Fans of the ABC soap “General Hospital” were dealt a shock when they tuned in to learn that Tracy (Jane Elliot) was leaving Port Charles. Tracy had to go to Bangkok to deal with a legal situation her youngest son, Dillon (Robert Palmer Watkins), had gotten into while filming a movie. The sudden exit has brought Tracy and Elliot’s future on the hit soap into question.
Is Jane Elliot Leaving ‘General Hospital’ as Tracy Quartermaine?
There is good and bad news for fans. The good news is that Tracy will be back in Port Charles as Elliot has no plans to exit “General Hospital” permanently.
However, Tracy will be off the canvas for a while so that Elliot can take her annual break from the show. Elliot, like Genie Francis (Laura) and Finola Hughes (Anna), has it built into her contracts that she gets a short break each year.
It’s unclear how long Tracy and Elliot will be off the canvas. “General Hospital” films about four to six weeks in advance, which means Elliot has been on vacation for a while. Neither Elliot nor ABC have addressed the most recent break.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are on the horizon, and they wouldn’t be the same without Tracy. “General Hospital” fans know the Quartermaine family Thanksgivings are epic. It’s unlikely Tracy will be back then, considering she just left, but perhaps she will return to Port Charles in time for Christmas or, at the very least, New Year’s.
What Has Jane Elliot Said About Retiring from ‘General Hospital’?
Elliot has spent nearly 50 years on the ABC playing Tracy off and on. The actress has left and come back a few times, but in 2017, at age 70, she officially announced her retirement, and Tracy was reunited with her beloved Luke (Anthony Geary).
In 2021, Elliot returned to “General Hospital” after she realized that retirement wasn’t her thing.
“I’m a failed retiree,” she told Woman’s World, before adding, “It wasn’t what I thought it would be,” she admits. “I was like, ‘But wait, I really like that job! And whether I need the money or not, I want to keep doing it,’” she recounts. “I luckily had a wonderful boss who kept a place at the table for me and didn’t replace me. Didn’t hire someone else to play the part.”
The soap legend has had an extraordinary career that began over 60 years ago. Elliot feels grateful for the length of her career and for having spent the majority of it in the soap world. She also appeared on “Days of Our Lives” as Anjelica Deveraux, “All My Children” as Cynthia Chandler Preston Courtlandt, and Guiding Light as Carrie Todd.
Elliot told Woman’s World how wonderful it is to still be a working actor at her age, that she still loves it, and that she gets work at a place that feels like home.
“It is such a privilege and honor to get to do what I do and keep doing it, that what I do is still wanted and still appreciated, and that they still keep giving me good work to do. I consider myself a really, really lucky woman,” she gushed.
Is Tracy Leaving ‘General Hospital’?