Tom Queally/ABC; Howard Wise/jpistudios.com; ABC/Christine Bartolucci
General Hospital fans are mourning the death of one of the show’s most popular players, Samantha McCall. Sam, played by Kelly Monaco since October 1, 2003, passed away on the October 30th episode. As her death sends shockwaves through Port Charles on screen and through the daytime fan community off screen, Soap Opera Digest takes a look back at the character’s remarkable storyline life.
2003
Samantha McCall — feisty, adventurous and possessing a colorful past as a petty thief and con woman who bilked a string of wealthy men — was introduced in October as part of the “Dead Man’s Hand” storyline that involved a significant and valuable (and, some would say, ominous!) set of playing cards. Sam quickly became entangled with Jasper “Jax” Jacks. Sam then met Sonny Corinthos when he took her hostage after shooting Luis Alcazar.
ABC
Card Shark: Sam (Kelly Monaco, with Ingo Rademacher as Jax) was after the Dead Man’s Hand.
2004
Sam and Sonny became lovers, and she got pregnant, but Sonny reconciled with his wife, Carly. To keep Sonny’s marriage intact, his trusted enforcer, Jason Morgan, volunteered to pose as the father of Sam’s unborn child. Viewers learned about Sam’s tumultuous family of origin, and her beloved brother, Danny. When Sonny’s daughter with Alexis, Kristina, became ill with leukemia, Alexis pressed Sam to allow her baby to be a stem cell donor. Sam agreed to have her labor induced, and was heartbroken when her baby (who she and Jason named Lila Rae) was stillborn. (Kristina did survive.) The tragic loss drew Sam and Jason closer.
ABC
Sonny Days: Sam and Sonny (Maurice Benard) conceived a child together.
2005
Sam and Jason’s romance deepened and when a young mother, Bridget, gave her newborn daughter to Sam, Sam moved in with Jason and they excitedly planned a future raising baby Hope together. Sam was crushed when Bridget reclaimed the baby. After she and Jason helped recover Sonny’s children, who had been kidnapped, they went on a romantic getaway and ended up taken hostage by Allegra, the mother of Sam’s look-alike, Alicia. Sam was forced to pose as Alicia and marry Andrew, then was arrested for murdering him. Jason helped exonerate her. Jason proposed to Sam. Psycho Manny Ruiz began targeting Sam.
ABC
To Have And To Hold: Jason (Steve Burton) asked Sam to be his bride.
2006
During an encephalitis breakout in Port Charles, Alexis received an antidote and was spared — but Danny, Sam’s brother, died. Sam subsequently learned she was adopted, and discovered that Alexis was her birth mother! Their mother/daughter relationship got off to a rocky start. Sam faced a major crisis when she was shot by Manny. Jason blamed himself, and Alexis pressured him to break up with Sam for her own safety. After a blow-up with Alexis, Sam impulsively had sex with her mother’s husband, Ric! Jason witnessed the tryst and slept with Elizabeth, who got pregnant. Jason and Sam reconciled, and after going on the run for a crime she didn’t commit (for which Ric framed her), Sam wound up shooting Diego Alcazar in self-defense, seemingly killing him.
ABC/DANNY FELD
From Here To Maternity: Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) and Sam were both thrown to discover their biological tie.
2007
Sam’s dreams of becoming a mother were seemingly dashed when she learned she could not have children as a result of her shooting the previous year. She played a heroic role in bringing the Metro Court hostage crisis to an end, and was persuaded to become the host of a TV show called Everyday Heroes. Turns out, the producer was seeking revenge against Sam, who had swindled in the past. After Liz and Jason’s son, Jake, was born, Sam witnessed him being kidnapped and stayed mum, and she and Jason split up again when her actions came to light. Sam then fell into an affair with Lucky.
ABC
Lucky Chance: Sam’s relationship with Lucky (then-Greg Vaughan) took them both by surprise.
