Leslie Charleson, who played Monica Quartermaine on the soap opera “General Hospital” for over 45 years, has died at the age of 79, that show’s executive producer said Sunday.
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charleson,” Frank Valentini wrote on Facebook. “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. On behalf of everyone at General Hospital, my heartfelt sympathy goes out to her loved ones during this difficult time.”
No further details were immediately available about Charleson’s death. A native of Kansas City, Missouri, she began playing Quartermaine in 1977, making her the show’s longest-serving cast member.
The popular ABC show was filmed at the Sunset Gower Studios from 1963 to the mid-1980s, then relocated to The Prospect Studios.
Charleson started acting on television in the 1960s, appearing on “A Flame in the Wind,” “As the World Turns” and “Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.”