D. Robert then called Frank Smith's former henchman, Hutch, in prison and was tipped off that Luke may be at the Whittaker farm in Beechers' Corners. Luke was indeed there; but he managed to ditch Robert and make it back to Port Charles. Luke sent three telegrams, one to Alex, one to Robert, and one to Tony, setting up appointments. He met first with Alex at the elegant Versailles Room, where he toasted her with champagne and then demanded to be told the truth about that ugly black sculpture. Alex refused to clarify anything and became quite agitated, offering more money if he would just give her the Ice Princess. Luke's next target was Robert Scorpio and he met Robert at an Italian restaurant and proceeded to demand more answers about the Ice Princess. Robert remained tight-lipped and Luke stormed out, giving Robert's partner O'Reilly, the slip once more. Luke's last meeting was with Tony Cassadine. When he met Cassadine at Kelly's diner, he had asked Tony to come alone but Cassadine did not honor his request. An ill-tempered Tony was in no mood for negotiating for what he claimed was his own property. Either Luke delivered the Ice Princess within forty-eight hours or Luke was a dead man! Tony's towering bodyguard convinced Luke that Tony meant business. After leaving Kelly's, Luke ditched Tony's henchmen that were following him. Later, Luke revealed to Slick that he didn't have the black sculpture and he never did. He had no option but to hide. Slick helped Luke hide out in a homeless shelter down by the waterfront. Meanwhile, Laura had nearly panicked in her concern for Luke and his whereabouts and she had gone to Beechers' Corners, hoping to find him there. At this point, Luke had already been back in Port Charles for weeks. Laura decided to stay a few days and Alex's plan to frame Laura for theft almost went awry. Alex and Edward had an elaborate scheme to plant condemning evidence in Laura's apartment, knowing Luke would come out of hiding the moment he learned the demure receptionist Laura was accused of stealing money from ELQ. What Luke, Laura or Robert didn't know is Tony Cassadine had met Alex on the docks and had rekindled up their old love affair. Alex now swore that she would help Tony recover the stolen Ice Princess diamond and told him of her plan to frame Laura. Laura's grew tired of searching for Luke on her own. Once back in Port Charles, a tearful Laura insisted that Slick take her to Luke, wherever he was. Slick agreed and Laura was disguised in her black Lucy wig from the summer before. Laura then explained about James Duvall, alias Kurt Wheeler, mysterious scientist. Luke and Laura now had the task of investigating Duvall. She was excited to be back with Luke and to be sharing the danger. Unbeknownst to Luke, Alex had followed Slick and Laura to the shelter and the moment Laura was gone, she confronted Luke. Smug and defiant as usual, Luke toned it down a notch when Alex threatened Laura. Before Luke could warn Laura, Tony's men grabbed him and hauled him off to the yacht, having been informed of his whereabouts by Alex. Tony had a barrage of questions for Luke, few of which Luke could answer. Tony wanted to know what happened to the formula that was in the base of the sculpture. This was a surprise to Luke since Laura nor Robert had never mentioned any "formula". Luke quickly realized this could be the clue to the Ice Princess' priceless value. Tony needed answers now! Tony gave Luke an injection of truth serum. Robert, still pretending an alliance with Tony, listened to Luke's incoherent babbling that he never had the Ice Princess and believed it. With the help of his feisty partner O'Reilly, Robert managed to outsmart Tony and rescued Luke off the boat, undoubtedly saving Luke's life. Luke and Robert headed for Laura's apartment to retrieve the evidence Alex had planted there to incriminate Laura. Shortly after this, they learned from Slick that it was Charlie Lutz who snatched the Ice Princess from the auction and now his naive wife Emma had handed that sculpture over to Alex Quartermaine! Scorpio felt certain that James Duvall, inventor of the synthetic diamond formula, was in possession of a copy and was therefore in danger. They had to find him before Tony did. Now Alexandria, having been betrayed by her lover Tony, sought revenge by seducing the scientist who worked for the Cassadines and persuading him to steal the Ice Princess for her. Duvall had been in Port Charles for months, thinking Alex's intentions were genuine, but had been strung along with so many lies he no longer trusted her. In a panic, Duvall made one last attempt to talk sense into Alex and agreed to meet her at Laura's apartment alone. Robert now admitted to Luke he was a World Security Bureau agent who had the assignment of recovering the formula to prevent a world crisis. The large valuable diamond, was a small part in a big picture. Meanwhile, Duvall and Alex were having a heated argument in Laura's apartment. This exchange ended with Alex hitting Duvall with the Ice Princess statuette and killing him instantly! Alex managed to find Duvall's copy of the formula. Once she had that, she left his lifeless body lying on the hearth and ran out.