2008
Sam survived a potentially deadly kidnapping ordeal at the hands of Diego, the Text Message Killer, upon his return from the dead. Lucky and Sam’s relationship continued and together, they investigated the counterfeit medication being shipped into Port Charles. Sam went undercover to get the goods on Andrei Karpov, a Russian drug smuggler. Sam planned to try to seduce Jerry Jacks to prove that he was working with Karpov. Jerry was on to her and framed her for drug possession, resulting in her arrest. When she admitted to Lucky that she would have gone through with sleeping with Jerry, he left town to think things over. Jerry held Sam captive on a boat and strapped a bomb to her; Jason and Spinelli came to her rescue. She and Lucky patched things up. After Sonny killed Karpov, his goons were out for revenge, so Jason had Sam take Liz and her two young children to a remote cabin for safekeeping. Karpov’s mob tracked them down and a shootout ensued. The mobsters snatched Jake, who Sam and Jason located in a cabin rigged with explosives. Sam saved Jake’s life before the cabin blew up. Sam fought with Karpov’s associate Sasha and fell into a mineshaft; Jason came to her aid.
ABC/ADAM LARKEY
Great Shakes: Jason and Sam had an explosive year.
2009
Sam and Lucky ended things, and she was a brave participant in bringing a biotoxin crisis at the hospital to an end and saving Spinelli from federal charges. She and Spinelli (Bradford Anderson) formed a detective agency called McCall and Jackal Private Investigations. Sam investigated Claudia Zacchara’s car accident, which Kristina was responsible for. She and Jason took off after Michael and Kristina when they fled town together, converging in Mexico. Jerry tracked them there and shot Jason; Sam tended to him and the exes declared their love and hit the sheets. When Michael killed Claudia (who had kidnapped Carly and tried to snatch her newborn, Josslyn), Sam helped Jason and his parents conceal evidence of his involvement. Jason and Sam contended with homicidal maniac/acclaimed artist Franco, who was obsessed with Jason.
ABC/William Foster
Skilled Set: Sam and Spinelli (Bradford Anderson) joined forces in a detective agency.
2010
Franco kidnapped Sam and strapped a bomb to her. Jason saved her. Sam leaped into protective big sister mode when Kristina was abused by her boyfriend, Kiefer Bauer. When Michael went to jail for killing Claudia, Jason arranged to join him there in order to protect him. Sam was overjoyed when Jason and Michael were both released. Jason became entangled with helping to protect a back-in-town Brenda Barrett, who moved into the penthouse with Jason and Sam.
ABC/Patrick Wymore
Family Valued: Kristina (then-Lexi Ainsworth, far l.) got support from (from l.) Molly (then-Haley Pullos), Alexis and Sam. Also pictured: John J. York as Mac.
2011
Criminal mastermind Theo Hoffman, also known as The Balkan, kidnapped Sam, who was injured in an explosion but recovered. Jason was shattered by Jake’s death in a hit-and-run, and Sam underwent a surgery to reverse the damage to her uterus in hopes that it would enable her to become pregnant. Sam and Jason got engaged. Sam breathed as sigh of relief when Jason survived a life-saving brain surgery. Overwhelmed by the traditional wedding Maxie was planning for them, the couple took off on Jason’s motorcycle and wound up at The Noodle Buddha, where they were were joined in holy matrimony by the proprietor, a licensed officiant. On their honeymoon in Hawaii, however, Franco drugged Sam and forced Jason to watch what appeared to be him raping Sam.
ABC
At Last: Sam and Jason were legally married at The Noodle Buddha.
2012
Sam learned she was pregnant — and feared that Franco could be the father. Heather Webber gave Sam reason to suspect that Jason and Franco were secretly twins. A DNA test indicated the baby was Franco’s, and Sam was devastated. Her marriage was strained as Jason admitted he wasn’t sure if he could love the baby as his own. Sam survived a kidnapping ordeal courtesy of bad cop Ronnie and got closer to good cop John McBain, then gave birth to Danny during a terrible storm. While Sam was unconscious, Heather and Todd Manning took her son and swapped it with the stillborn baby of an unsuspecting Téa Delgado. Sam mourned her son’s “death” and moved out of the penthouse. She shared a kiss with John and began working for Todd, convinced he was hiding something. Jason uncovered Heather and Todd’s scheme and was pivotal in reuniting Sam with her son. Sam and Jason called off their divorce and were blissfully happy … until Cesar Faison (wearing a Duke mask) appeared to kill Jason on the docks and kick his body into the water. Sam struggled to accept Jason’s “death” and also learned that he was her son’s biological father.
