Leslie Charleson, who is known for her decades-long career on the beloved soap opera General Hospital, passed away at the age of 79 on Sunday, January 12.
The actress portrayed the character of Monica Quartermaine on the ABC series since first taking on the role back in 1977.
A statement was uploaded to the show’s main Instagram account as executive producer, Frank Valentini, confirmed her death following a battle with a long illness, per Variety.
‘It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charleson.’
He added that 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.’
Valentini emotionally continued, ‘I will miss our daily chats, her quick wit and incredible presence on set.’
Leslie Charleson, who is known for her decades-long career on the beloved soap opera General Hospital, passed away at the age of 79 on Sunday, January 12; seen in 2019 in L.A.
In conclusion, Frank wrote, ‘On behalf of everyone at General Hospital, my heartfelt sympathy goes out to her loved ones during this difficult time.’
Upon hearing the news of Charleson’s passing, social media users and fans jumped to the comment section of the post to share their thoughts over the ‘heartbreaking’ update.
One penned, ‘Rest in Peace! Leslie Charleson will always be Monica Quartermaine,’ while another shared, ‘Incredibly sad. a truly special character on the show. She was amazing.’
‘RIP she will be missed and FOREVER Monica Quartermaine!!!’ a follower wrote, while one added, ‘RIP Leslie Charleson. So sad. I grew up watching her on GH since the 1970’s.’
An Instagram user also expressed, ‘Oh this is heartbreaking news. Loved her & how she portrayed Monica. So sorry for this to GH.’
Another penned, ‘We all loved Monica. May she RIP. and may her memory be a blessing,’ while one added, ‘Icon and legend! Rest in Paradise!’
Leslie was born in Kansas City, Missouri in February 1945 – and her sister Kate Charleson was also an actress.
The late star began her successful career in the entertainment industry in the mid-60s, and made appearances in a number of projects such as A Flame In The Wild (1965).
A statement was uploaded to the show’s main Instagram account as executive producer, Frank Valentini, confirmed her death following a battle with a long illness, per Variety
The actress portrayed the character of Monica Quartermaine on the ABC series since first taking on the role back in 1977; seen above on General Hospital in 1993
Upon hearing the news of Charleson’s passing, social media users and fans jumped to the comment section of the post to share their thoughts over the ‘heartbreaking’ update
‘RIP she will be missed and FOREVER Monica Quartermaine!!!’ a follower wrote, while one added, ‘RIP Leslie Charleson. So sad. I grew up watching her on GH since the 1970’s’
She also took on small roles in The Wild Wild West (1968), Adam-12 (1972), Happy Days (1975), and The Rockford Files (1977).
Leslie played the character of Iris Donnelly in Love Is A Many Splendored Thing from 1967 through 1973. And back in 2004, the actress portrayed herself in one episode of Friends.
In 1977, Charleson was cast as Dr. Monica Quartermaine in General Hospital – and notably starred in a total of 2,079 episodes on the hit soap opera.
She garnered critical praise of her performance and during her time on the show, received four Daytime Emmy Award nominations.
The late actress also garnered four Soap Opera Digest nominations and two Soap Hub nominations.
In 2010, Leslie became only a recurring cast member on General Hospital, with her last appearance on the series taking place in December 2023.
During a past interview with Soap Opera Digest in 2023, Charleson recalled how she initially got the part of Monica – which had originally been played by Patsy Rahn in 1976.
Leslie explained that producer Tom Donovan – who had also worked on Love Is A Many Splendored Thing – ‘persuaded me to come in and meet with him and persuaded me to join the cast.’
The late star began her successful career in the entertainment industry in the mid-60s, and made appearances in a number of projects such as A Flame In The Wild (1965)
In 1977, Charleson was cast as Dr. Monica Quartermaine in General Hospital – and notably starred in a total of 2,079 episodes on the hit soap opera; seen above in 1991 on the series
She also admitted, ‘It was a pretty miserable beginning for me as Monica. Nobody really liked me because I guess they had let Patsy Rahn go rather unceremoniously.’
‘And there I was, not knowing who or what a Monica was, not having a clue as to what to do with her.’
‘All Tom said to me was, “You make her what you want to make her.” So, that’s what I was kind of faced with,’ the late actress remembered.
‘Looking back now, it was kind of wonderful because i was given free reign because nobody was really saying, “Well, Monica wouldn’t do that.” I didn’t know what Monica would or wouldn’t do, so I went ahead and did what I decided that she would do.’
Leslie’s character also had a love triangle on the show between Rick (Chris Robinson) and Alan (Stuart Damon).
‘I met Stuart when I auditioned the Alan wannabes. He was by far the best – and not very hard on the eyes at all.’
While their relationship onscreen was tumultuous, behind the cameras the pair ‘really got along’ and ‘had a lot of good times.’
During an interview with People in 2023, Charleson recalled slapping the character of Alan in the face in various episodes in the past. ‘We’d do real slaps.’
During a past interview with Soap Opera Digest in 2023, Charleson recalled how she initially got the part of Monica – which had originally been played by Patsy Rahn in 1976; seen in 2003 in Hollywood
‘Stuart was always afraid I’d take his eye out. I would fake a slap in dress rehearsal, but when we went to tape it, all that went out the window!’
And while talking to Digital Journal back in 2019, Leslie further discussed her decades-long career on General Hospital.
‘I only signed on for two years, and I don’t know what happened,’ the late star told the outlet at the time.
‘Back then, there weren’t a lot of good female roles that had that. It was an amazing time, and it was strong material to act.’