Leslie Charleson
Encyclopedia
Leslie Charleson is an American
actress most famous for her work in daytime television
.
. Her career began on short-lived soap A Flame in the Wind
in 1964. She then moved to As the World Turns
as Alice Whipple, but when she learned of the length of the contract she was supposed to sign, she left almost immediately. In 1967, she was an original cast member of Love is a Many Splendored Thing. She played Iris Donnelly Garrison
and was a part of a highly popular love triangle with David Birney
and Donna Mills
. She left the show in 1970 after the departure of Mr. Birney, whom she was involved with at the time.
In the 1970s, Leslie gave Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard
) his first kiss in an episode of Happy Days
.
The next seven years brought guest-starring roles in several primetime series. In 1976, she appeared in the pilot for the Quinn Martin
TV crime show Most Wanted
, but neither she nor costar Tom Selleck
were kept on for the series proper.
In 1977, Fred Silverman, then head of President of ABC, asked her to join the serial General Hospital
, which by that time was near the bottom of the ratings and near cancellation. Charleson replaced Patsy Rahn as the high-strung Monica Webber
, a doctor caught between her husband
Jeff Webber and his back-from-the-dead brother, her true love Rick Webber. Charleson's first day was, according to her, nightmarish, for a number of reasons. When she was a teenager, she was president of a local Elvis Presley
fan club and he had died the day before she started at GH. She had to take her own clothes to work and do her own makeup because of a hair and wardrobe strike at ABC
. Finally, GHs producers had not informed the cast or crew of Rahn's dismissal. She had to break the news to people who were not thrilled to learn of the change.
In spite of these pressures, Charleson was accepted backstage and was a big hit with viewers, especially when Monica entered into an initially loveless marriage
with roguish millionaire
Alan Quartermaine, played by Stuart Damon
. The love/hate relationship between the two, all while Monica fought to be with Rick Webber, electrified viewers and was one of the stories which helped propel the show towards #1 in the ratings. The Webbers were eventually phased out, but Monica and Alan remained, through a series of affairs, divorces and remarriages.
In 1990, Gloria Monty
, who had created the Quartermaine family while producing GH, returned and attempted to push them off of the show because she felt they were "old hat". She planned to replace them with the Eckert family. Angry viewer response and falling ratings convinced Monty to change course. Charleson said she felt it was poetic justice that the last few Eckerts had to film nearly all their scenes in the Quartermaine living room. In 1994, Charleson was given some of the best dramatic material of her career, as Monica faced a long battle with breast cancer
. Charleson was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for that year's performances. Due to the extremely limited role ABC Daytime now has for actors over 40, she has moonlighted on such series as Friends
and Dharma & Greg
. In February 2007, she protested the firing of her on-screen husband Damon, telling the press that she was not happy with the decisions of the producers and that all the actors on the show over 40 were worried about their own fate.
In July, 2009, after months of speculation that Charleson would be let go from General Hospital
when her contract expired, she signed a new one year contract keeping her with the show. However, in September 2010, Soap Opera Digest
reported that the series had taken Charleson, who was then the series' longest-running contract player, off contract and she is now in a recurring capacity.
. She married Bill Demms in 1988. They divorced in 1991.Her birth name was Leslie Ann Coffin. She got kicked out of girl scouts.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress most famous for her work in daytime television
Daytime television
Daytime television is the general term for television shows produced that are intended to air during the daytime hours on weekdays. This article is about American daytime television, for information about international daytime television see Daytime television....
.
Biography
Charleson was born in Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. Her career began on short-lived soap A Flame in the Wind
A Flame in the Wind
A Flame in the Wind is a soap opera that aired on ABC Daytime from December 28, 1964 to December 16, 1966.-Synopsis:The show focused on the community of Haviland and it's citizens...
in 1964. She then moved to As the World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
as Alice Whipple, but when she learned of the length of the contract she was supposed to sign, she left almost immediately. In 1967, she was an original cast member of Love is a Many Splendored Thing. She played Iris Donnelly Garrison
Iris Donnelly Garrison
Iris Donnelly Garrison was a fictional character in the American soap opera, Love is a Many Splendored Thing. She was played, most notably, by actresses Leslie Charleson and Bibi Besch. As the first Iris, Leslie Charleson was a member of the original cast of Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.-Older...
and was a part of a highly popular love triangle with David Birney
David Birney
David Edwin Birney is an American actor/director whose career has performances in both contemporary and classical roles in theatre, film and television. He has three children, a daughter Kate, and twins, Peter and Mollie....
and Donna Mills
Donna Mills
Donna Mills is an American actress, most well known for her role as Abby Fairgate Cunningham Ewing Sumner on the primetime soap opera Knots Landing.-Early years:...