ABC
Three Of Hearts: Sam and Jason were reunited with baby Danny, but their happiness was fleeting.
2013
Sam became the temporary legal guardian of orphaned teen Rafe Kovich, Jr. Rafe’s uncle, Silas Clay, ultimately took custody of Rafe. An oncologist, Silas diagnosed little Danny with leukemia. Danny needed a bone marrow donor, and a back-from-the-dead Franco (who revealed to Sam that he did not actually rape her in 2011) was a match. He agreed to be a donor, then was determined to be medically ineligible due to a brain tumor. Derek Wells learned he was also a match and his bone marrow saved Danny. As Sam and Silas began a romance, she learned that “Derek Wells” was actually her biological father, Julian Jerome, who long ago had impregnated a teenage Alexis.
Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
The Clay’s The Thing: Silas (Michael Easton) helped Sam through Danny’s health crisis.
2014
Sam learned that her new lover, Silas, had a wife, Nina, who had been comatose for decades. She worked to clear Silas of suspicion of Nina’s attempted murder. Silas and Sam’s relationship was thrown into chaos when Nina showed up in town. Sam felt great remorse when troubled Rafe died. She and Silas split and before long, she was embarking on a new romance with Patrick Drake. Sam met amnesiac “Jake Doe,” who Danny felt an instant connection to. Faison was arrested and divulged to Sam that Jason didn’t die that night back in 2012, and that Patrick had known (courtesy of Robin). Patrick told Sam that Jason had subsequently died, which he believed to be true at the time. Sam dumped Patrick for deceiving her. Meanwhile, “Jake” was really Jason, and had been brainwashed by Helena. On orders from her, a masked “Jake” held Sam at gunpoint as part of a plan to break Faison out of prison. Sam suspected that “Jake” was the culprit. Sam and Patrick reconciled.
JPI
New Beginnings: Sam and Patrick (Jason Thompson) got close.
2015
Sam learned that “Jake” had been brainwashed by Helena, thawing the tension between them. As “Jake” and Liz inched closer, Sam and Danny moved in with Patrick and his daughter, Emma. Hayden, who Ric had hired to pose as “Jake’s” wife, was on the verge of coming clean about “Jake’s” true identity when she was shot in the head (by a gunman Nikolas hired to keep “Jake’s” true identity under wraps). Sam and “Jake” teamed up to find out what Nikolas was hiding. Sam and Patrick got engaged. On the day “Jake” was slated to marry Elizabeth, he learned from Carly that he was actually Jason! The nuptials were halted, and Sam reeled — especially when Jason stressed that he didn’t remember her or their love, and wanted a future with Elizabeth. He asked her for a divorce. Sam and Jason went to Cassadine Island, where Helena put a curse on Sam before dying. Sam caught on to the fact that Liz and Laura were harboring a secret about Jason and realized that Liz had known who “Jake” was and kept mum. She shared her theory with Jason, who confronted Liz; Liz confessed. Patrick and Sam split.
Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
Practice To Deceive: Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) tried to keep “Jake” (Billy Miller) from realizing his true identity and returning to Sam.
2016
Sam and Jason got close again as his memories of their life together began to return. Sam helped Jason clear his name when he faced charges of attempting to murder Nikolas. Jake (who had been discovered alive on Cassadine Island the year before) blamed Sam for his parents’ split and began acting out. When Sam realized Jake was responsible for a rash of incidents at the Webber home, she went to talk to him and wound up falling down the basement stairs. In the nick of time, Jason rescued her before a heater explodes and leveled the house. Sam was a member of the bridal party when her parents tied the knot. Sam and Jason finalized their divorce, agreeing they wanted to start fresh. The pair uncovered that Nikolas had put a hit out on Hayden in 2015, then became lovers again. Jason’s memories began to flood back. When Nikolas vanished after an altercation with Jason, Sam and Jason went to Cassadine Island to find him. Valentin Cassadine held them and other Port Charles residents hostage, but they made it home safely. Sam cut Julian out of her life for holding a knife to Alexis’s throat. Sam and Jason learned they were expecting and remarried. When Sonny and Carly’s son Morgan was killed in a car bomb, Sam and Jason investigated.
ABC
Twice Blessed: Sam remarried Jason in front of friends and family.
