Cleaning soap opera star Denise Alexander has died. She was 85.
The actress handed away on March 5, Selection reported on Friday.
Alexander was finest identified for her roles as Lesley Webber on “General Hospital” and Susan Hunter Martin on “Days of Our Lives.”
“General Hospital” govt producer Frank Valentini mourned Alexander’s demise on X (previously Twitter).
“I am so very sorry to hear of Denise Alexander’s passing,” he wrote. “She broke barriers on-screen and off, portraying Dr. Lesley Webber – one of the first female doctors on Daytime Television – for nearly five decades.”
Valentini continued, “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.”
Genie Francis, who performed Alexander’s TV daughter on “General Hospital,” additionally shared a tribute to the late actress on social media.
“Thank you mama, for so much more than u know. #GH,” Francis, 62, wrote alongside photographs of the pair.
“Days of Our Lives” star Susan Seaforth Hayes shared her personal Instagram tribute to Alexander, calling her “a buddy to treasure and an actress to applaud. “
“Such happy memories of her years in Salem and her great success on General Hospital,” stated Hayes, 81. “We both began as child actors, both had strong mothers and both were raised as Christian Scientists in our early years.”
“I was grateful for her wisdom, taste, humor, and goodness every time I saw her,” she added about Alexander. “It was never enough. And my love for her will never be over.”
Alexander was born in New York Metropolis in 1939. Her father was expertise agent Alec Alexander, who labored with stars corresponding to Frank Gorshin and Sal Mineo.
The actress made her TV debut in 1949 on “The Ford Theater Hour.” Her first characteristic movie was Don Siegal’s 1956 film “Crime in the Streets.”
In 1966, Alexander was solid in “Days of Our Lives.” Her character, Susan Hunter Martin, handled the demise of her son and murdered her husband throughout Alexander’s seven years on the present.
After leaving “Days” in 1973, Alexander was instantly solid as Lesley Webber in “General Hospital.” The position earned Alexander a Daytime Emmy Award nomination in 1976.
Alexander starred on “General Hospital” on and off for nearly 50 years. Lesley was killed in 1984 after which resurrected in 1996. Alexander’s final look on the cleaning soap was in 2021.
“I was sad when I left the show,” she advised We Love Soaps in 2010. “When you have played a character that long and had fun with it, you can feel the fan’s sorrow.”
“I missed the character,” Alexander added, “and it’s a fun thing for me she came back to life. It’s a character I know, and there’s still a few people I know there.”
Alexander is survived by her stepdaughter, Elizabeth Colla, from her marriage to director and producer Richard A. Colla, who died in 2010.
