'General Hospital' pays tribute to late Jackie Zeman who was on show for 4 decades

ByGeorge Pennacchio OTRC logo
Wednesday, January 10, 2024
'General Hospital' cast, crew honor Jackie Zeman
"General Hospital" this week is paying tribute to Jackie Zeman, who died last spring after 45 years of playing Bobbie Spencer.

LOS ANGELES -- Daytime television viewers are preparing to say goodbye to a favorite actress. Jackie Zeman died last spring after 45 years of playing Bobbie Spencer on "General Hospital."

This week, we'll see how her fellow cast members say goodbye to the longtime star.

"The funeral day is amazing and heartbreaking, as it should," said Laura Wright, who plays Carly Spencer.

Starting Wednesday, "General Hospital" will share archival footage from Zeman's four-plus decades on the show as the beloved nurse, sister, mother, and grandmother Bobbie Spencer. We'll see her early years on the show as well as her final appearance at the 2023 Nurses' Ball.

Wright, who plays Bobbie's daughter told me emotions were running high - in a good way - when the cast got together to shoot the character's memorial.

"It's amazing to see it unfold, to see the evolution, it really is a wow," said Wright.

"From the second we stepped on set, everyone showed up. You didn't really have to dig deep. Everyone was there. We wanted to do right by Jackie, while we honored Bobbie. And then here was a big rainbow outside the studio that day, just out of nowhere. It just so was Jackie."

The first of the special two-part "General Hospital" tribute to Jackie Zeman begins Wednesday, Jan. 10 on ABC, and the next day on Hulu.