At the age of 79, Leslie Charleson passed away. The actress’s most well-known role was that of Monica Quartermaine on the soap opera General Hospital, which she started in 1977, making her the longest-running cast member. She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy four times.
On Sunday, January 12, General Hospital’s official Instagram page revealed Charleson’s passing, according to executive producer Frank Valentini. “It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charleson,” he said.
“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 said. “I will miss our daily chats, her quick wit and incredible presence on set.”
Leslie Charleson aka Monica Quartermaine
“On behalf of everyone at General Hospital, my heartfelt sympathy goes out to her loved ones during this difficult time,” Valentini said as he wrapped up his message.
1945 saw Charleson’s birth in Kansas City, Missouri. Another actress was her sister, Kate, who passed away in 1996. Charleson studied theater at Bennett College in upstate New York and performed as a child and in high school.
She was chosen to appear on the NBC soap opera A Flame in the Wind in 1964, then moved to CBS’s Love Is a Many Splendored Thing after joining As the World Turns in 1966. She continued to be a part of that series until 1970.
Following her departure from the program, she appeared as a guest on The Streets of San Francisco, Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, McMillan & Wife, The Rockford Files, Happy Days (as a romantic interest for Ron Howard’s Richie Cunningham), and Marcus Welby, M.D. She also starred in the horror movie Revenge!, which was produced for television in 1971.
She replaced Patsy Rahn, who had made her debut as Monica Bard Webber (later Monica Quartermaine) a year earlier, on General Hospital in 1977 when the show’s ratings were struggling. Charleson adored portraying Monica, a doctor who embodied the show’s bad-girl stereotype.
In 2019, she told Digital Journal, “I only signed on for two years, and I don’t know what happened.” There weren’t many strong female roles with that back then. It was an incredible moment with powerful material for action.
Leslie Charleson Relationship
“She’s fascinating and committed in every way,” Charleson said in an interview with Soap Opera Digest in 1981. Although it can be a little excessive, her commitment to her social life is real. She is passionate when she is in love.
The actor was pleased with her character’s development at the moment. She remarked, “I’m thrilled with her progress and sense of humor.” “I like Monica as an actress because she can do anything, go anywhere, and wear any hat.” She went on to say of her character’s reputation, “You’re boring when you’re all good.” And unless she is a saint, no one is simply “good.”
On the show, Monica’s relationship with fellow physician Alan Quartermaine, who was portrayed by the late Stuart Damon, had the biggest influence. In the end, Monica had strong ties to the show because the Quartermaine family joined the same year Charleson did.
However, Monica and Alan had a tumultuous relationship. She frequently slapped Alan across the face in the 1980s. At the show’s 60th anniversary in 2023, Charleson told PEOPLE, “We’d do real slaps.” “Stuart was constantly worried that I might remove his eye. During dress rehearsal, I would pretend to slap, but that was all for naught when we went to record it!
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Monica was frequently involved in romantic relationships and even unintentionally had an affair with her nephew. However, not every one of Monica’s plots focused on exaggerated drama. She was given a breast cancer diagnosis in 1994.
In 2020, Charleson told FBJ Fit, “Monica’s fight with breast cancer was just so incredibly fulfilling.” I’m really proud of myself for tackling a real-life problem that affects a lot of women and their families and for being able to depict the difficulties and problems they encounter. The response to the plot was genuinely humble, despite the task being extremely taxing and challenging. Charleson made less appearances in the final years of her life after starting to appear on General Hospital on a regular basis in 2010.
Charleson hardly ever appeared on TV outside of GH after joining the cast. However, she starred in the 1993 television film Woman on the Ledge and appeared as a guest on Dharma & Greg and Diagnosis: Murder. In a 2004 episode of Friends, she portrayed herself competing against Joey, a fellow soap star, on a game show. From 1988 to 1991, Charleson was married to Bill Demms.
In 2001, she remarked to Soap Opera Digest, “I truly love this job,” as she reflected on her time at GH. Consider it this way: what better job could you have than to get out of bed in the morning, put on some clothes, and then have someone else take care of your appearance, attire, and speech? How much more appreciative could you be? “Not bad at all, not bad.”
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