Edward Quartermaine

Edward Quartermaine
John Ingle as Edward Quartermaine
General Hospital character
Portrayed by	David Lewis (1978–93) Les Tremayne (1987–88) John Ingle (1993–2004, 2006–12) Jed Allan (2004–05)
Duration	1978–89 1991–2012
First appearance	1978
Last appearance	September 11, 2012
Created by	Douglas Marland
Introduced by	Gloria Monty
Book appearances	Robin's Diary The Secret Life of Damian Spinelli
Spin-off appearances	Port Charles
Classification	Former, regular
Profile
Other names	J.L. Holt
Occupation	Founder/chairman/principal shareholder of ELQ Enterprises Board member at GH
Residence	Quartermaine Mansion (66 Harborview Road) Port Charles, New York
Family Family Quartermaine Parents George Quartermaine Ida Zemlock Spouse Lila Quartermaine (1945–2004) Heather Webber (2004) Sons Bradley Ward Alan Quartermaine Jimmy Lee Holt Daughters Tracy Quartermaine Grandsons Justus Ward Ned Ashton A. J. Quartermaine Jason Morgan Dillon Quartermaine Granddaughters Skye Chandler (adoptive) Faith Ward Emily Quartermaine (adoptive) Grandparents Edgar Quartermaine Martha Quartermaine Nieces Alexandria Quartermaine First cousins Herbert Quartermaine Quentin Quartermaine Celia Quartermaine

Edward Quartermaine is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. The character was created in 1978, originally played by David Lewis.^[1] John Ingle stepped into the role in 1993, and besides a brief hiatus from 2004 until 2006, he portrayed Edward up until his death on September 16, 2012.

Casting

David Lewis originated the role of Edward in 1978.^[1][2] In 1987 and 1988, Les Tremayne stepped in temporarily due to Lewis' health.^[3] Starting on May 3, 1989, Lewis was forced to step down due to his illness. The character was killed off in a plane crash, but Lewis' voice was still heard whenever Lila spoke to her late husband's ghost. After recovering, Lewis returned as Edward on November 26, 1991. His health declined again and he left as the role was recast with John Ingle^[1] on August 17, 1993. Ingle received an award for Outstanding Scene Stealer at the Soap Opera Awards in 1999.^[4] Ingle was fired in December 2003, and the show planned to again kill off the character, but a last minute storyline change kept the character and Ingle on in a recurring capacity.^[1] However, Ingle opted for a contract role of Mickey Horton on Days of Our Lives, and Jed Allan was brought on to play Edward^[1] starting on March 1, 2004. In 2006, Allan was let go when Ingle was released from his Days of Our Lives contract and opted to return to the role. Allan last appeared on December 30, 2005. Ingle reprised the role on April 18, 2006. Following a decline in health and the death of his wife, rumors began circulating that Ingle's Edward was being written out.

In September 2012, soap opera gossip site, Daytime Confidential reported that Ingle could possibly be making his last appearance. Former General Hospital scribe, Michele Val Jean also commented on Ingle's potential departure through Twitter.^[5] Ingle died on September 16, 2012. He filmed his final scenes on August 24, and the episode aired on September 11, 2012.^[6][7]

Character background

Edward was born on September 2, 1918 (according to the date in the family crypt). Edward and his wife Lila are considered to be two of the wealthiest individuals in the fictional town of Port Charles, New York. Edward is the Founder & Chairman, former CEO, and principal shareholder of E.L.Q. Industries. Many of his storylines involve health concerns, such as multiple heart attacks, a bout of amnesia in 1989, a stroke and faked coma, and a time in 2004 when his daughter Tracy had him committed to the Shadybrook Sanitarium, though he later escaped with the assistance of Luke Spencer. Portrayer John Ingle describes, "Edward likes to think that he's taught everyone around him how to be ruthless."^[4]

Storyline

1970s

Edward first showed up in Port Charles in 1978, and after making occasional visits to Port Charles with his wife Lila (during which time his company ELQ transferred its main office there from Long Island), he moved into the house that his son Alan had bought for his wife, Monica. Edward quickly established himself as one of the most influential residents of Port Charles, becoming a member of the hospital board and a good friend to core characters Steve Hardy and Lee Baldwin. Edward and Lila had taken an instant shine to Monica, but warned her about their daughter, Tracy Quartermaine, whom they were certain was threatened by Monica's determination to have a child as the estate of Edward's late father had a huge trust fund set aside for the first male Quartermaine heir. The estate stipulated that the first male child with the last name of Quartermaine would inherit the estate which eliminated Tracy's son, Ned, because his last name was Ashton, not Quartermaine. It is mentioned at this time that Edward once had an affair with a woman named Beatrice, and sired an illegitimate son named Eric. Still living on Long Island, Edward and Lila attended the engagement party and election night celebration for Tracy's fiancee, Senator Mitch Williams, whom Edward did not trust but begrudgingly accepted because Tracy loved him. It was that night when Mitch was shot at by Roy Di Lucca who had jumped in for the hit when Luke Spencer proved to be unavailable. Mitch survived, but Roy was killed, and Tracy and Mitch were married in spite of the fact that she caught him in bed with waitress Susan Moore the night before. Edward was present at Tracy's apartment on the night of the snowstorm during which Monica gave birth to a son, Alan Quartermain Jr.

