What To Know
- General Hospital recently honored the late Leslie Charleson (Dr. Monica Quartermaine) with a highly praised tribute episode.
- The show’s co-head writers have confirmed plans to create similar memorial episodes for Denise Alexander (Dr. Lesley Webber) and Tristan Rogers (Robert Scorpio), both of whom died in 2025.
- The writers aim for these tribute episodes to preserve the legacy of these beloved characters.
It may be early to speculate on what episodes General Hospital might submit for next year’s Daytime Emmys. However, the September episodes involving Dr. Monica Bard Quartermaine’s (Leslie Charleson) death and memorial have to be on the minds of decision-makers at the show, who are tasked with keeping track of standout episodes throughout the year.
It took a while, for various reasons, to get write Monica’s passing onto our screens (Charleson died in January). However, the show did an amazing tribute to her — TV Insider even honored Jane Elliot (Tracy) and Steve Burton (Jason) with our Daytime Performers of the Week feature.
Sadly, Charleson’s death isn’t the only one that the GH company has endured in recent years. In 2025 alone, beloved cast members Denise Alexander (Dr. Lesley Webber), Tristan Rogers (Scorpio), and Chris Robinson (Dr. Rick Webber) also died. While Rick’s character was killed off back in 2002 (after his character had been assassinated with a retcon story, painting him as a villain), Lesley and Robert are still alive, off-camera.
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Alexander joined GH in 1973 after the ABC soap lured her away from her compelling run as Susan Martin on Days of our Lives. She played the role until 1984, earning a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1976. The actress returned to GH in 1996 and appeared on a recurring basis until 2021.
Rogers joined the ABC soap as WSB superspy Robert Scorpio in 1980. He remained on the show until 1992. Like Lesley, Robert was presumed dead. Viewers learned Scorpio was alive in 2006. Rogers remained on the show on and off until last July.
In early September, TV Insider spoke with GH’s co-head writers Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten about their plans for Monica and Robert memorial episodes. At the time, they revealed they had a Robert Scorpio-focused tribute in the future, saying, “He is sorely missed, and we aim to pay tribute to Tristan and Robert the same way that we did for Leslie and Monica.”
Last week, on the 2025 Daytime Emmy Awards red carpet, we caught up with Korte and Van Etten again for an update on plans to honor not only Rogers’ Robert, but also Denise Alexander’s Lesley.
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“Our plan is to absolutely do that,” Van Etten told TV Insider following the show’s win for Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team at the Daytime Emmys. “We want to make sure that we achieve the same goal that I think we have with the story of Monica’s passing. We want a story that will carry [Lesley and Robert’s] names into the future, so that we still feel Robert’s and Lesley’s presence for years to come.”
Like many daytime head writers, Korte and Van Etten see the value in writing memorials for characters after their portrayers have passed away. “Monica was a pillar of General Hospital,” Korte says. “She was the heart of the Quartermaines, and the Quartermaines are our crazy, awesome family. It was very important to show the whole crew, and especially, Jason and Tracy, both for those characters and for those actors.”
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