Actress Leslie Charleson died on Jan. 12, leaving an emotional hole in the General Hospital world.
Her character, Monica Quartermaine, was first introduced to Port Charles in 1976 with Leslie taking over the role from Patsy Rahn in 1977. Leslie continued her portrayal until 2023 which made her a prominent face of soap operas for decades. Her final appearance was on Dec. 21, 2023, but the character was not totally written out of the storyline.This left a space of uncertainty in the script moving forward after her death. Fans speculated on how the General Hospital show runners and writers would address her absence canonically. One fan on Reddit said they “strongly suspect” that the shows currently airing were filmed before Leslie died, adding that executive producer Frank Valentini likely knew about Leslie’s state of poor health as they were close.
Monica recently was mentioned a handful of times, leaving fans to wonder if there was a final scene that they’ll see Leslie appear in which was recorded in preparation for her death. If not, they evaluated, the show would need to create a plot point for an off-camera death.
Fans also looked back at how the show handled prior deaths, including Jacklyn Zeman. A fan explained: “I think it was said that Bobbie’s send-off took place 8 months after Jackie’s death so General Hospital – if the writers want to do this right, will come up with an excellent send off for a legacy character like Monica’s.”Another fan pointed out that there isn’t much need to drag out the character’s plot, especially as she wasn’t actively involved in the Port Charles drama. They wrote: “There really isn’t much sense in keeping the character on canvas. You may be able to get a few more convincing years out of it but people die in real life, why not just write it in the show. They mention Monica so much and we haven’t seen her in years except for a few instances. I hope they lay the character to rest with family coming back to say goodbye. Good time to bring Dylan, sky and baby, and a few others.”
