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Steve Burton, who plays Jason Morgan on General Hospital, is playing on screen a loss that he suffered in real life earlier this year. The late Leslie Charleson died in January, and now, several months later, Dr. Monica Bard Quartermaine, the role she played on GH since 1977, is being laid to rest.
Steve Burton opens up on General Hospital
Burton told TV Insider that he felt he never had to prepare his scenes with Charleson because they felt a connection as soon as he joined the show in 1991. "It was very special," Burton says.
The actor recalls having fun with Charleson and also with his late TV father, Stuart Damon (ex-Alan), noting that he hit the lottery in terms of television parents. Burton says that Charleson acted like a real-life mom might when it came to her "son's" gum-chewing habit. The actor recalls her ordering the then-22-year-old Burton to dispose of the gum, and she meant it! He says he's not sure if the audience knew just how funny she was.
Burton himself learned about just how many people Charleson touched when he attended her memorial in February, when many individuals spoke about how caring Charleson was to them. "She truly was amazing," Burton says.
Goodbye, my friend
Burton says that Jason is clearly devastated by the loss of his mother. They had a great connection. We've seen Jason lament not spending more time with Monica. However, the amount of time Burton spent with Charleson was evident, given how emotional Jason was in the funeral episode.
A crew member asked Burton how long he'd worked on his monologue in which Jason praised his mother. The actor shared that he hadn't looked at the scene until the morning he shot it. "There was no planning," Burton shared. "I was there emotionally already, so I just got up and spoke, and that was it. I was able to do it in one take, which was great, and it was done.”
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Burton has nothing but praise for the show's creative team for crafting such powerful episodes that will help bring closure for viewers, who spent decades watching and loving both Charleson and Monica. "I'm glad they did it this way," he said. "[Leslie] deserves it."
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