1980s

Moving to Port Charles permanently in 1980, Edward decided to test daughter Tracy's loyalty after she tried to prove that Monica and Alan's son was fathered by another man, by pretending to have a heart attack. He created a will that would disinherit Tracy, but before he could sign it, he collapsed on the floor. He pleaded with Tracy to give him his heart medicine; she refused unless he promised not to sign the will. Tracy had failed the test, and Edward banished her. In spite of the fact that he refused to acknowledge her as his daughter, Edward would taunt her about the potential arrival of his niece, Alexandria Quartermaine, whom Tracy despised. Realizing that he was better off having son-in-law Mitch as an ally, Edward paid him to take Tracy to Albany permanently, although it was later revealed that Tracy had left Mitch and gone off to Europe with her son, Ned. When Monica walked out on Alan, Edward met with her to attempt a reconciliation. She agreed to a paternity test for Alan Jr. as long as Edward would wait until after she had married Rick. Edward and Lila were shocked when Alan announced during a hospital fundraiser that he had discovered that a rare blood condition existed that proved he was Alan Jr.'s father, not Rick, which ended Monica and Rick's affair permanently. Edward and Lila would forgive Monica for the deceit after Alan forced her to move back in with him, and hoped that they would realize how much they were meant to be together.

Edward teamed up with Alexandria upon her arrival to make money with her friends, Victor and Tony Cassadine. The plan involved finding the Ice Princess. But the plan quickly got out of hand as the Cassadines got a hold of the statue and took off to an island where their other brother Mikkos planned to use the secret formula hidden in the Ice Princess to take over the world. Luke Spencer thwarted the plan in time and Alexandria wound up dead in the end. Edward was upset when Alexandria's will left her ELQ shares to Lila instead of him. He tried to get Lila to sign documents he knew she wouldn't approve of, but she beat him at his own game, one time by signing the document "Mrs. Abraham Lincoln" which he didn't realize until it was too late. Lila was the only person who could put Edward in his place and make him feel guilty for his ruthless business transactions. As the head of the hospital board, Edward was highly involved in Luke Spencer's next adventures, first an oil scam which threatened to bankrupt many wealthy Port Charles citizens (and some not so rich), and the following year, Luke's involvement with Russian spies who infiltrated the hospital. While Edward was present at Luke's wedding to Laura Webber, he didn't trust Luke, a feeling which continued years later after Luke and Laura returned to Port Charles after a decade away.

The Quartermain's biggest problem arrived in the form of Susan Moore and Crane Tolliver. Crane, Lila's first husband, had proof that Lila had never officially divorced him. This meant that Lila and Edward weren't legally married and Alan and Tracy were illegitimate. Susan, Alan's former fling and the mother of Jason, blackmailed the Quartermaines with Crane's information. When she was shot, the whole Quartermaine clan was a suspect. Edward was concerned that the presence of Celia Quartermaine, the granddaughter of his cousin, Herbert, might cause Edward to loose ELQ because of the scandal. The murder of Susan left all of the Quartermains as suspects. However, the real killer was Crane, which was proven by Jimmy Lee Holt, Edward's son by Beatrice LeSeur. Jimmy found the unsigned divorce papers, which were taken care of and Lila and Edward were married legally. The Quartermains were scandalized when Celia's fiancee, Dr. Grant Putnam, turned out to be one of the Russian spies infiltrating the hospital. In 1984, Beatrice appeared in Port Charles and threatened to expose the Quartermaines' cover-up. But she dropped dead at a charity gala, before she got the chance. Edward was suspected of poisoning her, but it turned out Beatrice had accidentally killed herself, by sipping Lila's heart medication. Edward discovered what it was like to be broke when Monica and her new flame Sean Donely found their way into ELQ's boardroom and took the company away from the Quartermaines. Monica then threw the Quartermaines out of the mansion and they were forced to live above Kelly's. But Lila rescued their family by starting a new business she called "Pickle-Lila." Her new relish earned the Quartermaines a new fortune and they were back in the lap of luxury. When Edward's cousin, Herbert, came to town for a visit with his son Quentin and daughter-in-law Betsy, Edward was one of the suspects in Herbert's murder, since he didn't want Herbert to know that his marriage to Lila was invalid for years. It turned out that Betsy murdered her father-in-law, and Quentin left town, agreeing not to fight for ELQ.

