Denise Alexander died at the age of 85. The actress was well recognized for her role as Lesley Webber in General Hospital. Lesley was the mother of Genie Francis Laura.
The actress died on Wednesday, March 5, according to Variety and Soap Opera Digest. PEOPLE contacted ABC for more comments.
General Hospital showrunner Frank Valentini confirmed her death on Friday, May 9, via X. “I’m very sad to hear of Denise Alexander’s death. She broke down barriers both on and off screen, playing Dr. Lesley Webber, one of the first female doctors on daytime television, for over five decades,” he added.
He went on to say, “It meant so much to have her reprise her role recently, and I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with her.” On behalf of the whole General Hospital team, I want to express my sincere condolences to her family, friends, and long-time admirers. May she rest peacefully.”
Alexander was born in New York City in 1939. She began her career as a radio actor when she was six years old. “There was television, radio, and theater. I did everything there was to do, and it seemed natural,” she told We Love Soaps in 2010. “Now, when I look back, I think, ‘How lucky was I?’—because a lot of people didn’t have those experiences.”
Her father, an agent, relocated the family to Los Angeles, where she continued to work in television and radio; The Press Courier reported in 1968 that she had already made 5,000 radio and 500 television appearances. Her cinematic debut was in 1956’s Crime in the Streets, which starred John Cassavetes.
She featured on various radio soap operas, but her first on-screen soap opera part was in the 1960s’ The Clear Horizon, when she played one of the astronauts’ daughters. She shared her story with us: “There was an older teenager, and I played the younger teenager in the family, just discovering boys and getting into trouble.” The show was cancelled in 1962.
Four years later, in 1966, she joined Days of Our Lives. She knew the show’s authors, Ted and Betty Corday. They offered her a part without an audition in 1965, before the program debuted. “When you’re an actor and you get a call and don’t have to audition, it’s like a high point in your life, and you’re going to remember that,” she told the soap opera’s writers. She turned them down because she wanted to complete her education at UCLA.
They contacted her again in 1966, this time offering to perform Susan Hunter Martin. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue performing, but she trusted them. “I thought I’d give it a try,” she told the Schenectady Gazette in 1971 about her involvement on Days. “Now I’m thankful I did.”
She claimed that working on a soap opera eliminated “the barriers of fear, frustration, and insecurity you so often” encounter on sets where performers don’t know where their next employment would come from. “No one is worried about not having a place to work the next day,” she told me.
She remained on the show until 1973, when she and the network clashed over her contract. ABC officials learned about the problem and gave her a lucrative deal for General Hospital, believing that her star power would help preserve the show. She accepted it, and they created her as a new character named Lesley Williams, who was subsequently revealed to be the mother of a then-teenage Genie Francis’ Laura.
Alexander’s portrayal of Lesley was a success, and the production eventually placed her in a love triangle with Chris Robinson’s Rick Webber and Leslie Charleson’s Monica Quartermaine. “When it was Chris and me, Rick and Lesley were the Luke and Laura of their day,” Alexander told We Love Soaps, referring to the show’s mega-couple. “General Hospital went to number one for the first time during the Rick and Lesley and Monica triangle storyline.” Alexander’s efforts were recognized with a Daytime Emmy nomination in 1976.
Her admirers were enthusiastic. “It’s not necessarily that soap operas produce more stardom than movies,” she told The Hour in 1977. “It’s just that the audience identifies more with midday stars than with movie characters. After all, we spend so much time with them that they believe they know us well. You’d be astonished at how intimate my fan mail is—and I don’t mean erotically personal. Our lives on the programs take precedence over their own and become an integral part of their everyday lives.”
She remained with GH until 1984, when she left due to another contract conflict. The series controversially murdered her off; according to the New York Times, some 75 fans protested at the studio.
Alexander joined Another World as Mary McKinnon, one of the show’s matriarchs. However, she found the commute from Los Angeles to New York, the program’s taping location, to be unpleasant. She quit the series in 1989.
Alexander returned to GH in 1996, when Lesley was brought back from the dead. “I was sad when I left the show,” she explained to We Love Soaps. “When you’ve played a role for so long and had fun with it, you can understand the fan’s pain. I missed the character, and it’s exciting that she’s come back to life. It’s a character I recognize, and there are a few familiar faces.”
She appeared on GH on a regular basis until 2009. She returned in 2013 to mark the show’s 50th anniversary and again in April 2019 to commemorate its 59th anniversary. She returned again in early 2021. Alexander also participated in the soap drama Sunset Beach between 1997 and 1998.
In addition to performing, Alexander was a talented photographer. In 1978, she told The Pittsburgh Press about her habit, saying, “Many performers and actresses feel like professional lightweights. The attitude may be ridiculous, but it’s only a matter of dressing up in your mother’s clothing and playing pretend. Most of us want to do something more grown-up.”
Alexander was married to Richard A. Colla, a filmmaker and producer, who died in 2021. She served as a producer for several of his ventures.