2017
Sam’s investigation into Morgan’s death indicated to her that her father, Julian, was involved. Her pursuit also put her in danger from her deranged aunt, Olivia Jerome. Liv kidnapped her and pushed her off a bridge. She went into labor, and Jason arrived in the nick of time to both save her life and help deliver their daughter, Emily Scout. As the year progressed, Sam began hearing voices and experiencing hallucinations. She began having violent fantasies about harming Sonny. Eventually, she shot him in the leg and kicked him down a shaft, then fled the scene. Sam then suffered a seizure and fell into a coma. The diagnosis: toxoplasmosis, which she had contracted while giving birth in unsanitary conditions. Sam recovered and was horrified when she realized what she had done to Sonny, who survived. Jason took a bullet shielding Sam from a Russian mobster; he pulled through. Jason became the new owner of Julian’s company, Derek Wells Media. As co-leaders, they renamed the company Aurora Media and hired Peter August as COO. At the launch party, Sam was kidnapped and thrown into the water down on the docks. The real Jason, who, as it turned out, had been held captive in a Russian clinic, dove in and saved her. Sam and the man she was married to, who insisted he was Jason, were thrown into chaos. By year’s end, it was proven that the man who had arrived in Port Charles as “Jake Doe” was actually Jason’s surprise twin, Drew Cain, who had been programmed with Jason’s memories. As much as she loved Drew, Sam was drawn to Jason, as well, and they shared a kiss on New Year’s Eve.
JPI
Twin Pique: Sam’s life was turned upside down when she learned she had unwittingly married Jason’s twin, Drew.
2018
Sam resolved to stay with Drew; she and Jason finalized their divorce and she married Drew. But she was unable to shake her feelings for Jason, and ultimately, she and Drew called it quits. Sam, Jason and Spinelli worked to uncover the identity of Cesar Faison’s son, Henrik, and Sam was stunned to realize that Henrik was none other than Peter August, Aurora’s COO. Sam supported Drew when he learned that his surprise teenage son, Oscar, had terminal cancer. Sam and Jason rekindled their romance, agreeing to take things slowly. Kristina got involved with Dawn of Day, which turned out to be a cult. Sam, who had gone back into the P.I. business with Curtis Ashford as her partner, took on the task of exposing its dangerous leader, Shiloh.
ABC
Almost Paradise: Sam and Drew’s marriage didn’t go the distance.
2019
Sam and Jason became lovers again after she saved him from nearly drowning when they, along with Drew and Carly, rescued Josslyn and Oscar, who got trapped in the catacombs. Increasingly concerned about Shiloh’s sway over Kristina, Sam decided that she and Jason should stage a breakup so she could get closer to Shiloh herself. Sam enacted a high-risk scheme to allow herself to be indoctrinated into Dawn of Day’s inner circle and videotape Shiloh having sex with her after she had been drugged. Jason interrupted the initiation before Sam was assaulted. Drew was presumed dead in a plane crash. Shiloh remained a threat to Sam and her loved ones and planned to kill her. Ultimately, Sam killed Shiloh in self-defense, but Peter framed her, making it look like murder. She was sentenced to a two-year stint in prison, but was paroled at year’s end.
Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
Broken Trust: Sam put herself in harm’s way to expose Shiloh (Coby Ryan McLaughlin).
2020
Sam’s parole officer imposed restrictions that put a crimp in Sam and Jason’s reunion. They stole moments together when possible. Sam worked to get the goods on Peter August, hoping to prove that he’d set her up. Concerned that Cyrus Renault would target Sam as part of his vendetta against Sonny and Jason, Jason told Sam they needed to put yet more distance between them. To get out from under her parole officer’s thumb, Sam gave Danny and Scout’s ELQ voting proxies to Valentin. Jason moved back into the penthouse. Sam took a firm stance with Alexis, who was struggling with her sobriety, and staged an intervention for her mom. The Floating Rib blew up shortly after Jason and Danny had exited it. Sam learned that Julian was involved in the bombing. With a heavy heart, Sam decided to end things with Jason, telling him she could no longer ignore the risks his lifestyle posed to her and her children.
XJJohnson/jpistudios.com
Stolen Kisses: Sam and Jason’s quality time was hard-won while she was on parole.
