Posted in: ABC, Current News, TV | Tagged: Anthony Geary, General Hospital

Anthony Geary, General Hospital's Luke Spencer, Passes Away, Age 78

Actor Anthony Geary, best known for his award-winning role as Luke Spencer on the ABC soap opera General Hospital, has passed away at age 78.

Actor Anthony Geary, best known to millions as Luke Spencer – one half of the iconic soap opera couple "Luke and Laura," alongside Genie Francis' Laura Webber – on ABC's General Hospital, has passed away in the Netherlands at the age of 78. Geary's husband, Caludio Gama, confirmed that the actor had died following an operation only days earlier. "It was a shock for me and our families and our friends. For more than 30 years, Tony has been my friend, my companion, my husband," Gama shared in a statement.

Born Tony Dean Geary on May 29, 1947, in Coalville, Utah, the son of a contractor father and a homemaker mother would have an acting career that would span over a half-century. Making his on-screen television debut on ABC's 1970 series, Room 222 ("Choose One & They Lived Happily/Unhappily Ever After"), Geary's television career would include appearances in All in the Family, The Mod Squad, Mannix, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Streets of San Francisco, The Partridge Family, Barnaby Jones, and more.

But it would be the story of Geary's Luke and Francis's Laura that would captivate the nation for years. Despite its controversial beginnings, Luke and Laura's rollercoaster romance would culminate in a wedding in 1981 that still holds the record for being the highest-rated soap opera episode of all time. Originating the role in 1978, Geary would go on to win eight Daytime Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Though he would depart the series in 1984, Geary would return to the role on several occasions and even appeared in the soap opera's spinoffs (General Hospital: Night Shift, Port Charles).

"If I ever do leave GH — not something I want to see happen anytime soon — I want Luke to die. I don't want him coming home for Christmas episodes or the birth of his great-grandchildren. I would prefer to have him go out in a blaze of glory, and also that it be the climax of a wonderful story that involves the entire community, rather than some inconsequential B plot," Geary shared back in 2013 when asked what he would want the future to hold for his popular character.

Geary continued, "Remember how 'The Bold and the Beautiful' got rid of our wonderful Susan Flannery? That was a terrific story, really sensational, and you couldn't do it with a better actress. Last time I saw Susan, I told her how much I admired how that was handled, and how she had set the template for those of us who have been on the soaps forever. We ought to go out in a way that gives the audience real closure, rather than just fading off or being sent away on a cruise. It is a very honorable thing to do with a character that is loved and has been part of the fabric of the daytime medium for a long time. But I know the network has a real resistance to that sort of thing."

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