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Wally Kurth Reflects on Kelly Monaco’s ‘General Hospital’ Exit: ‘You Can’t Take It Personally’
Fans are devastated over Kelly Monaco’s General Hospital exit, and other soap opera stars have weighed in.
“She was there for 20-something years,” Wally Kurth told Us Weekly at the “Day of Days” event in Los Angeles on November 2. “I work at GH sometimes too, and I drove into the studio and there was a sign with LCD lights that said, ‘Kelly Monaco, bring her back’ and it was like outside our studio, just flashing lights for like a week and that was from fans.”
Wally, 66, has been a part of General Hospital since 1991, portraying Ned Quartermaine for more than 700 episodes.
“It happens to us all. I’ve been fired a few times. You can’t take it personally. We’re actors,” he added.
Kelly, 48, began portraying Sam McCall on General Hospital beginning in 2003. In August 2024, the franchise was rocked when it was reported by multiple outlets that she would be leaving the show after 21 years. In October 2024, she broke her silence on her exit from the show.
“Last scene with the Davis girls,” she captioned a photo captured from behind the scenes of the soap opera. “Still doesn’t make any sense to me.”
In the comments section of the since-deleted post, she responded to a comment that said she was “monotone, had no primary roles and [was] just boring.”
“‘No primary role’.. do your homework,” she responded, per Us Weekly. “When Billy Miller was fired, Sam’s storyline stopped. Stripping Sam of every characteristic she had. Something I worked for decades to build… Slowly dismantling her, into a character that I did not recognize, let alone the audience. Call it what you will… retaliation at it [sic] finest. I will give a proper statement. The truth will set you free.”
But Kelly’s costars expressed sadness seeing her leave the program after more than two decades.
“I love you. All will be well,” Nancy Lee Grahn wrote underneath the post. “There are some things a TV mother just knows.”
Kelly’s character ended up meeting her fate on the show during an episode on October 30, when she donated her liver to Lulu Spencer and her character later died.
On October 31, Nancy shared a post on X dedicated to her TV daughter.
“As hard as it may be for #gh viewers to watch today’s episodes and the episodes to follow, it was equally as hard for me and my casemates to play,” she wrote. “Playing Kelly Monaco’s mom has been effortless and the love is real.”
Days of Our Lives star Brandon Beemer expressed optimism about Kelly potentially coming back to General Hospital in some capacity or finding a home on another soap opera.
“I don’t think she’s really fully leaving,” Brandon, 44, told Us Weekly. “I mean, who knows? I didn’t think that [actor] Steve Burton was going to come back and Steve Burton went to Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives and back to General Hospital.”
“At some point, when somebody leaves, [you say] ‘Oh my God, I’m so sorry. You’re gonna be unemployed for maybe a year,’” he explained. “You’ll end up coming back, otherwise another soap is gonna pick [Kelly] up.”
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