Leslie Charleson, Actress Who Starred on General Hospital for Nearly 50 Years, Dead at 79 - E! Online
General Hospital’s Leslie Charleson, who was with the series for almost five decades, has died, executive producer Frank Valentini confirmed.
Watch : In Memoriam: Fallen Stars of 2024
The soap opera community is mourning the loss of a mainstay.
Leslie Charleson, who spent nearly 50 years on the beloved General Hospital, has died, the show’s executive producer Frank Valentini confirmed. She was 79.
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charleson,” he wrote on social media Jan. 12. “Her enduring legacy has spanned nearly 50 years on General Hospital alone and, just as Monica was the heart of the Quartermaines, Leslie was a beloved matriarch of the entire cast and crew.”
He continued, comma “I will miss our daily chats, her quick wit and incredible presence on set. On behalf of everyone at General Hospital, my heartfelt sympathy goes out to her loved ones during this difficult time.”
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Charleson acted throughout her adolescence and studied theater at Bennett College in upstate New York.
She began her acting career in the soap world, acting in shows such as A Flame in the Wind, As the World Turns and CBS’s Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, where she stayed until 1970.
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While she appeared in many guest roles after she left the series, it wasn’t until she was brought onto General Hospital in 1977 to play Monica Bard Webber (later Monica Quartermaine) that she found her home.
“I only signed on for two years, and I don’t know what happened,” the actress told Digital Journal in 2019 of joining the cast. “Back then, there weren’t a lot of good female roles that had that. It was an amazing time, and it was strong material to act.”
Valerie Durant via Getty Images
And her relationship on the show to husband Alan Quartermaine, played by Stuart Damon, was a fan-favorite on the show—even for all its volatility, something the actors had fun playing up.
“We’d do real slaps,” Charleson—who in real life was married to Bill Demms from 1988 to 1991—confessed to People in 2023 while celebrating the series’ 60th anniversary. “Stuart was always afraid I’d take his eye out. I would fake a slap in dress rehearsal, but when we went to tape it, all that went out the window.”
While Monica, a doctor, was considered a bad-girl on the series, Charleson often spoke to how fulfilling portraying her was, especially following Monica’s diagnosis with breast cancer in 1994.
“Monica’s battle with breast cancer was just so incredibly fulfilling,” Charleson told FBJ Fit in 2020. “Dealing with a real-life issue that afflicts so many women and their families and being able to show the struggle and issues they face, was something I am so proud of. It was exhausting and incredibly difficult work, but the response to the storyline was truly humbling.”
Bob D'Amico /American Broadcasting Companies via Getty Images
Charleson often spoke with great fondness about her career and time on the series. After all, having joined General Hospital in 1977 and starring on the show until 2023—though her appearances were limited in recent years after she suffered multiple falls, per Variety—she boasted the longest tenure of any cast member.
“I really do love this job,” she told Soap Opera Digest in 2001. “Look at it this way—what better job can you do than get up in the morning, roll out of bed, throw something on and then have someone take care of how you look and how you dress and what you say? How much more grateful could you possibly be?”
As she summed it up, “Not bad, not bad at all."
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