While the Quartermains remained important figures in Port Charles, things remained pretty calm for Edward at ELQ. Edward helped Alan fake his death during Monica's affair with Sean, but eventually helped reconcile the couple. He welcomed his grandson Ned to town in 1988, as well as Ned's father, Larry Ashton. In 1989, news of Tracy's return after a decade of banishment threatened Edward's health, and when she arrived, he was in bed, allegedly sick with a cold. Their reunion had Edward grabbing his heart medication from his dresser, leaving Tracy to remember her actions as a greedy young woman. Edward disappeared shortly after Tracy's return, and was presumed dead when he went on a fishing trip to the Bermuda Triangle. But first he rewrote his will, leaving everything to Tracy's son, Ned Ashton, much to the family's dismay.

1990s

Two years later, Anna Devane found Edward playing beach bum in the Bahamas and dragged him back to civilization. He teamed up with Ned and got ELQ away from Paul Hornsby. In 1993 Edward banished his daughter a second time, after Tracy ran down her daughter-in-law, Jenny Eckert. Edward set his grandsons against each other by loaning his grandson A.J. money to buy into the Port Charles Hotel, which was Ned's domain. In 1994, Edward was arrested and tried for the murder of Bradley Ward, whose body had been discovered on the Spencers' front lawn. Just as it seemed certain that Edward was going to be put in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Bradley's mother Mary Mae Ward took the stand. She revealed that Bradley was Edward's son from the affair that they had during the war. Edward was then acquitted. Though Edward never knew his son, Bradley, his grandson, Justus Ward, was in Port Charles. Justus and Edward formed a bond when Edward set up a foundation to help businesses on Charles Street. Justus and Edward got along pretty well for a while.

In 1996, Edward became so anxious to shut down the singing career of grandson Ned that he bought Ned's record company, L&B, right out from under the noses of Ned's wife, Lois, and her business partner, Brenda Barrett. But Lois got her company back with the help of Jasper "Jax" Jacks, and Jax got a spot on the ELQ board, which did not make Edward happy, especially when Jax teamed up with Tracy to take over ELQ. When this plan came to light Edward banished his daughter a third time. When Edward's estranged grandson Jason Morgan, fathered another Quartermaine great-grandchild, Michael Morgan, Edward became obsessed with bringing Michael home. He even tried to kidnap the child. This plan drove Justus from the family and into the mob with Jason. Growing frustrated, Edward promised A.J. the CEO position at ELQ if he could bring Michael home to the Quartermaines. If A.J. succeeded, Ned would be out of a job. A.J. couldn't believe his luck when Robin revealed to him that Jason wasn't Michael's father because A.J. was. Edward was thrilled as well, but he was forced to eat his words when A.J. was able to bring Michael into the Quartermaine fold by marrying Michael's mother, Carly. A.J. threatened to leave with his new family if Edward didn't fork over the CEO position. So A.J. was appointed as CEO, and Ned left, telling Edward that he would not come in and save the family again, especially when the whole thing blew up in his face.

In the summer of 1999, Edward tried to keep a long lost family secret from being found out by Luke Spencer and Felicia Scorpio (who was writing Lila's memoirs). He also decided to ruin the plan between Chloe, Lila's cousin who had recently come to town, and her newfound friends Jax, Ned, and Alexis to fulfill the requirement in her uncle's will to be married in order to keep her design company. Despite Edward and Reginald's efforts, Luke and Felicia discovered what they thought was the truth: Edward had killed Lila's fiancé, Elliot, and married her in his place. Edward initially denied it, and then told them they were right. But Lila refused to let her husband take the blame and revealed the truth: she had killed Elliot. When Elliot found out Edward had been romancing her while writing letters under Elliot's name, he tried to force himself on Lila, and she hit him in the head with a fireplace poker. He died and the crime was covered up by the family. Luke and Felicia agreed to keep the murder a secret.

So Edward went back to trying to ruin Ned and Chloe's sham of a marriage. He needed Ned back as CEO of ELQ, so he paired with Chloe's aunt who also wanted to ruin Chloe's marriage. Edward planned to destroy Ned's record company again and then Chloe's aunt would get her design company, which had recently partnered with Ned's company. But Edward couldn't seem to make his plan work and the foursome continually evaded his efforts. When Chloe was the victim of a hit and run, Edward dropped his vendetta against her marriage, but not his plans to get Ned back at ELQ. However, Ned had no intention of returning to ELQ and managed to thwart Edward's plans yet again.

