With well over 15,000 episodes under its belt, ABC’s “General Hospital” is the longest-running scripted series in the history of American television. Initially, the soap was slated to be an anthology series that focused on the lives of a doctor, a nurse, an ambulance driver, and a police officer. However, that changed after NBC announced its plans to air a similar program called “The Doctors.”
The revamped series followed the friendship of Dr. Steve Hardy and Nurse Jessie Brewer. Storylines focused on their individual relationships and work struggles. The first episode premiered on Monday, April 1, 1963. Over the next 60 years, “General Hospital” changed a great deal, focusing on a broad expanse of topics while evolving in tone. Over those six decades, many celebrities and unforgettable characters, like Luke and Laura, appeared on the soap.
But even though being on a soap can be a steady and enduring gig, not every actor stays on for life. Some may seek work in prime time or want to move to the big screen. Others may not enjoy the grueling schedule. And, after a program has been on television as long as “General Hospital,” some actors just retire. No matter what the reason, here are the biggest cast exits in the long history of “General Hospital.”
The Cassadines are not role models — unless you are on a mad quest for power and want to control the world, that is, in which case this is the family you need to study. Victor, arguably, was the worst of the bunch. He kidnapped, stole, murdered, and tried to freeze the world. Charles Shaughnessy played the character with diabolical, cold-hearted cunning. He made Victor an unforgettable villain who deserved a tragic end for all of his horrific misdeeds.
While Victor seemed to meet his fate twice throughout his run, somehow, he always managed to cheat death. It wasn’t until Shaughnessy confirmed he was leaving the series that fans wondered if his time had truly run out. Still, “General Hospital” kept its audience on the edge of their seats with a cliffhanger about who died in the climactic explosion. When the dust settled in the next episode (after a stress-filled weekend break), Victor was the one being zipped up in the body bag for last looks on the soap.
Jack Wagner made a career out of starring on soap operas and soap opera-like shows. He has appeared on “Knots Landing,” “Santa Barbara,” “Melrose Place,” “Hot in Cleveland,” “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “When Calls the Heart,” and of course, “General Hospital,” to list but a few. Wagner also had a brief stint as a pop star when his single, “All I Need,” climbed to number 2 on the “Billboard Hot 100 Charts” in the mid-80s.
When John Stamos left the soap back in 1984 to try to find fame in the world of prime time TV, “General Hospital” needed a new heartthrob. To solve the problem, the show introduced Frisco Jones, a frontman who was going to push Blackie Parrish (Stamos) to the back of the stage and eventually out of the picture.
Wagner’s run on the soap lasted 572 episodes. In that time, Frisco moved from lead singer of Blackie & the Riff Raff to a detective for the Port Charles Police Department. Ultimately, he climbed the ranks to become head of the World Security Bureau. However, ironically, the last time we saw this heartthrob, he was heartbroken. The love of his life, Felicia, rejected his proposal and left him humiliated when he sang to her at the Nurses Ball.
The ’70s were a different time. You didn’t need to wear a bike helmet, you could drink straight from a hose, and a meet-cute could involve nonconsensual intercourse. Anthony Geary was the poor, unfortunate soul who played the despicable Luke Spencer. While the producers had reportedly planned to kill Luke off after his entrance, fans fell for the character, and letters of support poured in. Somehow, his unconscionable act was seen as an expression of profound love. Eventually, Laura (Genie Francis) admitted she had feelings for Luke (even though she was married at the time), and his actions might have been a little more consensual than initially revealed.
Roughly a decade later, Luke and Laura finally married. TV Guide cited the event as one of the “Greatest Soap Opera Moments of All Time.” A record-setting 30 million people tuned in to watch the wedding.
After eight Emmys and a little over three dozen years, Geary bid an emotional farewell and officially retired from “General Hospital” in 2015. However, his character lived on in off-screen mentions and storylines for another two years. The second goodbye happened when Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Elliott) told Laura that Luke was killed in a cable car accident in Austria, which viewers later found out may have been orchestrated by the villainous Victor Cassadine.
Leslie Charleson is a television icon. Before playing Dr. Monica Quartermaine on “General Hospital,” Charleson appeared in some of the best classic TV series ever made. She was on “The Wild Wild West,” “Adam-12,” “Marcus Welby, M.D.,” “Kung Fu,” “Happy Days” — where she gave Ron Howard his first on-screen kiss – “The Streets of San Francisco,” “The Rockford Files,” and many, many more. However, when she got a gig in Port Charles, the next 46 years of her life were set.
Monica wasted no time getting into the drama at “General Hospital.” She was married to Jeff Webber because she thought the love of her life, Jeff’s brother Rick, was dead. When she found out that Rick was still alive, she was obviously no longer interested in Jeff. But that was a good thing, because Jeff was having an affair with Heather. Unfortunately, Rick had fallen in love with Lesley.
As far as her current status, just over a year ago, she informed her fans that she was no longer under contract. As a result, while her story continues, her appearances have been few and far between. Although she hasn’t officially exited the soap, you may have to wait months to glimpse snippets of her life.
