Longtime star of popular daytime soap opera dies at age 79
Leslie Charleson played a key role on "General Hospital" for nearly 50 years.
Leslie Charleson, who starred as Dr. Monica Quartermaine on the soap opera āGeneral Hospitalā for nearly 50 years, has died at the age of 79.
Frank Valentini, who is an executive producer for āGeneral Hospital,ā announced Charlesonās death in a post on social media. According to USA Today, Charleson died of complications from a long illness.
āHer enduring legacy has spanned nearly 50 years on āGeneral Hospitalā alone and just as Monica was the heart of the Quartermaines,ā Valentini writes. āLeslie was a beloved matriarch of the entire cast and crew. I will miss our daily chats, her quick wit and incredible presence on set.ā
According to Charlesonās biography on IMDB.com, she was born in Kansas City, Mo., on Feb. 22, 1945. Early in her career she made appearances on multiple popular TV shows, including āThe Wild Wild West,ā āMannix,ā āAdam-12,ā āEmergency!ā āIronside,ā āKung Fuā and āHappy Days.ā
She joined āGeneral Hospitalā in 1977 and went on to appear in more than 2,000 episodes.
āI only signed on for two years, and I donāt know what happened,ā she told Digital Journal in 2019. āBack then, there werenāt a lot of good female roles that had that. It was an amazing time, and it was strong material to act.ā
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