‘General Hospital’ Star Leslie Charleson Dies at 79

Leslie Charleson, who played Dr. Monica Quartermaine on “General Hospital” for nearly half a century, has died, according to the series’ executive producer Frank Valentini. She was 79 years old.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague, @lesliecharleson,” he wrote in a thread on X on January 12.

“Her enduring legacy spans nearly 50 years at @GeneralHospital alone and, just as Monica was the heart of the Quartermaine family, Leslie was a beloved matriarch to the entire cast and crew,” he continued. “I will miss our daily chats, his quick wit and his incredible presence on set.

“On behalf of everyone at #GeneralHospital, my deepest condolences go to his loved ones during this difficult time,” he concluded.

“General Hospital” also shared Valentini’s comments on its Instagram page.

Charleson appeared in more than 2,000 episodes of the long-running daytime series from 1977 to 2023, according to IMDb. She earned four Daytime Emmy Award nominations for her work on the series. She also played Monica in the ‘GH’ spin-off ‘Port Charles’.

One of his first screen roles was in a 1966 episode of “As the World Turns.” She quickly became a familiar face on the small screen, appearing on the cast of the CBS soap opera “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing” and landing roles on shows such as “The Wild Wild West,” “Mannix,” “Adam-12 “. “, ” Emergency ! », “Medical Center”, “Happy Days” and “The Streets of San Francisco”.

She joined “GH” in 1977 to replace Patsy Rahn as Monica, but things got off to a rocky start.

“I started the show the day Elvis Presley died, and being a huge fan, I was of course very upset driving up to the studios, and then when I got there I was told they were hoping that I brought my own wardrobe and makeup because there was a strike going on — and that was before I even entered the building,” she told Soap Opera Digest in 2022.

“Then I walked into the building and realized that no one really liked me, because the girl who played Monica before me had been fired very abruptly.”

Charleson has become a staple of “General Hospital,” with Monica’s checkered marriage to Alan, played by the late Stuart Damon, often a centerpiece of the series. Her character also had a well-known storyline when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in the 1990s.

“It was important, difficult and rewarding because we all did our homework. I really wanted to portray it as honestly and realistically as possible,” she said in 2023, according to Soap Opera Digest.