Leslie Charleson of the General Hospital has died aged 79

Before General Hospital a star Leslie Charleson died aged 79.

General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini announcing Charleson’s death through the show official Instagram count Sunday, January 12.

“It is with a heavy heart announce the passing my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charleson,” he wrote. “Her lasting legacy has spanned almost 50 years later General Hospital on her own and, just as Monica was the heart of the Quartermaines, Leslie was a beloved matriarch to 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 conversations, her quick wit and her incredible presence on set,” he continued. “On behalf of everyone in General HospitalMy deepest sympathies go out to her loved ones during this difficult time.”

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Charleson began playing the role of Monica Quartermaine on the soap opera in 1977, making her the longest-serving cast member on General Hospital.

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

“Then I went into the building and I realized that nobody liked me, because the girl who played Monica in front of me was very rudely fired,” continued Charleson, referring to Patsy Rahnreplace her.

After 30 years on the show, Charleson appeared on General Hospital in recurring status in 2010. Charleson, who has had health problems, had returned to the show a few times — most recently appearing in a wheelchair in December 2023.

Speaking to Soap Opera Compilation in 2016, Charleson – who was married to Bill Demms from 1988 to 1991 — reflect on her General Hospital inheritance.

“It’s been quite a long run,” he said at the time. “I’m so proud because, unlike some of the actors who have come and gone, and gone on to soap operas or other things, this has been my home since I started here, way back then , hundreds of years ago. I’m very grateful to continue to work on something that I love to do, and I’m certainly grateful that it has continued.”