Leslie Charleson, an actress who spent 46 years on the cast of "General Hospital," died at a hospital on Janaury 12 in Los Angeles at age 79.
Charleson played Dr. Monica Quartermaine from 1977 to 2023, when she left the show and the role for health reasons.
She was nominated for a Daytime Emmy four times for her performance.
"General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini confirmed Charleson's death on X in a series of tweets.
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague, @lesliecharleson," he began.
"Her enduring legacy has spanned nearly 50 years on @GeneralHospital alone and, just as Monica was the heart of the Quartermaine family, Leslie was a beloved matriarch of the entire cast and crew," he continued. "I will miss our daily chats, her quick wit and incredible presence on set."
Finally, he concluded, "On behalf of everyone at #GeneralHospital, my heartfelt sympathy goes out to her loved ones during this difficult time.”
Charleson was born in Missouri and got her start playing small parts in soaps "A Flame in the Wind" and "As the World Turns."
She had a number of parts in other TV shows including "Adam-12" and "Happy Days" before landing the role on GH.
Of her start on that show, she told Soap Opera Digest in 2022, “I started the show the day Elvis Presley died, and being such a huge fan, I of course was very upset driving to the studios, and then getting there I was told that they hoped I had brought my own wardrobe and makeup because there was a strike going on — and that was before I even got in the building."
“Then I got in the building and I realized that no one really liked me, because the girl playing Monica before me was very rudely fired," she added.
From that inauspicious start, Charleson became a show favorite.
Her character's on-again, off-again marriage to Alan was a popular plot in the show for years, until the actor Stuart Damon's death in 2007.