2021
Sam helped prove that Tracy Quartermaine had set Alexis up for drunk driving. Sam intervened to stop Dante from killing Peter. Sam and Dante began to forge a deeper connection. Sam helped Jason and Britt go on the run by providing them with fake passports. Later, Sam was stunned when she learned that Jason planned to marry Carly. With an assist from Liz, Sam drunkenly torched mementos of her past with Jason, resolving to let him go for good, then shared a first kiss with Dante. Sam was stunned to get a call that appeared to be from Drew! Turns out, he was being held captive. Sam was determined to find him, but as she and Dante embarked on a relationship, she assured him that she simply wanted to bring Scout’s dad home to her little girl. Dante joined Sam’s quest to Greece to find Drew. Ultimately, Jason played a pivotal role in freeing Drew, but was presumed dead in the process. Sam took the news hard even as she warmly reunited with Drew. She and Dante became lovers.
ABC/Valerie Durant
You Can Go Home Again: Sam was relieved that Scout had Drew (Cameron Mathison) back in her life.
2022
Sam and Dante declared their love. Drew, Dante and Sam all worked to take down the nefarious Victor Cassadine. Sam and Dante moved in together, blending their respective families. Sam was suspicious of Spinelli’s cagey behavior, and he confided in her that he was behind the matchmaking site several Port Charles residents were using. Sam’s instincts told her Dante’s old friend Cody was up to no good and investigated; Dante asked her to back off.
ABC/Frank Micelotta
Modern Love: Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) and Sam began building a life together.
2023
Sam and Dante embarked on an overseas trip to track down Esme Prince’s old nanny, Maggie Fitzgerald. Gladys framed Cody for the theft of a diamond bracelet, and Sam was on the case to prove it. She became more involved in dire situation when it put Sasha in danger, and helped Cody free Sasha from the clutches of a murderous psychiatrist.
ABC/Christine Bartolucci
Kiss Me, I’m Irish: Dante joined Sam on a case in Ireland.
2024
Drew and Sam clashed over Drew’s desire to send Scout to boarding school. Sam helped Finn beat malpractice charges. Sam and Dante’s romantic Valentine’s Day was marred by Danny sneaking out, getting drunk and being escorted home by a cop. Sam confided in Dante that she feared Danny was drawn to danger, like his father had been. Sam stayed by Dante’s side when he was shot, and she was flabbergasted when Sonny told her that the shooter was a back-from-the-dead-again Jason! Danny encountered Jason, who made his son promise not to tell his mom that he had seen him. Sam confronted Jason in the PCPD interrogation room when he was arrested and was livid when she found out that Jason had entreated Danny to lie to her. She reminded him that she had been the one raising and protecting their son and ordered him to stay away from Danny. Danny resented Sam’s stance. Sam was overjoyed when Dante finally regained consciousness. As a bonus, Dante exonerated Jason from the shooting charge. Sam supported Alexis’s quest to get her law license reinstated, and was there for her sisters when Kristina served as a surrogate for fertility-challenged Molly and her domestic partner, TJ (and later, when the baby didn’t survive and Kristina was arrested by John Cates). Sam and Dante had some processing to do when he reversed his decision to quit the police force, but she promised him she would find a way to live with her fear of losing him as a result of his dangerous profession. There was a thaw between Sam and Jason when he confessed to her that he was working undercover for the FBI, and had not willingly abandoned his family. Sam resolved to help Jason by uncovering what the FBI had on him. With Spinelli’s help, she learned that Jason’s alliance with the feds was born out of his efforts to protect Carly. Sam was enraged. Sam was a loving partner to Dante when Lulu, who had been comatose since 2020, took a turn for the worse. Sam was on the case when Alexis was accused of murdering Cates. With Lulu in need of a life-saving liver transplant, Sam got tested as a match and learned that she was a compatible donor. She bravely risked her health to save Lulu, and shared tender moments with family and friends before her surgery. The surgery was a success, and Dante proposed to her in her hospital bed. Sam accepted happily. Then, while visiting with her mother, something suddenly went terribly awry. Doctors, including her half brother Lucas, worked valiantly to save her, but could not.
ABC
Last Words: Sam was celebrating her successful surgery and her engagement to Dante with Alexis when she suddenly went into medical crisis.