Edward was floored to learn that the next addition to the Quartermaine clan was not actually a Quartermaine, but a Corinthos. Carly had gotten pregnant again and was pretending that the baby was A.J.'s. However, the baby was really the result of a one-night stand with Sonny. All of Edward's efforts to retain Carly and Michael at the Quartermaines failed and all hope was lost when Jason produced evidence that A.J. was responsible for burning down Jason and Sonny's warehouse earlier that year. Sonny used the evidence to blackmail A.J. out of his parental rights and into giving Carly a divorce. The Quartermaine family, especially Edward, was furious with A.J. for taking part in the fire and for losing Michael. Edward kicked A.J. out of ELQ and vowed to make A.J. pay for what he'd done.

2000s

With ELQ without a CEO (Ned would not come back), Edward made an odd move in courting corporate raider Jax. Edward hoped that Ned would swoop in to save the company like he had done previously when Jax tried to buy out ELQ. But Ned remained true to his promise of not returning. Edward had a stroke of luck when Jax forgot about ELQ to go after a drug company to obtain medication for Chloe from Helena Cassadine. Jax sold his shares of ELQ, which had come from A.J. and Tracy, to Edward. Edward then took over as CEO of ELQ.

Over the next several months, Emily was kidnapped, A.J. returned to the bottle, and Ned announced his engagement to Alexis. Emily's kidnapping proved to be the most intense problem. She returned safely, but she had fallen for her kidnapper, Zander Smith. Edward tried to keep them apart and even implored Alan and Monica to do their part. They finally relented when Emily was nearly killed in a shootout in front of the PCPD after Zander's release from jail. Emily was sent away to boarding school amid load protests from her. Lila sided with Emily and against Edward, as did the household staff. Zander found Emily and they returned to Port Charles, but Emily refused to live at the mansion. She went to live at Kelly's despite Edward's attempts at preventing her. Desperate to keep Emily and Zander apart, Edward faked his own mugging and blamed Zander. Zander was arrested and Edward made a deal with Emily: stop seeing Zander and Edward would get him released. But the truth about the mugging came out and Emily continued to see Zander. In 2001, Skye Chandler breezed into the mansion, announcing that she was the daughter of Alan and Rae Cummings. Alan was dumbfounded that the baby he thought had died was alive. Unbeknownst to Alan, Edward sold the baby and had the doctor tell Rae that the child had died. Edward welcomed Skye to the family, hoping to use her in his conflicts with Ned and A.J., not realizing Skye had payback on her mind. After various plots (including paying a lounge singer named Janine to lie that she and Edward were lovers), she managed to gain enough voting power to wrest control of ELQ from him. Edward, always suffering from a weak heart, suffered another heart attack. During his stay in the hospital, he grew close to his nurse, Melissa Bedford, who always listened to his problems when his family wouldn't. He cut his family out of his will and put her in. Alan began digging into her background and after repeated requests, Edward took Melissa out of the will. He had also been blackmailing Skye with the information that she had been faking her attacks from Sonny so that Jax would rescue her. He wanted ELQ back and demanded she give him the CEO spot or he'd spill her secret to Jax. But Skye turned the tables and came clean to Jax first, ruining Edward's efforts although he didn't know it. After making dramatic statements about being prepared to die, Melissa comforted him. Later, Melissa was discovered to be the Dr. Kevorkian of Port Charles, thus continuing Edward's pattern of befriending unbalanced women (Katherine Bell being the first).

When Jax sold controlling interest of ELQ to Lila, Edward hoped she'd make him CEO again. But Lila told him that he would be co-CEO with Skye. Edward had no choice but to accept Lila's decision. Edward and a stunned Quartermaine clan welcomed A.J.'s new bride Courtney into the family and Edward invited them to live at the mansion. He told A.J. that he had to keep Courtney happy in order for their plan to get Michael back to work. But Edward was less than pleased to hear Courtney state she was not ready for kids and that she hoped Carly, who had been in an accident and was presumed dead, was alive for Michael's sake. Carly did turn up alive, and Edward and A.J. went back to utilizing Courtney in their fight for custody of Michael and insuring that she remained devoted to A.J.. But A.J. actually fell in love with Courtney, and he refused to continue his plans to get custody of Michael. The newlyweds moved out and Edward froze A.J.'s accounts, virtually bankrupting A.J. and forcing him to find a real job. Edward also bribed Courtney's mother into not giving any money to the couple.

