For a character who breezed into town with a duffel bag and a wary smile, Ronnie managed to shake loose an entire Quartermaine earthquake on General Hospital. Monica’s real will was finally unearthed, Tracy reclaimed the mansion, and the family cleared out after Tracy sent Ronnie packing. And just like that, the woman who never asked for anything except to say goodbye to her long-lost sister is heading back to North Carolina. But before she slipped out of Port Charles, Erika Slezak took a breath and reflected on the run — and on what she discovered about herself while playing someone so wildly different from Viki Lord.
Key Takeaways
- Ronnie Bard’s short stay in Port Charles triggered a full Quartermaine shake-up.
- Erika Slezak says fans immediately embraced Ronnie, a character with no family ties and no safety net, which left her “delighted” and genuinely moved.
- Playing someone as grounded and self-made as Ronnie challenged Slezak in ways that felt fresh after decades as Viki Lord.
- Jane Elliot was the biggest draw for Slezak, who loved matching energy with an actress she’s admired for years.
- Slezak cherished scenes with Maurice Benard, Genie Francis, and Michael E. Knight, saying the cast’s warmth and skill made the run unforgettable.
- Returning to fast-paced daytime scripts woke up muscles she hadn’t used in over a decade — and she enthused she would return if asked.
Finding a New Rhythm
Slezak spoke with Soap Opera Digest after returning home to Connecticut, still carrying the afterglow of three packed weeks on the GH set. What surprised her most was how quickly fans embraced a character with no built-in legacy and no safety net. As she put it, “I think it was lovely… People have been so charming and so lovely and so nice — and apparently they really enjoyed it, which I’m delighted about, really.”
Part of the thrill, she admitted, was stepping into someone who had to build her life from scraps. Ronnie wasn’t graced with the advantages that hovered around her former One Life to Live character, Viki; she was a woman who learned to stand on her own because no one else did it for her. Slezak said that challenge lit her up — the chance to play someone “as simple as Ronnie,” a woman who worked, learned, and carved out her path without fanfare.
And then there was the cast. Slezak lit up recounting her scenes with Jane Elliot, the first hook that drew her to GH in the first place. Elliot’s precision, her ability to twist a line into something lived-in, left Slezak grinning like a kid on her first day of school.
A Whirlwind of Familiar Faces
Beyond Tracy, Slezak found herself bumping up against nearly every legacy name on the map. Anna’s office, the Metro Court, the Quartermaine living room — she walked through all of it. Working with Maurice Benard (Sonny), she said, felt unexpectedly gentle. Ronnie didn’t know Sonny’s past, didn’t fear him, and Slezak loved seeing the shift that created. Genie Francis brought back memories of backstage meetings from years earlier, and Michael E. Knight reminded her why daytime veterans are so good at slipping into villainy without ever showing the seams.
Her final days — the real will reveal, the emotional unwinding — confirmed something she’d worried she might have lost: muscle memory. Within a few scripts, her brain woke up, and she could feel the old gears turning again.
Would she come back? Slezak didn’t pretend to hesitate. “Yes, I would,” she said. And then, with the warmth of someone who meant it: “It was delightful, it was terrific, it was a pleasure.” And maybe that’s the best way to leave Port Charles — with the door wide open and the lights still on. (Find out how Slezak praised her fans.)
