May 9, 2024, marks one year since the soap world lost one of its greatest stars. Jacklyn Zeman passed away at the age of 70 after a short battle with cancer, leaving a gaping hole in the General Hospital canvas that can still be felt today.
Zeman's passing came just weeks after her character, Bobbie Spencer, was honored at the GH Nurses Ball for the lifetime of service she gave to the hospital. In January, Bobbie's death was acknowledged on-screen when Carly learned her mother had died peacefully in her sleep while taking care of her late brother's affairs in Amsterdam.
Bobbie's memorial turned into a multi-episode tearjerker full of flashbacks and a big surprise. The spirit of the character's late daughter B.J. returned all grown up, played by Brighton Hertford, the actress who played B.J. as a child in the 1980s and 1990s. It was a beautiful and touching way to say goodbye to a character and actress who had touched so many lives through the years.
"As intense and difficult as it was, it was done in four days, but I think everyone felt it, took it home the whole week," Laura Wright told Soap Opera Digest of Bobbie's memorial shows. "We knew it was going to be heavy. And we were talking about this yesterday, the funeral for Bobbie...when you walked on set, it was about Jackie. Her photo was up, the cast that was there and any other time that you would be doing anything with a cast like that, Jackie would've been there. So she was in spirit."
The day some of those scenes were shot in November of 2023, a rainbow appeared over the ABC Prospect Studios where GH is taped. The show even acknowledged the rainbow on its official Instagram account.
Zeman began her soap career as Lana McClain on One Life to Live. She was a mainstay on GH since 1979 when she joined the soap as young student nurse Bobbie Spencer. Through the years, Bobbie endured countless heartbreaking marriages and affairs, cared for her patients with ease, raised children, had a contentious relationship with the daughter a teenaged Bobbie gave up for adoption, and became a beloved head nurse at GH.
Kelly's, the diner she ran for years that once belonged to her Aunt Ruby, is now called Bobbie's, so the character and Zeman can be remembered by anyone in Port Charles who needs a cup of coffee and a slice of pie.
Do you still miss Bobbie? What are your favorite memories of Jacklyn Zeman as Bobbie? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
