If you weren’t alive back in the early 1980s, then chances are you’re not familiar with iconic soap star Anthony Geary. The actor starred on General Hospital as Luke Spencer for nearly 2,000 episodes. Between 1982 and 2015, eight Daytime Emmy Awards made him the most awarded actor in Daytime Emmy history for a single character.
Sadly, Anthony passed on December 14 in Amsterdam, according to a family member. He was 78.
Anthony Geary played Luke Spencer on General Hospital across almost 2,000 episodes
Though primarily known for General Hospital, Anthony also made appearances on other popular shows. According to TMZ, he guest starred on The Partridge Family, The Mod Squad and All in the Family. He also appeared on competing soap The Young and the Restless.
In 2023, People celebrated the “epic romance” of Luke and Laura (costar Genie Francis). Meeting in 1979 as “co-workers” at the fictional Campus Disco in Port Charles, Luke was a bartender and Laura was a server. Though in the storyline, their relationship began with a non-consensual sexual encounter, they eventually evolved into a “supercouple.”
When Luke and Laura married on November 17, 1981, the episode drew an unheard of 30 million viewers. To this day, it remains the highest rated soap opera episode in American daytime television history. Even Taylor Swift “role model” Elizabeth Taylor, a huge GH fan, was a guest at their fictional wedding.
Born in Utah and raised in the Mormon faith, Anthony earned a theater scholarship to the University of Utah. He started his acting career on the stage, before moving to Hollywood and eventually signing with General Hospital.
Following retirement, he and husband Claudio Gama led a quiet life in Amsterdam. Though his cause of death is unclear, TMZ reported that he died of complications from a planned surgery.
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