Remembering ‘General Hospital’ Star Chris Robinson: His 6 Best Dr. Rick Webber Storylines

GENERAL HOSPITAL, Chris Robinson, (1980s), 1963-. — © ABC / Courtesy Everett Collection

Chris Robinson, who played Dr. Rick Webber on General Hospital and was the last surviving actor from the show’s popular quadrangle of Rick, Lesley (Denise Alexander), Monica (Leslie Charleson), and Alan (Stuart Damon) in the late 1970s and early 1980s, has died at age 86 due to heart failure.

The actor passed away on June 9, 2025, at his ranch in Arizona, according to a Facebook post by MJ Allen, an actor and musician who’d worked with Robinson in the film Just For A Week.

Robinson’s lengthy acting credits span from 1957 to 2022. However, he’ll be remembered most by soap fans for his portrayal of GH‘s Rick. He appeared on the ABC soap opera regularly from 1978 to 1986. He returned for a short story arc in 2002, and again, for a one-day episode in 2013 for the show’s 50th anniversary year.

Here’s a look back at Robinson’s best moments from General Hospital.

Rick and Lesley’s Brief, Bittersweet Reunion in 2002

Initially, there was reason to rejoice when it was announced that Robinson was going to reprise his role as GH‘s Rick in 2002. Alas, his return turned out to be a plot device used to usher Genie Francis‘s Laura off the canvas. While Robinson shared screen time with Denise Alexander (Lesley) for the first time on GH since 1984 — and also with Leslie Charleson (Monica) and Stuart Damon (Alan) — it was soon revealed that Rick had a whole backstory that had never been revealed. It involved an affair with a nurse named Teresa Carter, and Rick ended up dying after Scotty (Kin Shriner) killed him.

Before the trainwreck began, viewers were treated to this reunion scene between Rick and Lesley. The couple had separated after Lesley was kidnapped by the Cassadines nearly 20 years earlier and was presumed dead. Robinson and Alexander made the most of this moment, even though they were soon torn apart again by Rick’s death, which sent Laura off to Ferncliff sanitarium.

Alan Razes the Roof on Rick and Monica

Before Alan learned he truly was A.J.’s biological dad, he attempted to kill Rick and Monica for their duplicity. After A.J.’s christening, Alan rigged the roof of the Quartermaine mansion to come crashing down on Rick and Monica (Alan had asked the couple to wait for them there.)

Fortunately, Alan had a change of heart and tried to get them to leave before the roof collapsed. Alas, he was too late. Alan did manage to push the couple away from the main brunt of the collapse so that all three managed to survive.

In the clip above, viewers can see how much Rick truly did care for Monica; Robinson was one of GH‘s most memorable romantic leading men. We see Rick’s support of Monica in these scenes and had he actually been A.J.’s dad, it’s probable that they would have ended up together.

Rick, Redux, for GH‘s 50th Anniversary

GH didn’t let a little thing like Rick being dead stop Robinson from reprising his role for the show’s 50th anniversary in 2013. Monica and Tracy (Jane Elliot) somehow had simultaneous fantasies that Rick, Alan, and Alan and Monica’s daughter Emily (Natalia Livingston) had all visited them as spirts. The ever-demure Tracy blasted Rick for his past actions, which included traumatizing Laura and leaving her catatonic. “That’s not what happened,” Rick insisted. “Not at all.”

While that wasn’t the rewrite (to the rewrite) that viewers wanted, it was something. Kudos to GH for acknowledging not only Damon and Livingston, but also Robinson for the show’s golden anniversary.

Lesley Tells Rick He’s AJ’s Father

Christmas Eve 1979 wasn’t a particularly happy one for Rick and Lesley. Monica had claimed that Rick was the father of her son, A.J., and that was something Lesley couldn’t just get over. Rick and Lesley had a blowout over the the fact that Rick, who always wanted a son, finally sired one with another woman.

Rick debated the veracity of Monica’s claim, but Lesley refused to bury her head in the sand. Robinson and Alexander each gave viewers a tour de force performance at their characters faced the possible end of their marriage. It was clear that Rick still loved Lesley (and she loved him), but sometimes, love is not enough.

Rick Webber Father’s Daze

Rick had the rug pulled out from under him in the summer of 1980, when Alan announced that the rate Bombay Phenotype Syndrome had occurred, which led to it being confirmed that Alan was A.J.’s biological dad — despite blood types indicating otherwise.

In the Quartermaine courtyard, Rick ended things with Monica shortly before they were set to be married. A dazed Rick returned to his room above Kelly’s Diner. Proprietor Paddy Kelly invited Rick to have a drink, not knowing that he and Monica were kaput. Rick was devastated to lose the infant that he thought was his.

In one of life’s more ironic twists, Rick was then visited by little Mike Phelan (David Mendenhall), a fatherless boy who was being raised by his grandmother. Mike presented a dilemma to Rick – the father/son baseball Little League dinner was coming up and Mike had no dad to bring him. Rick agreed to be Mike’s dad for the night. Later, he and Lesley reconciled and adopted Mike, giving Rick the son he always wanted.

Rick and Lesley Remarry in the Webber Living Room

1981 was when Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis) got married at the mayor’s mansion. That, however, wasn’t the only big emotional ceremony that year: Rick and Lesley, who’d gotten divorced the previous year, had been slowly but surely making their way back to one another. The two didn’t get over Rick’s infidelity or Lesley’s lies about Laura killing David Hamilton (Jerry Ayres) overnight, but they held out hope that the two would reconcile.

In a small but intimate ceremony in the Webber living room, Rick and Lesley remarried shortly before Christmas. The ceremony was attended by Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura, Bobbie (Jacklyn Zeman), Ruby (Norma Connolly), Mike, Amy (Shell Kepler), and Alice (Lieux Dressler).

The couple’s remarriage was a testament to ABC Daytime truly owning the promotional campaign slogan “Love in the Afternoon.”