General Hospital Star Was Monica Quartermaine

Days don’t get a whole lot darker than this one, we’re afraid. Leslie Charleson, the General Hospital legend who had played Dr. Monica Quartermaine since 1977, has died at the age of 79 following a long illness. Executive producer Frank Valentini shared the sad news via the show’s Instagram account, writing that “it is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague… 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,” he added. “On behalf of everyone at General Hospital, my heartfelt sympathy goes out to her loved ones during this difficult time.”

Her Big Break

A native of Kansas City, Mo., Charleson got her starts in showbiz and daytime TV simultaneously when in 1964, she landed a recurring role on A Flame in the Wind. Two years later, she was signed to a contract to play Don Hughes’ stepdaughter Alice Whipple on As the World Turns. When the gig ended sooner than later, the up-and-comer moved on to Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, where she really got a chance to shine as good girl Iris Donnelly from 1967-70.

In Her Prime

After leaving Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, Charleson added a slew of primetime credits to her resumé. From Mannix to Marcus Welby, M.D., from Ironside to The Rockford Files — you name it, she guest-starred on it! Finally, daytime beckoned again in 1977.

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When Charleson joined the cast of General Hospital, she wasn’t exactly welcomed with open arms. “There was another Monica before me,” she recalled in 2022, “and she had been rather, I guess, rudely fired. And so I came into a kind of hostile environment.”

A Match Made in Heaven

Eventually, General Hospital moved Monica on from her love triangle with the Webber brothers, Rick and Jeff, to a new one with Rick and the latest doctor to make the rounds: Alan Quartermaine. When Charleson screen-tested with future leading man Stuart Damon, she knew in a heartbeat that he had to get the part. “That’s the one,” she told then-executive producer Gloria Monty. In the decades that followed, the Quartermaine fought as hard as they loved, becoming their own kind of quarrelsome supercouple.

The Later Years

Even while appearing on General Hospital, Charleson continued to guest-star in primetime occasionally on series like Friends and Dharma & Greg. She even headlined the TV movie Woman On the Ledge with fellow soap greats Colleen Zenk (then Barbara, As the World Turns) and Deidre Hall (Marlena, Days of Our Lives). But now and forever, Charleson will be most fondly remembered for her star turn as Monica.

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In recent years, per our sister site Variety, she has suffered several falls that impeded her ability to get around and necessitated the use of a walker. Charleson was hospitalized just last week after taking another spill.

Scroll through the below photo gallery to revisit highlights of Charleson’s incredible run as Monica.