Mikkos' Plan For World Domination[]
Luke, Slick and Scorpio managed to dump Duvall's body in the harbor so Laura would not be suspected in any way. Robert filled Luke and Laura in on the Cassadines' true intentions of world domination. Tony had been joined on the yacht by his brother Victor, a more ruthless type than Tony, and there was still one more brother, Mikkos Cassadine, who was in control of the entire operation. Since Alex had allied herself with them and the Cassadines now had both copies of the formula, they would sail away to wherever it was they planned to build their ultimate weapon. They had to be stopped!
While Robert was showing Luke and Laura the radio room and explaining his mission he received a call from O'Reilly on the docks. She had been watching the yacht and knew she and her assistant had been spotted by Victor Cassadine. The assistant was shot and now--Robert heard gunfire on the line and O'Reilly, too, was dead!
A grief stricken Robert was now more than ever determined to complete his mission in the name of the sweet, feisty, O'Reilly who was like a mother to him. Action junkie Luke insisted on being part of it and he tried to explain to Laura why he must go with Robert to board the yacht before it sailed.
Boarding the yacht proved difficult for the two men, but no problem at all for Laura who again disguised herself in the black wig and greeted them in the ship's hold. Luke utterly concerned for Laura's safety demanded that she go ashore where she would be safe. Laura who refused to leave Luke's side, stayed on. Robert watched the two defiant lovers disguise themselves as a maid and a steward in order to search for the formula and get into the radio room, respectively. Laura even managed to wrangle up a complete dinner for three from the galley. She was truly a member of the team.
Along the way, the three were picking up information on the ship's guests: Tiffany Hill, a B-movie actress who was Victor's bedmate and Tony's former lover, Konrad Kaluga a brass-minded general who had a blonde bombshell girlfriend, Corinne, Nigel Penny-Smith, a harmless-seeming British engineer, Maximillian Von Stade, a world leader and his brilliant, beautiful wife, Noel. All seemed to have been gathered together for some master plan, some scheme they all shared.
Robert's attempts to reach the yacht's radio room and send a message to the WSB failed, but on their last night at sea, he attempted to pick Victor's pocket and obtain a copy of the formula. Soon word came through by radio that the Cassadines' eldest brother, Mikkos, wanted to see Alex and Tony on his private island. The two were picked up by helicopter minutes later.
Robert never got another chance to lift Victor's wallet. On Mikkos' orders, the yacht put in at the Cassadines' mysterious island, and Robert, Luke and Laura had to leave the ship to avoid being spotted by Tony and Alex. They decided to take their chances in the jungle and found a place where there was fresh water and the ground was mysteriously warm. Scorpio soon guessed that they were directly over the Cassadines' underground headquarters. As his horrified friends listened, Robert explained just how dangerous Mikkos Cassadine really was.
Mikkos announced to his guests that they would live underground for the next six weeks. With their expert scientific help he would complete his sinister plans for world control. Using rockets filled with specially prepared diamond dust he would change the weather over any city in the world. Unless governments listened to his demands, he would cause a second Ice Age. Tiffany Hill now agreed with Victor, Mikkos was a raving lunatic! She secretly joined Robert and the others to stop Mikkos' derranged plan. The next day Mikkos blew his diamond dust over Port Charles. What had started as a sweltering summer day immediately turned bitterly cold--and no unsuspecting citizen could explain the evil cause behind it all. If the WSB didn't act quickly, Mikkos' bizarre plans would soon become cataclysmic reality! Mikkos angrily told the WSB that he would not negotiate. An impatient Mikkos moved up the deadline, lowering the temperatures even more. Crippled by a blizzard, Port Charles was declared a disaster area! Robert rushed off to stop Mikkos alone. A furious Luke and a curious Laura entered the underground command center through a vent leading into the factory. Stealing workers uniforms, they made their way through the plant into the control room. Suddenly, the alarms went off. The guards had detected the intruders. It was too late to save the others. Mikkos, in a maddened rage fueled by betrayal, killed his opposers. Racing through tunnels, Luke and Laura stumbled upon an ice chamber containing the frozen bodies of Von Stade, his wife Noel, Alexandria Quartermaine and Tony Cassadine!