General Hospital: remembering the most memorable scene between David Lewis and Jane Elliot on the anniversary of his death

General Hospital star David Lewis played Edward Quartermaine from 1978 to 1993. The actor, who passed away 25 years ago at the age of 84 on December 11, 2000, won a Daytime Emmy for his role as the Quartermaine patriarch in 1982. However, it was a scene that took place two years earlier that is perhaps his most memorable.

General Hospital, David Lewis, Jane Elliot

Tracy (Jane Elliot) was adamant (and very wrong) that Monica (Leslie Charleson) had given birth not to Alan's (Stuart Damon) son, but rather Rick Webber's (Chris Robinson), the man with whom she'd had a one-night affair. Edward didn't want Tracy bringing shame to the family, so he gave her an ultimatum -- call off her crusade or else he'd sign a new will, cutting her out of her inheritance.

While they were arguing in Tracy's penthouse suite at the Port Charles Hotel, where many characters lived over the years, Edward clutched his chest and fell to the ground. He begged Tracy to get his heart medication. Tracy realized that if her father died right then and there, his old will, in which she stood to inherit millions, would still be in effect. She coldly said she'd have to think about it.

Tracy wasn't fully unreasonable. She handed her father his new will and begged him to tear it up. Then, she'd give him his pills. Edward refused. Then, he died (or at least that's what it looked like.)

Tracy got the shock of her life after she had picked up the phone to call for an ambulance (presumably to take her father's body away). Edward, who'd fake the attack, crept up behind Tracy and then put his hands on his daughter's shoulders.

General Hospital, the fallout from Tracy's gamble

As Tracy caught her breath and her composure, Edward couldn't help but chuckle. Tracy claimed that she was only pretending to let Edward think that she'd let him die. "You were very convincing," Edward snarked. "Tonight, I'm going to sign the new will. I'm signing it here. Tonight, you'll be disinherited."

Tracy told her father that he'd break her heart if he signed the new will. Edward informed Tracy that she didn't have a heart. Like a skilled attorney, Edward asked Tracy if her tears were real when she thought he'd died. She said they were. He asked her why she called an ambulance. She responded to get him some help.

"If you knew I was faking, why would I need an ambulance?" Edward shouted. "No more tricks from you."

Edward summoned attorneys Zelda Bernstein (Sarah Simmons) and Howard Lansing (Richard Sarradetto) to Tracy's suite, asking Zelda to bring the notary seal. Zelda used the seal after she and Howard witnessed Edward signing the new will.

Soon after, Tracy left town. She returned to Port Charles in 1989, where she and Edward rebuilt their relationship.

While the original GH episodes featuring these scenes aired in 1980, they were rebroadcast on the series A Daytime to Remember in 1997.

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