Legendary daytime dial hopper and General Hospital‘s longest-tenured actor, Leslie Charleson, has died at the age of 79.
Leslie Charleson, Rest In Peace
GH’s executive producer Frank Valentini confirmed the passing in a statement posted to the sudser’s social media. He wrote in part:
“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.”
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Charleson went on a prolonged hiatus from GH in 2022 after reportedly suffering several falls. Following a brief reprisal of her Dr. Monica Quartermaine part on December 21, 2023, a source close to the actress confided to Closer that, “Although she’d be welcome back to the show with open arms, it’s unlikely she’ll ever return.”
Charleson gained her first credit via the short-lived soap A Flame in the Wind before being cast as Alice Whipple, step-daughter ofAs the World Turns’ Don Hughes. That role proved incredibly short-lived: she was fired the first day for refusing to sign a three-year contract.
Then came the role that made Charleson a household name: Iris Donnelly in Love Is A Many Splendored Thing. For years Charleson’s alter-ego battled her sister (played by future Knots Landing temptress and GH special guest star Donna Mills) for the affections of Mark Elliot and suffered such indignities as a brain tumor and blindness.
When the issue of a raise was reared, Charleson found herself out of a job — but soon she was guesting on primetime hits of the day like Mannix, Marcus Welby, M.D., and The Rockford Files, and shilling for ‘Pearl Drops Tooth Polish’ (“It’s a great feeling!”).
In 1977, former Love Is… producer turned captain of GH, Tom Donovan, tapped Charleson to succeed Patsy Rahn in the role of Monica — something that came as quite the surprise to her new colleagues who had been quitely friendly with Rahn.
In no time Charleson won the group over and endeared herself to fans, even as Monica cuckolded new hubby Alan with former lover Rick Webber. In the decades that followed, Monica made up with, divorced, made up with, cheated on, and made up with Alan (the chemistry between Charleson and actor Stuart Damon, as well as enthusiastic viewer response, was such that the two were rarely parted for long), battled breast cancer, and emerged the matriarch of the battlesome, backbiting Quartermaine clan.
Charleson’s varied resume also includes a featured parts in the Mike Nichols helmed Day of the Dolphin and made-for-TV weeper Woman On the Ledge, as well as spots in Friends and Dharma & Greg. She also served as a celebrity spokesperson for breast cancer, cystic fibrosis, and AIDS-related charities.
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