General Hospital’s Leslie Charleson has died aged 79

Former General Hospital star Leslie Charleson he died at the age of 79.

General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini announced Charleson’s death through a program official Instagram account on Sunday, January 12.

“It is with a heavy heart that I say this. announce the passage my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charleson,” he wrote. “Her enduring legacy spans almost 50 years General Hospital herself, and just as Monica was the heart of Quartermaines, Leslie was the beloved matriarch of the entire cast and crew.”

Alongside the message, Valentini shared a photo of the four-time Daytime Emmy nominee smiling. “I will miss our daily chats, her quick wit and incredible presence on set,” he continued. “On behalf of everyone in General HospitalMy sincere condolences go out to her loved ones at this difficult time.”

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Charleson began playing the role of Monica Quartermaine on the series in 1977, making her the series’ longest-running cast member. General Hospital.

“I started the show that day Elvis Presley died, and being such a big fan, of course I was very upset when I went to the studios and then I was told that they hoped I’d brought my own wardrobe and make-up because there was a strike going on – and that was I even got into the building before,” Charleson recalled Soap Opera Review in 2022.

“Then I got into the building and I realized that no one really liked me because the girl who played Monica before me got kicked out very rudely,” Charleson continued, referring to Patsy Rahnwhom she replaced.

After 30 years on the show, Charleson made an appearance General Hospital in a recurring capacity in 2010. Charleson, who has had health issues, has returned to the show several times – most recently appearing in a wheelchair in December 2023.

When talking with Soap Opera Review in 2016 Charleson — who was married Bill Demms from 1988 to 1991 — brooded over her General Hospital heritage.

“It’s been a pretty long run,” she said at the time. “I’m so pleased because unlike some actors who have come and gone and moved on to other soaps or other things, this has really been my home since I started here hundreds of years ago. I’m very grateful to be able to continue working on something I love to do, and I’m certainly grateful that it has lasted.”