. She left the show in 1970 after the departure of Mr. Birney, whom she was involved with at the time.
In the 1970s, Leslie gave Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
) his first kiss in an episode of Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
.
The next seven years brought guest-starring roles in several primetime series. In 1976, she appeared in the pilot for the Quinn Martin
Quinn Martin
Quinn Martin was one of the most successful American television producers. He had at least one television series running in prime time for 21 straight years , an industry record.-Early life:...
TV crime show Most Wanted
Most Wanted (TV series)
Most Wanted is an American crime drama series shown on ABC from October 16, 1976 until August 20, 1977. It starred Robert Stack, Jo Ann Harris, Shelly Novack, and Hari Rhodes...
, but neither she nor costar Tom Selleck
Tom Selleck
Thomas William "Tom" Selleck is an American actor, and film producer. He is best known for his starring role as Hawaii-based private investigator Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television show Magnum, P.I.. He also plays Police Chief Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on the Robert B....
were kept on for the series proper.
In 1977, Fred Silverman, then head of President of ABC, asked her to join the serial General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
, which by that time was near the bottom of the ratings and near cancellation. Charleson replaced Patsy Rahn as the high-strung Monica Webber
Monica Quartermaine
Dr. Monica Quartermaine is a fictional character on the popular ABC soap opera, General Hospital. She is a member of the wealthy Quartermaine family. Her various affairs and quarrels with her husband Dr...
, a doctor caught between her husband
Husband
A husband is a male participant in a marriage. The rights and obligations of the husband regarding his spouse and others, and his status in the community and in law, vary between cultures and has varied over time...
Jeff Webber and his back-from-the-dead brother, her true love Rick Webber. Charleson's first day was, according to her, nightmarish, for a number of reasons. When she was a teenager, she was president of a local Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
fan club and he had died the day before she started at GH. She had to take her own clothes to work and do her own makeup because of a hair and wardrobe strike at ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. Finally, GHs producers had not informed the cast or crew of Rahn's dismissal. She had to break the news to people who were not thrilled to learn of the change.
In spite of these pressures, Charleson was accepted backstage and was a big hit with viewers, especially when Monica entered into an initially loveless marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
with roguish millionaire
Millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...
Alan Quartermaine, played by Stuart Damon
Stuart Damon
Stuart Damon is an American actor. He is known for thirty years of portraying the character Dr. Alan Quartermaine on the American soap opera General Hospital, for which he won an Emmy Award in 1999....
. The love/hate relationship between the two, all while Monica fought to be with Rick Webber, electrified viewers and was one of the stories which helped propel the show towards #1 in the ratings. The Webbers were eventually phased out, but Monica and Alan remained, through a series of affairs, divorces and remarriages.
In 1990, Gloria Monty
Gloria Monty
Gloria Monty was an American TV producer working primarily in the field of daytime drama.She died of cancer at the age of 84.-Education:...
, who had created the Quartermaine family while producing GH, returned and attempted to push them off of the show because she felt they were "old hat". She planned to replace them with the Eckert family. Angry viewer response and falling ratings convinced Monty to change course. Charleson said she felt it was poetic justice that the last few Eckerts had to film nearly all their scenes in the Quartermaine living room. In 1994, Charleson was given some of the best dramatic material of her career, as Monica faced a long battle with breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
. Charleson was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for that year's performances. Due to the extremely limited role ABC Daytime now has for actors over 40, she has moonlighted on such series as Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
and Dharma & Greg
Dharma & Greg
Dharma & Greg is an American television sitcom that aired from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002.It starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a couple who married instantly on their first date despite being complete opposites...