Edward then went to battle against Jax and used Skye as his pawn. He played on her vulnerabilities regarding Jax and got her to sign a contract with him stating that she would get him info on Jax's holdings in exchange for being named the sole Quartermaine heir. Although she felt somewhat guilty, Skye continued to get close to Jax and soon got engaged to him. But by that time Skye wanted out of her deal with Edward, who threatened to reveal her deal to Jax if she backed out. At her engagement party, Edward argued with Skye over the contract and had a stroke. He managed to taunt Skye one more time by saying he'd made copies of the contract before lapsing into a coma. Uncertain of Edward's chances of a recovery, Lila appointed Ned CEO of ELQ. Ned found a copy of the contract between Edward and Skye and confronted her. He demanded that she tell Jax the truth and she relented. Hurt, Jax broke up with Skye. In a drunken stupor, Skye was afraid that she'd pulled the plug on Edward's life support and went to Jax for help. Jax and Ned staged an argument in Edward's hospital room and tricked him into coming out of his "coma," which they knew was a fake. Edward then admitted that he had pulled his own plug to set Skye up.

Edward wanted control of ELQ back from Ned and he also wanted the newest Quartermaine heir, Ned and Alexis' unborn child, under the Quartermaine roof. But Ned was not going to give up either of them without a fight. Ned intended to use ELQ to go after Sonny Corinthos much to Edward's dismay. Ned also didn't want Edward meddling in his child's life. As Ned argued with Edward about the baby, Edward became suspicious of the child's actual paternity. After hearing about Sonny and Alexis' one night stand, Edward went to Sonny with the idea that he was the actual father of Alexis' child. He tried to strike a bargain with Sonny to get Michael back and arranged for a DNA test. But Ned had anticipated this move and managed to make the test results reveal Ned as the father. His latest attempt at getting Michael back thwarted, Edward returned to his efforts to get ELQ back from Ned.

After seeing Ned conspiring with Faith Rosco in his pursuit of Sonny, Edward tried to warn Ned off of using ELQ and of partnering with Faith. But Ned wouldn't listen so Edward set out to teach Ned a lesson in going against Edward's demands. He secretly partnered with Faith and they made a deal for her to use Ned to get rid of Sonny. But Faith soon proved to be a loose cannon concerning her desire to take out Sonny. After Ned turned her down, Faith convinced Edward to finance her next move against Sonny, which was to hire an assassin to take him out. When Edward realized what she'd done, he wanted little to do with her. When Alexis was put on trial for Alcazar's murder, baby Kristina went to live with Ned at the gatehouse. But this wasn't good enough for Edward, who wanted the baby under his roof and his custody. Edward partnered with Scott to trick Alexis into revealing in open court that she was faking her illness. Then Ned got full custody of Kristina, and Edward plotted with Alan and A.J. to lure Kristina's nanny away and then set fire to the gatehouse so A.J. could rescue her, but all the while Kristina would actually be perfectly safe in the mansion. The plan nearly backfired, first when Ned arrived unexpectedly and was nearly killed trying to rescue the baby, and then when Monica threatened to turn them all in to the authorities. But in the end Edward's plan worked and the Quartermaines were awarded custody of Kristina. But soon after, Kristina was kidnapped. Edward immediately fingered Alexis as the culprit, especially since she was the person to discover her missing. However, Edward didn't realize that Skye and A.J. had taken the baby because Edward hadn't delivered on his promise to give A.J. more power at ELQ. Alexis then took the baby from them and nearly fled the country with her. But Kristina was later returned home by Emily and Zander who had found Alexis and Kristina at Cameron's cabin after Cameron was arrested for helping Alexis. Alexis confessed to kidnapping Kristina to keep Emily and Zander out of jail. Then Cameron got Scott and Edward to back off Alexis by blackmailing them with the original arson report on the gatehouse fire and proof that Edward had been paying off Scott to help him. Cameron was also able to get Edward to allow Alexis to see Kristina and to let Ned have custodial power over Kristina.

Tracy blew back into town just long enough to reveal that Skye was not a Quartermaine and to leave her son Dillon to live with his grandparents. Edward booted Skye off the board at ELQ and was not happy to have Dillon left behind for him to take care of. Edward's world was further disrupted when Reginald, the butler, was injured. Edward hired an English butler named Dobson and told him to keep Kristina away from her deranged mother. But Edward didn't realize that Dobson was really Alexis in disguise. He was a bit flabbergasted when the truth finally came out. But his attentions had been turned to Dillon, who had been seeing Georgie Jones. Edward tried to forbid Dillon from seeing Georgie, but it didn't work. When Dillon got into trouble with the cops, Edward lectured him on soiling the family name with his antics. But when Dillon refused to apologize, Edward left him in jail overnight.

