Remembering Denise Alexander

Denise Alexander, the beloved actress best known for her portrayal of Lesley Webber on General Hospital, has died at age 85. During my career covering daytime television, I had a chance to get to know Denise. In fact, we even appeared on-screen together in a well-conceived, but terribly acted (on my part!) spittake scene. I’ve asked that all copies of that footage be destroyed.

Fortunately, a couple of our chats did not befall the same fate and I’ve made one of them available here.

On December 2, 2011, Alexander and her on-screen General Hospital daughter Genie Francis appeared on my Soap Central Live podcast. It was actually more of a live radio broadcast, but “podcast” seems to be the most familiar word so let’s go with that. On the day of her appearance, we learned that Brian Frons had stepped down as head of ABC Daytime — and Denise had some thoughts about that. She also shared — and Genie confirmed — a tidbit about their first meeting. Denise greeted her new daughter with the heartwarming, “Oh, good!  You’re shorter than me.” 

LISTEN: Denise Alexander and Genie Francis chat with Dan J Kroll — LIVE (December 2, 2011)

The entire hourlong interview with Denise Alexander and Genie Francis can be streamed below.

The life of Denise Alexander

Alexander was born in New York City on November 11, 1939, and, perhaps due to her father being an agent in the business, began acting as a child. She appeared on radio shows like I Remember Mama and Perry Mason. In 1952, Alexander made her Broadway debut in The Children’s Hour, starring as Evelyn Munn. She made her feature movie debut at age fourteen in the Don Siegel film Crime in the Streets starring John Cassavetes.

Alexander first became part of our daytime family by playing Lois Adams on The Clear Horizon in 1960. Her big break came more than half a decade later when she landed the role of Susan Hunter Martin on Days of Our Lives. She would remain with the show through 1973 when Susan was written out of the show temporarily during contract negotiations with Alexander. ABC rushed to offer her a then-unheard of deal — “four times” what DAYS could pay her, according to Alexander — to get her to join General Hospital.

When Lesley was killed off in a car accident in 1984, there was massive viewer outcry. Her exit was covered by the New York Times. She would return to General Hospital in 1996 when it was revealed that Lesley was very much alive.

In between her two GH stints, Alexander played the role of Mary McKinnon on Another World. There, she was reunited with former General Hospital husband Chris Robinson, who played Jason Frame.

The actress continued to appear on GH through 2009, then came back again in 2013 as the show marked its 50th anniversary. “What I love the most is, there hasn’t been a single time they called that I couldn’t go back,” Alexander said to Digest that year. “I was traveling the world, producing and developing things, and yet with all of that, I never got a call where I couldn’t say yes. It’s as if it was ordered by the universe.”

Alexander made additional appearances on General Hospital in 2017, 2019, and 2021, which would ultimately be her final appearance on the ABC soap.

General Hospital remembers Denise Alexander

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Emmy winner Genie Francis wrote, “Thank you mama, for so much more than u know.”

In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), General Hospital’s executive producer Frank Valentini shared, “I am so very sorry to hear of Denise Alexander’s passing. She broke barriers on-screen and off, portraying Dr. Lesley Webber – one of the first female doctors on Daytime Television – for nearly five decades. It meant so much to have her reprise her role in recent years and I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with her. On behalf of the entire General Hospital family, I extend my heartfelt sympathies to her family, friends, and longtime fans. May she rest in peace.”

There has been no word on how, or if, General Hospital will mark the actress’ passing on-screen.