. In February 2007, she protested the firing of her on-screen husband Damon, telling the press that she was not happy with the decisions of the producers and that all the actors on the show over 40 were worried about their own fate.
In July, 2009, after months of speculation that Charleson would be let go from General Hospital
General Hospital
General Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
when her contract expired, she signed a new one year contract keeping her with the show. However, in September 2010, Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
reported that the series had taken Charleson, who was then the series' longest-running contract player, off contract and she is now in a recurring capacity.
Personal life
Charleson is a trained and award-winning equestrianEquestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
. She married Bill Demms in 1988. They divorced in 1991.Her birth name was Leslie Ann Coffin. She got kicked out of girl scouts.
Roles
- The Return of the Muskrats (2006)
- FriendsFriendsFriends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
(2004) Herself - General HospitalGeneral HospitalGeneral Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
(Dr. Monica Bard Webber Quartermaine #2 - 1977–present) - Dharma & GregDharma & GregDharma & Greg is an American television sitcom that aired from September 24, 1997, to April 30, 2002.It starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as Dharma and Greg Montgomery, a couple who married instantly on their first date despite being complete opposites...
(2001) - Port CharlesPort CharlesPort Charles was a daytime soap opera which aired on ABC from June 2, 1997 to October 3, 2003. It is a spin-off of the serial General Hospital, which has been running since 1963 and takes place in the fictional city of Port Charles, New York...
(Dr. Monica Bard Webber Quartermaine #2 - 1997-2000) - Diagnosis: MurderDiagnosis: MurderDiagnosis: Murder is a mystery/medical/crime drama television series starring Dick Van Dyke as Dr. Mark Sloan, a medical doctor who solves crimes with the help of his son, a homicide detective played by his real-life son Barry Van Dyke. The series began as a spin-off of Jake and the Fatman...
(1997) - Woman on the Ledge (1993)
- Greatest Rescues of Emergency!Emergency!Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios...
(1978) - The Rockford FilesThe Rockford FilesThe Rockford Files is an American television drama series which aired on the NBC network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980. It has remained in regular syndication to the present day. The show stars James Garner as Los Angeles-based private investigator Jim Rockford and features Noah...
(1977) - The Streets of San FranciscoThe Streets of San FranciscoThe Streets of San Francisco is a 1970s television police drama filmed on location in San Francisco, California, and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros...
(2 episodes: 1974-1976) - Barnaby JonesBarnaby JonesBarnaby Jones is a television detective series starring Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether as father- and daughter-in-law who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles. A spin-off from Cannon, the show ran on CBS from January 28, 1973 to April 3, 1980, beginning as a midseason replacement...
- CannonCannon (TV series)Cannon is a CBS detective television series produced by Quinn Martin which aired from March 26, 1971 to March 3, 1976.The primary protagonist was the title character, Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad....
(3 episodes, 1972–1975) - Guess Who's Coming to DinnerGuess Who's Coming to DinnerGuess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 American drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, and featuring Hepburn's niece Katharine Houghton...
(1975) - Happy DaysHappy DaysHappy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
(1975) - Marcus Welby, M.D.Marcus Welby, M.D.Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television program that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969, to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner, and was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell...
(2 episodes, 1972–1973) - The F.B.I. (1973)
- The Day of the DolphinThe Day of the DolphinThe Day of the Dolphin is a 1973 American science-fiction thriller film directed by Mike Nichols and starring George C. Scott. Loosely based on the 1967 novel, Un animal doué de raison , by French writer Robert Merle, the screenplay was written by Buck Henry.-Plot:A brilliant and driven scientist,...
(1973) - Emergency!Emergency!Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios...
(1972) - Adam-12Adam-12Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a...
(1972) - MannixMannixMannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
(1970) - Love is a Many Splendored Thing (Iris Donnelly Garrison #1 - 1967-1970) (original cast)
- As the World TurnsAs the World TurnsAs the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
(Alice Whipple #2 - 1966) - A Flame in the WindA Flame in the WindA Flame in the Wind is a soap opera that aired on ABC Daytime from December 28, 1964 to December 16, 1966.-Synopsis:The show focused on the community of Haviland and it's citizens...
/A Time for Us (Pam - 1965)