The family rallied around Emily as she fought for her life and underwent treatment for breast cancer and related complications. Certain she was going to die, she shared an impromptu bedside wedding with Zander. But she recovered and Edward welcomed Zander to the family. Edward then turned his attention back to Dillon, who had been continuing to see Georgie. Edward tried again to break them apart, but it didn't work. So Edward nearly put Dillon in military school in the hope of scaring him into obedience.

It wasn't long before Emily and Zander split up because she had fallen for Nikolas. When she announced her engagement to Nikolas to the family, Edward and the rest of the family were less than thrilled to also hear that the Cassadines were flat broke. But right around that time, A.J. secretly emptied the family's bank accounts and took off into the sunset, leaving the family broke. It seemed that Emily and Nikolas would be on equal footing financially.

Edward was suspicious when Nikolas showed up one day asking all sorts of questions about a Quartermaine ancestor and a ship owned by their relatives of long ago supposedly containing a lot of treasure. The ship had sunk in the Port Charles harbor. Edward was thrilled when Emily and Nikolas later revealed that they had found the treasure that had been on that boat. However, Edward was unwilling to share the fortune with the Cassadines, and made his opinion known to the happy couple. When he learned that Sam had skipped town with the treasure, Edward wasted no time in trying to get Jax to tell the family where Sam had gone. But Jax didn't know and didn't care. So now Edward must wait for the treasure or find another way to get his fortune back.

On the night of the auction for the treasure, the Port Charles Hotel burned down, trapping Edward, Alan, Monica, Tracy, Skye, Emily, Dillon, Justus, Jason, and many others inside. Lucky Spencer, who found out that Edward had not updated the old wiring system, was in the process of arresting Edward for criminal negligence when he suffered a near fatal heart attack.

Another all-time low came for Edward in July 2004 when Lila died in her sleep. After a heart wrenching goodbye, Edward faced life alone.

Heather Webber, who had recently returned to town, married Edward in the hopes that he would be the heir to Lila's fortune. In the end, Justus was the heir, and Heather tried to kill Edward. Luke and Skye caught on to her plan and with Edward's help set Heather up. She went crazy and Edward had the marriage annulled and her shipped off to Shadybrook.

Christmas 2004 was particularly tough for Edward as it was his first without Lila. Alan, Monica, Tracy, Justus, and Audrey Hardy comforted him during this difficult time.

Edward again grieved when A.J. was presumably killed by Courtney Matthews in 2005. A.J. ended up alive and well, but then presumably killed by Dr. Asher Thomas. Edward attended the Annual Hospital Christmas Party in 2005, and reminisced with Audrey about Lila and Steve Hardy.

In June 2006, Edward was deeply hurt and saddened when Jason informed him that Justus had been killed. Edward went as far as accusing Sonny Corinthos for the crime. Sonny, who had recently been diagnosed as bipolar, attacked Edward, sending him rushing out of the house gasping for air. In the end, it was Luke who was able to get Edward through the difficult time.

In February 2007, Edward was crushed when Alan died after suffering a fatal heart attack during the MetroCourt Hostage Crisis. While he believed that it was wrong for him to outlive his son, he found comfort knowing that Lila would be there to welcome Alan into heaven.

Edward was shocked after he found out that Jason had a one-night stand with Elizabeth Spencer during Jason's trial for the murder of Lorenzo Alcazar and wondered if his favorite grandchild was the father of Jacob Spencer. Edward, Monica, and Alice cornered Lulu and asked her who Jacob's father was. Edward said that if it was Jason the boy would get an excellent education and have a good life and bring his father back into the family. Lulu told them that Lucky was Jacob's father and Edward and Monica were crushed.

Edward was torn that Dillon and Ned both left Port Charles in 2007, but was delighted when they returned for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

2007 continued to be a sad one for the Quartermaines' when Emily was killed by Diego Alcazar. Skye was the one to tell Edward about Emily, and before breaking down in her arms, he told her the story of how he had always wanted to be like Joseph F. Kennedy Sr., but as Kennedy's life progressed his life fell apart. Edward feels his life has become like this and he has turned into a kind of poison. With the deaths of Lila, A.J., Justus, Alan, and Emily, and even goes as far as telling Skye to leave town before she dies too.

In early 2008, Skye leaves town giving Edward a hug saying she's not very good with goodbyes. With that, the house that once used to be filled with life, love, and a huge family has now been reduced to Edward, Monica, Tracy, and Alice, as well as Luke Spencer and his daughter Lulu Spencer, per his marriage to Tracy. Great-grandson Michael Corinthos would later join the fold, as would Emily lookalike Rebecca Shaw.

Edward tried to make Monica realize that Jason was not to blame for Emily's death and get her to accept him for who he was and apologize to him since he is the only child she had left but she refused.

