Actress Leslie Charleson Dead At 79

Actress Leslie Charleson, best known for playing the role of Monica Quartermaine in more than 2,000 episodes of General Hospital, the long-running soap opera of all-time, has died at the age of 79 following a long illness, Deadline reports.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charleson,” General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini announced on the soap opera's Instagram account. “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. 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.”

Charleson previously appeared on the soap operas A Flame in the Wind, As the World Turns and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing before eventually joining the cast of General Hospital in 1977, replacing Patsy Rahn who had originally debuted as the doctor bad-girl archetype character of Monica Bard Webber (later Monica Quartermaine) one year prior.

“I only signed on for two years, and I don’t know what happened,” Charleson told Digital Journal in 2019. “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.”

“She’s interesting, dedicated in all areas,” she told Soap Opera Digest in 1981. “Her dedication in her social life can be a bit over the top, but it’s true. When she loves, it’s passionately. She puts her effort into it, sometimes at the expense of others.”