General Hospital star Denise Alexander, who won the hearts of soap opera fans as Dr. Lesley Webber, has died at the age of 85.
She starred on General Hospital full-time from 1973 to 1984, then recurred from 1996 to 2009 and made sporadic guest appearances as recently as 2021.
Early in her career, when she was still attending college on UCLA, she got her big break on TV with another legendary soap – Days Of Our Lives.
Between stints on General Hospital, she also enjoyed a three-year run on Another World as the character Denise McKinnon from 1986 to 1989.
Although news only broke of her death this Friday, the New York City-born actress actually died on March 5 and no cause has surfaced publicly, via Variety.
General Hospital showrunner Frank Valenti made her death public this week, posting a glowing testimonial hailing the ‘barriers’ that she ‘broke.’
General Hospital star Denise Alexander, who won the hearts of soap opera fans as Dr. Lesley Webber, has died at the age of 85; pictured in a 1977 publicity shot for the series
‘I am so very sorry to hear of Denise Alexander’s passing. She broke barriers on-screen and off, portraying Dr. Lesley Webber – one of the first female doctors on Daytime Television – for nearly five decades,’ he wrote.
‘It meant so much to have her reprise her role in recent years and I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with her,’ he added.
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‘On behalf of the entire General Hospital family, I extend my heartfelt sympathies to her family, friends, and longtime fans. May she rest in peace.’
Born in New York in 1939, Denise Alexander grew up on Long Island with an agent for a father and began acting when she was just a child.
By 1949 she was playing Perry Como’s daughter on Perry Como’s Chesterfield Supper Club and by the age of 13 she was performing on Broadway in a revival of the seminal 1930s Lillian Hellman play The Children’s Hour.
In 1956, as a teenager, she made her movie debut in the drama Crime In The Streets amid a cast that included John Cassavetes and Sal Mineo.
Throughout her juvenile acting career, she appeared frequently on the radio, to the tune of what her father estimated as a total of 2,500 jobs.
‘You would get out of school and go from one show to the next,’ she explained to We Love Soaps TV, according to TV Insider.
She starred on General Hospital full-time from 1973 to 1984, then recurred from 1996 to 2009 and made sporadic guest appearances as recently as 2021; pictured for the show in 1973
Born in New York in 1939, Denise Alexander grew up on Long Island with an agent for a father and began acting when she was just a child; pictured in a publicity portrait in 1982
Although it was not her first soap opera role, her breakthrough in the genre came with Days Of Our Lives, which she is pictured on with Doug Williams and acted on from 1966 to 1973
Denise, who won a Daytime Emmy for outstanding lead actress on a drama series in 1976, is picutred at that year’s People’s Choice Awards
‘They were 15-minute or half-hour shows, and you would sit around the table, read the script, rehearse a couple of times, and do it. Then you were out of there and onto the next one. And sometimes it was in the next studio.’
Although it was not her first soap opera role, her breakthrough in the genre came with Days Of Our Lives, which she joined from 1966 to 1973.
She played the memorable role of Susan Hunter, who murders her husband David (Clive Clerk) by gunshot after he causes a tragic accident that kills their young son.
In 1973, tempted away by a juicy contract, Denise shifted over to General Hospital to play the role of Dr. Lesley Webber, initially Williams.
Lesley arrives at Port Charles to work at the hospital, still traumatized by the crib death of her baby and the resulting suicide of her husband.
As she copes with her grief, she becomes a respected member of the hospital team and strikes up a romance with fellow doctor Rick Webber (Michael Gregory, then Chris Robinson), whom she eventually marries.
Lesley’s love triangle with Rick Webber (Chris Robinson) and Monica Quartermaine (Leslie Charleston) propelled the series to number one; Denise pictured for General Hospital in 1981
Lesley’s scintillating love triangle with Rick and Monica Quartermaine (Leslie Charleston) propelled the previously flagging series to number one, and Denise won a Daytime Emmy for outstanding lead actress on a drama series in 1976.
After 11 years as a full time star, her time on the show came to what turned out to be a temporary end in 1984 as a result of a contract dispute.
Lesley was unceremoniously killed off in a car crash that occurs offscreen, prompting about 75 disgruntled fans to picket outside ABC studios, per the New York Times.
Denise was not away from the soaps for long, featuring on Another World from 1986 until 1989 – before she was eventually tempted back onto General Hospital in 1996.
Her character miraculously turned out to be alive after all, and Lesley appeared on the show in a recurring capacity regularly until 2009.
She came back sporadically after that for various anniversaries of the show, including the 50th in 2013, and took her last bow on General Hospital in 2021 – which turned out to be the final acting job of her more than half-century career.