Edward has lately, like many other veterans, fallen into the background. He has developed a minor crush on Claudia Zacchara and disapproves of his step-granddaughter Lulu Spencer dating Johnny Zacchara. When he finds out that Luke Spencer and his house staff play cards on Tuesday nights, he is upset because he was not invited. He softened in his old age.

Edward was crushed to hear about Michael's shooting and Tracy decided to invent some problems at ELQ to get him to take his mind off of his grief.

Edward had been put on jury duty for Johnny Zacchara's trial for the murder of Logan Hayes. He openly expresses his disdain for being there.

When Carly decided that her son Michael should live at the Quartermaine Mansion, Edward was happy, but he also tried to get his estranged grandson Jason Morgan to move back home too, because Michael's transition will be easier with him there. Jason declined, of course.

In September 2009, Edward and his girlfriend Deidre Evans visited the upstairs bar at Metro Court. There, he socialized with the mayor's wife, Andrea Floyd. When Andrea realized that Edward could place her at the hotel the night that her husband's mistress was murdered, Andrea poisoned Edward's drink, resulting in him having a heart attack while driving to the carnival and endangering many lives there. In an ironic twist, one of Edward's victims was Andrea herself.

2010s

In January 2010, Edward invites his great granddaughter Maya Ward to Port Charles to live at the mansion. In the same conversation Monica mentions that she thinks it's Edward's way to make up for failing Justus. it can be presumed that Justus's sister, Faith, is Maya's mother.

Edward was also on hand in January 2010 to attend the christening of Josslyn Jacks, the sister of his great-grandson, Michael.

Despite Edward being angry at loyal housekeeper Alice Gunderson for leaving work in March 2010 to serve jury duty, he was thrilled when Maya arrived in Port Charles. On the same day, Skye returned and moved back into the Quartermaine Mansion. Edward tried using his pull at the hospital to get Maya special treatment as an intern, but she assured him that she didn't need his help.

In April 2010, Edward noticed an attraction between Luke and Holly's son Ethan Lovett and Maya when she defended him for stealing from the Quartermaines'.

Lulu tried getting Edward and Tracy to pull strings to have Michael's murder charges dropped in May 2010, but after trying numerous times, they admitted that with Corinthos as his last name, Michael would be given the full extent of the law.

Edward was beyond thrilled when his great-granddaughter Brook Lynn Ashton returned to Port Charles penniless. While Edward offered her a full education at PCU, a room at the Quartermaine Mansion, and unlimited funding, she declined, only to turn up at the mansion in September looking for a place to stay. Before she even moved into her room, Edward, Tracy, and Monica caught her transferring money from Edward's bank account to hers. While it infuriated Monica and Tracy, it made Edward proud.

Brenda Barrett returned to Port Charles, thrilling Edward. At the same time, Edward and Monica were sick of experiencing Tracy's wrath after Luke left her, and pushed the couple back together so Tracy would be nicer to them. Edward also offered Maya and Ethan a million dollars each if they could stay married for a year. They reluctantly took him up on his offer.

Edward spent Thanksgiving 2010 at the mansion flanked by Tracy, Luke, Maya, Ethan, Lucky, Siobhan, Lulu, Dante, Michael, and Alice.

Edward was thrilled at Luke and Tracy's Christmas wedding when Michael and Jason came to visit him.

While Edward seemed quite content over Brook Lynn's relationship with Nikolas Cassadine, he despised Brenda's engagement to Sonny. He even went as far as refusing to walk her down the aisle. While the wedding went through much to his dismay, Edward seemingly enjoyed the reception as he spent time with his family and danced with most of the women in attendance. Edward was devastated later in the evening when Brenda's limo exploded. He arrived at the scene in his pajamas and had to be calmed down by Michael and his girlfriend Abby Haver. While the woman in the limo turned out to be an alive Sam McCall, the event still took quite a toll on Edward. Luke brought him home to Tracy where he remained quite shaken and even a bit forgetful.

After over a three-month absence, Edward returned in June 2011 when Ethan paid him a visit. Even though Ethan and Maya had divorced earlier in the month, Ethan was curious to see if he could still get some money out of Edward. Edward politely refused. Edward later paid a visit to Jason inquiring to know why he and Monica were not invited to Michael's graduation the previous week. Jason apologized, but didn't have an answer to give, so Edward pitched the idea of having Michael intern at ELQ. Jason told him that Michael already had a job working for Sonny, but it was up to Michael to make that decision. Not giving up, Edward offers Abby a well paying job at ELQ, under the provision that she gets Michael to work there alongside her. Edward is delighted when Michael accepts his offer, much to Sonny and Carly's dismay.

