General Hospital Legend Anthony Geary Dead at 78
General Hospital Legend Anthony Geary Dead at 78
We always hoped that one day Anthony Geary would surprise us by returning to General Hospital for a cameo and reveal that of course Luke Spencer wasn’t really dead, he was just working a long con. But alas, that is one wish that can no longer come true. On December 14, the actor passed away at age 78 of complications from a scheduled surgery several days prior, TV Insider reports.
From the Start, a Star On the Rise
A native of Coalville, Utah, Geary was making the guest-star rounds in primetime when he landed his first daytime roles, short-term gigs on Bright Promise and The Young and the Restless. But what inarguably turned out to be his big break came in 1978 when his former Bright Promise colleague Gloria Monty convinced him to sign on for a 13-week story arc on General Hospital… that lasted nearly 40 years.
He Was a Leader Among Leading Men
From the start, Geary took up residence on the frontburner, playing one major storyline (Luke’s controversial but popular relationship with his rape victim, Laura Collins) after another (Luke’s well-received romance with Holly Sutton) to another (the polarizing “Fluke” plot). Along the way, he racked up a record eight Emmy wins for Outstanding Lead Actor.
The Secret of His Success
Aside from Geary’s talent, which blazed so brilliantly across our screens, it nearly shorted our TVs, he attributed his success to his focus on his character. “I never think about the audience,” he once admitted. “I really don’t. I never have. I always think about how I can fulfill the material.” It’s not that Geary wasn’t grateful for his fans, he just knew that the best way to serve them was to serve Luke.
A Well-Earned Break
In 2015, Geary retired from General Hospital, where he’d also spent two years playing Luke’s look-alike cousin, Bill Eckert. He returned only once thereafter, in 2017 to facilitate the retirement of leading lady Jane Elliot, who wound up un-retiring to reprise her role of Tracy Quartermaine. In real life, Geary and Claudio Gama,, whom he married in 2019, relocated permanently to the Netherlands.
