In a viral video posted to X (formerly Twitter) last Friday, “General Hospital” star Kelly Monaco can be seen giving a good speech to the cast and crew of the daytime drama series as she finished filming her final scenes as Sam McCall, which aired Friday, November 1.
“I’ve been on this lot for 25 years, and you have all been my family – not only my second family but my first family – and I just thank each and every one of you for all these memories and this experience that I’ll take with me for the rest of my life,” said an emotional Monaco, as she held back tears while holding a bouquet.
“Mark Teschner [show’s Casting Director], you started this whole journey for me and it has been a wild ride,” Monaco noted in her speech the 21 years she played Sam on “General Hospital” and her more than three-year run as Livvie Locke on “Port Charles.” Teschner cast both shows during his 35 years at ABC.
“It will not be the last you see of me,” Monaco concluded in her speech, which received a resounding applause from those in attendance.
In addition to Monaco herself, other notable individuals shown in the video included Monaco’s now former on-screen mother Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis), former on-screen love interest Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falocneri), director Phideaux Xavier, Teschner, and executive producer Frank Valentini, among other cast, crew and producers whose faces could not be made out due to the low quality of the video.
I came across this beautiful video of Kelly’s last words after her final scene on #gh . 21 yrs of dedication and loyalty playing Sam McCall ….. shared with the cast and crew. What an emotional journey! 👏🏻🩷😢🩷💔🩷 #kellymonaco pic.twitter.com/fpAkjQCK1P
— pam 🟧🟠 (@pjporten) November 15, 2024
On Friday, September 27, Monaco taped her final episode of “General Hospital” at the Prospect Studios in Hollywood, California.
In a post on X, Monaco’s mother, Carmina, said, “I want to take this moment to reach out to Kelly’s incredible fans and express my deepest gratitude for the unwavering love, loyalty, and support you’ve shown her throughout her time on ‘General Hospital.’”
“This moment is a difficult one, but knowing that she has had such an incredible, devoted fan base has given her strength,” Carmina continued. “You’ve stood by her through every twist and turn, celebrating her achievements and providing comfort in the hard times. Your love and dedication have meant more than words can express, not only to Kelly but to all of us who care so deeply for her. Thank you for being there, for believing in her, and for reminding her of the impact she’s made. We will always be grateful for you standing with her through it all.”
Outside of the now-viral video of her speech, which has garnered more than 115,000 views at press time, Kelly has not formally addressed her exit from “General Hospital” outside of since-deleted cryptic comments made on Instagram and X, although she has indicated that she will “give a proper statement” when the time is right.
On Tuesday, November 19, “General Hospital” will air a multi-episode celebration of life (i.e. funeral) for Sam, wherein friends, family and loved ones will share their fondest memories of her. The episode also marks the revival of the Lulu Spencer character, now played by Alexa Havins, who is waking up from a four-year coma following a bomb explosion at the Floating Rib bar back in November 2020. The bomb was planted by Julian Jerome (William deVry) at the behest of Lulu’s uncle, Cyrus Renault (Jeff Kober), and it took the lives of Dev Cerci (Ashton Arbab) and Dustin Phillips (Mark Lawson).
Although Cyrus has yet to be discovered as the ultimate culprit for the explosion that led Lulu to lose a key time in her life, viewers are beginning to suspect that he might have been the one behind Sam’s death after she willingly donated a piece of her liver to help a comatose Lulu. His reasoning has yet to be fleshed out.