Skye returns to Port Charles, and ELQ, in July 2011. Edward welcomes her with open arms, but is sure she has ulterior motives. The night that Skye returns, she and Edward attend a charity event hosted by Carly at the MetroCourt. Sometime during the evening, Edward has chest pains. After nearly collapsing in the lobby, Skye brings him up to her room. After saying that he's had too much excitement that night, Sonny bursts in with a gun pointed at Skye and Edward demanding to know where Jax is. When Olivia tells Edward that Jason's been in a car accident, he and Skye head to the hospital. While Edward is sitting with Jason, Sam comes in and tells him that they're engaged, delighting Edward.

Skye's return is short-lived and Edward must help her leave town before Anthony can get her. He says goodbye to her and sends her to the ELQ jet.

A few days before Jason and Sam's wedding, Edward visits Jason and gives him Lila's wedding ring to give to Sam. Edward and Monica attend Jason and Sam's wedding, only to learn that they eloped the night before. At the reception, Edward's fortune cookie reads, "Love is an "L" word," implying Lila.

Edward is delighted when Jason, Sam, and Michael attend Thanksgiving dinner. Things do not go as planned when Tracy insults Jason to the point where he flips a table over and storms out.

On Christmas Eve, Edward tells Monica and Tracy that the year Lila died, she was planning on getting him monogrammed cufflinks. Tracy sends Alice to the jewelry store to pick up a pair, but the store closes before Alice can get there. When Edward opens a present left for him under the tree, he finds a pair of monogrammed cufflinks.

In February 2012, Sonny is shot in the parking lot of the Metro Court. Anthony and Tracy tell Edward, who is delighted at the attempted killing of his enemy.

Later in the month, Robin Scorpio-Drake was killed in a lab explosion at the hospital. Tracy is tasked with telling Edward, who does not take the news well. The day of Robin's funeral comes and an argument breaks out between Monica and Tracy. All the stress of the day, plus not taking his pill, causes Edward to collapse. He and Tracy honor Robin by staying home and lighting candles by her picture, along with the pictures of Lila, A.J., Justus, Alan, and Emily.

When Edward's ex-wife, Heather, was released from the sanitarium and returned to Port Charles, he quickly contacted his lawyer, Alexis, and had a restraining order filed against Heather.

In August 2012, Jerry Jacks, who had recently returned to Port Charles, contaminates the town's water supply with the intent of extracting an $88 million ransom in order to provide himself with a cure to his own radiation sickness. However, he inoculates Alexis Davis and Josslyn Jacks against the pathogen, and provides mobster Joe Scully, Jr. with a dose of the antiserum, in exchange for Scully's assistance with his nefarious plans. Scully, however, opts to use the antiserum on Tracy, who he has a burgeoning attraction to. Tracy, clueless as to why she is seemingly immune to the effects of the pathogen, decides to undergo tests in order to see if her blood could be used to create a second antiserum. Dr. Patrick Drake is able to synthesize a single dose of the antiserum, which Tracy wants to give to Edward, stealing it from Monica's office. A frail Edward, wise to Tracy's plans, refuses to take the antiserum, and instead requests that she give it to Emma Drake. A tearful Patrick gets Emma to drink it, as Edward looks on and smiles.

In November 2012, Monica informs Tracy that Edward's health is in decline, and that he will likely not be with them much longer. A devastated Tracy refuses to allow a recently returned A.J. to see Edward, but permits Michael and Sam to say their goodbyes. Sam is able to introduce Edward to her son, Daniel Morgan, and reveals to him that Jason is his father, and Daniel grabs Edward's finger when he stretches his hand out to Daniel. Tracy eventually comes around, and allows A.J. to say his goodbyes to Edward, but he dies on November 20 before he has the opportunity to do so. A devastated A.J., who had wanted desperately to apologize for his past failings, sobs uncontrollably on Edward's chest. Monica discloses that Edward's final word was the name of his beloved Lila. He returns in spirit singing along with his family while reunited with his beloved Lila, and they walk into the afterlife to be together forever.

Following his funeral, Diane Miller reads Edward's will. Edward leaves each of his living grandchildren (Skye, A.J., Jason, Ned, and Dillon) 12% of ELQ. He leaves each of his living great-grandchildren (Brook Lynn, Maya, Michael, Daniel, Lila Rae) 6% of ELQ. He leaves 5% to Monica and 5% to Alice, the maid. He donates all of his cash and material belongings to Habitat for Humanity and PBS to be divided equally. Tracy is upset that her father would leave her out of the will. Diane reveals Edward left one more thing, a wooden box. Tracy opens the box, and inside is jar of Pickle-Lila Relish.

References

External links

• Edward Quartermaine @ ABC.com
• Edward Quartermaine @ soapcentral.com