Soap opera star Anthony Geary has died
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Geary, who played Luke Spencer on General Hospital, was 78
"It was a shock for me and our families and our friends," Geary's husband, Claudio Gama, said in a statement to TV Insider
Anthony Geary, who played Luke Spencer onGeneral Hospital, has died. He was 78.
The actor died on Sunday, Dec. 14 following complications from an operation three days prior,TV Insiderreported. "It was a shock for me and our families and our friends," Geary's husband, Claudio Gama, told the outlet in a statement. "For more than 30 years, Tony has been my friend, my companion, my husband."
He was best known for playing Luke Spencer onGeneral Hospital, a role he originated on the soap opera in 1978. Luke was ultimately paired with Genie Francis's Laura, and together they becamedaytime's biggest supercouple. Their 1981 wedding was watched by 30 million people, the most-watched episode in soap opera history. Geary left the series in 2015.
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PEOPLE has reached representatives for Geary for comment.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE on Monday, Dec. 15,General Hospitalexecutive producer Frank Valentini said the "entireGeneral Hospitalfamily is heartbroken" over the news. "Tony was a brilliant actor and set the bar that we continue to strive for," Valentini said. "His legacy, and that of Luke Spencer's, will live on through the generations ofGHcast members who have followed in his footsteps. We send our sincerest sympathies to his husband, Claudio, family, and friends. May he rest in peace."
In a separate statement, ABC Entertainment noted that his performance as Luke Spencer "helped defineGeneral Hospitaland daytime television."
"Anthony captivated audiences for decades and earned a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards. The 1981 Luke and Laura wedding was a landmark moment that drew tens of millions of viewers and became part of television history. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his loved ones and colleagues."
Geary was born in Coalville, Utah, in 1947. His birth name was Tony; he changed it to Anthony in 1978. "I had a happy childhood, and my family was always close," he told PEOPLE in 1980. "But early on they realized I wasn't of this earth, that I wouldn't follow my father's lead. . . . In school I was always an artistic loner."
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He got a theater scholarship for the University of Utah, and during his sophomore year, he was cast in the touring company of the playThe Subject Was Roses, which took him to Los Angeles. He stayed and looked for work as an actor. "I was cocky and confident," he told PEOPLE.
Geary's early career consisted mostly of guest roles on TV shows. He appeared on an early episode ofAll in the Familyas a gay man who challenges Archie Bunker's homophobia. Other shows on which he made guest appearances during the '70s includedThe Streets of San Francisco,Room 222,Marcus Welby, M.D.,The Partridge Family,Barnaby Jones,Starsky & Hutchand soap operaThe Young and the Restless.
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In 1978 Geary was hired to joinGeneral Hospitalin what was meant to be a 13-week stint. The series was close to cancellation, but executive producer Gloria Monty was taking big swings to turn it around, and Luke became a central part of that. One of his costars wasDemi Moore, who played Jackie Templeton. Luke was the sister of Bobbie Spencer, played bythe late Jacklyn Zeman.
"In the beginning Luke Spencer was a complete bastard," Geary told PEOPLE in 1980. "He was a cheap little punk who managed a disco and was a doper runner for the Mafia. He was a real killer." But over time, his character became "sympathetic" and "witty," thanks in large part to his romance with Francis's Laura.
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But that romance — which was beloved by millions of fans — had an ignominious start.Luke raped Laura, only for them to fall in love.
"I've had to justify it for so many years," Francis said in PEOPLE and on ABC's 2020 documentaryThe Story of Soapsof the storyline. "And I have to say, it feels good to sit here and say I won't justify it. It's awful. They shouldn't have done it."
"We came under a lot of fire from feminist groups and rightfully so from victim groups," Geary toldABC Newsin 2015 of the show's attempt to recast the rape as a "seduction." In later years, the rape was written back into their storyline as their children tried to cope with their father's actions. "If you look at the way it started, it was sort of fated to end badly," Geary said of Luke and Laura's romance. The fictional couple split in 2001, and although they appeared together in a few more storylines, both characters moved on from the relationship.
Nonetheless, Luke and Laura's 1981 wedding remainsone of the most iconic momentsin the history ofGeneral Hospitaland of soap operas in general. Oscar winnerElizabeth Taylor, who was a massive fan of the series, asked to cameo in the episode and appeared as the villainous Helena Cassadine.
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"People still see daytime television as the bastard of the industry, but the fact that Elizabeth Taylor chose to come here because she's a fan must mean we're doing something right,"Geary told PEOPLEin 1981. "It validatedGeneral Hospitalfor me."
He was open about how much work it took to put the show together five days a week. "In the last three years, I have given my life to this show — physically, emotionally, spiritually," he explained. "The work is harder than on prime-time TV. Genie and I have carried as much as 60 pages of dialogue a day, four or five days a week. No nighttime show, no film makes those demands."
Mathew Imaging/FilmMagic
Geary's status as the show's leading man was derided by some critics who commented negatively on his looks. "I don't consider myself Cary Grant, but I'm doing such good work that America buys me as sexy,"he told PEOPLEin 1982.
Geary was a 16-time nominee for the Daytime Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. He won a record eight times.
Still, he felt stifled by perceptions that he could only play Luke. He left the show in 1984 to focus on theater as well as roles in films likeDisorderliesin 1987, Weird Al Yankovic'sUHFin 1989 andScorchersin 1991. But he ultimately returned to the series in 1993. After his split from Laura, storylines for the character centered on his relationships with his children Lucky and Lulu Spencer and Ethan Lovett and his romance with Jane Elliot's Tracy Quartermaine.
Allen Berezovsky/WireImage
Geary decided to retire in 2015 and move to Amsterdam. "I'm excited to raise the curtain on act 3, to reinvent myself in my new home to pursue whatever opportunity there may be. It's an exciting prospect to me," he toldEntertainment Weeklyin 2015. During his later years on the show, he had begun living part-time in Amsterdam, and he relocated there full-time once his tenure ended. Otherwise, he was extremely private about his personal life.
After his retirement, Geary appeared on the series one more time when Elliot's Tracy left the show in 2017 (though she returned for guest stints beginning in 2019). In 2022,the show killed Luke off-camera.
Todd Wawrychuk /American Broadcasting Companies via Getty
Reflecting on hisGeneral Hospitallegacy, he toldEntertainment Weeklyin 2015 that it was "once very difficult" for him to deal with the fact that he was best known for his role as Luke.
"It's not my favorite time of my life, and I don't think it represents me as a person or an actor," he said. "It's kind of like whenever you are introduced, they haul out a high-school graduation picture. It can be irritating."
Still, he was thankful for the opportunity to be such an integral part of daytime — and television — history.
"It's been a really exciting ride," he said. "In the end, it's been well worth it."
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