Leslie Charleson has died.
She was 79 years old. Leslie Charleson, a beloved figure in the television world, is best known for her iconic role in General Hospital. Most people knew her as Monica Quartermaine on the soap opera General Hospital, a part she played since 1977, making her the cast member who had been on the show the longest. Four times, she was up for a Daytime Emmy.
Frank Valentini, the executive producer of General Hospital, posted about Charleson’s death on the show’s official Instagram page on Sunday, January 12. “It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charleson,” he said.
She was hired for the NBC soap opera A Flame in the Wind in 1964. Then, in 1966, she moved on to As the World Turns and then to Love Is a Many Splendored Thing on CBS. She worked on that show until 1970.
Her guest roles on TV shows like Happy Days (as a love interest for Ron Howard’s Richie Cunningham), The Streets of San Francisco, Owen Marshall, Counsellor at Law, McMillan & Wife, and The Rockford Files came after she left the show. She was also in the 1972 horror movie Revenge!, which was made just for TV.
She took over for Patsy Rahn, who had started as Monica Bard Webber (later Monica Quartermaine) a year earlier, on General Hospital in 1977, when the show’s ratings were falling. Monica was a doctor who played the bad girl on the show, and Charleson loved being in her.
In 2019, she told Digital Journal, “I only signed on for two years, and I don’t know what happened.” “Since then, that wasn’t found in many good female roles.” It was a great time, and the material was strong enough to act on.
In 1981, Charleson told Soap Opera Digest, “She’s interesting and dedicated in every way.” There are times when she goes too far in her social life, but it’s true. She loves with all her heart. She works hard at it, even if it means other people suffer.
She was happy with how her character had changed at the time. “I’m happy with how far she’s come and how funny she is,” she said. She can wear any hat, go anywhere, and do anything, which makes me like her as an actress. That her character had a bad reputation, she said, “When you’re all good, you’re boring.” And unless she’s a saint, no one is just “good.”
The most important relationship Monica had on the show was with Alan Quartermaine, a fellow doctor who was played by the late Stuart Damon. Monica has strong ties to the show because the Quartermaine family joined the same year that Charleson did.
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