The soap opera community is mourning the loss of a mainstay.
Leslie Charleson, who spent nearly 50 years on the beloved General Hospital, has died, the show’s executive producer Frank Valentini confirmed. She was 79.
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my dear friend and colleague, Leslie Charleson,” he wrote on social media Jan. 12. “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.”
He continued, comma “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.”
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Charleson acted throughout her adolescence and studied theater at Bennett College in upstate New York.
She began her acting career in the soap world, acting in shows such as A Flame in the Wind, As the World Turns and CBS’s Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, where she stayed until 1970.
