Iconic soap actor, who starred on General Hospital and Days of Our Lives and 'broke barriers', dies

Soap opera veteran Denise Alexander, best known as Lesley Webber on “General Hospital” and Susan Hunter Martin on “Days of Our Lives,” died on March 5. Her death has only just been announced, and the cause has not been revealed.

General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini paid tribute to the late star on social media. “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.”

He went on: “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.”

Alexander’s acting career had spanned seven decades. She began acting in the early 1950s, when she made her Broadway debut in “The Children’s Hour” and guest starred in such television classics as “Father Knows Best,” “The Twilight Zone” and “The Danny Kaye Show”. It was 1960, however, when she first began her soap journey as she joined the cast of the CBS soap, “The Clear Horizon.”

Two years later, she was a dayplayer in an ABC soap pilot called “Emergency Hospital,” which later became known as “General Hospital” - but she was not first cast as the role she became known for, Lesley Webber.

Instead, she was cast as Susan Martin on “Days of Our Lives” in 1966, a role which she had for the next seven years. When she chose to leave the enormously popular soap in 1973, fans were not happy.

But, that is when she joined the cast of General Hospital. Alexander’s character Lesley joined as one part of a triangle which also included Rick Webber (played by Chris Robinson) and Monica Bard (played by the late Leslie Charleson, who died earlier this year).

Lesley also had many more memorable storylines during her time on the show. She confessed to the murder of David Hamilton, a crime her daughter Laura (played Genie Francis) actually committed. Her acting earned Alexander a Emmy nomination for outstanding actress in a Daytime drama series.

When storyline called for Lesley to be killed off in a car accident, fans were once again upset at the loss of Alexander. But then, 12 years later, in 1996 that it was revealed that in true shocking soap style, Lesley was actually still alive.

In between the work on the two soaps, Alexander also appeared on NBC’s “Another World,” working opposite her former General Hospital husband, Robinson. She last appeared on General Hospital in 2021.

Alexander’s co-star Kin Shriner, who played Scott Baldwin, paid tribute on X. He wrote: “I always walked on egg shells but Denise was a true pro , we had fun @GeneralHospital RIP to Denise Alexander ,what a time we had !!!!”

Fans also left messages of condolence online. One wrote: “Denise Alexander was one of the few #GH stars who could come in to literally appear for just 2 minutes out of an entire episode, and still steal the show.” Another said: “RIP Denise Alexander. One of the greatest daytime characters.”