General Hospital: 62 years in Port Charles and honoring Leslie Charleson’s (& Monica Quartermaine's) legacy

April 1, 2025 marks 62 years of General Hospital. The celebration for the building as well as the show will kick off by debuting the Monica Quartermaine Cardiac Wing in honor of Dr. Monica Quartermaine, a cardiologist, and whose real-life actor, Leslie Charleson, passed away in January of this year. Monica’s character is still alive on the show, but dealing with health issues and hasn’t been seen on screen in quite some time.

In an interview with Variety about the show’s decision to let the anniversary of the hospital fall on the same anniversary as the show, executive producer Frank Valentini stated, “There’s more tribute to come for Monica. But the opportunity presented itself that we would have the anniversary of the hospital be on the anniversary of the show. So it’s a little meta, but I think it’s great. And then to give the hospital a reason to celebrate, that’s how we came up with the new wing for Monica, which is a really beautiful set. It’s pretty incredible.” Speaking more about the set, Valentini divulged that it is an atrium that adds "more indoor and outdoor" vibes to the show.

Valentini added, “We’re always indoors, so I’m always looking for ways to challenge the production designers to figure out a way to open it up or bring us at least partially outdoors. That’s why Sonny’s house and the Quartermaine solarium came about, because they’re very open. They have big exteriors.”

General Hospital's new wing honors Monica and more

Valentini also stated that the show would honor other stars who we’ve lost over the years in the new wing, such as Stuart Damon (Alan), Sonya Eddy (Epiphany), and Jackie Zeman (Bobby), to name a few. Speaking on the memorial wall and the wing, Valentini stated, “As much as we always want to go boldly into the future, I think you can’t go into the future without understanding where you’ve come from, or what the past has taught you. And if there’s anything that it’s taught us, it’s that the hospital is a very interesting and exciting place for [a] story to be told, and the lives and the stakes in the hospital are so much bigger. So adding something that’s new, but also having it honor someone who’s been there for a while, it feels complete.”

Fans can expect the wing to be unveiled on Tuesday's episode, along with the wall honoring other late cast members.

Honoring Leslie Charleson

Leslie Charleson was born February 22, 1945, in Kansas City, Missouri. Charleson played the character of Monica Quartermaine on General Hospital from August 17, 1977, until December 21, 2023; Charleson passed away on January 12th, 2025. Charleson leaves behind a lasting legacy of having played Dr. Monica Quartermaine for almost 50 years.

Catch the anniversary episode of General Hospital on ABC Tuesday, April 1st, and all-new episodes Monday through Friday on ABC.