Anthony Geary death: General Hospital star who played Luke Spencer for 40 years dies aged 78

Geary won a record eight Daytime Emmys

Anthony Geary accepting the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series award for 'General Hospital' in April 2015 (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NATAS)

Anthony Geary, who starred as Luke Spencer for four decades on General Hospital, has died. He was 78.

The Utah-born actor earned significant acclaim for his soap opera role, winning a record eight Daytime Emmys, and was part of the most-watched soap opera episode in American television history.

He died in the Netherlands on Sunday, December 14, of complications following an operation.

His husband, Claudio Gama, said in a statement to TV Insider: “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.”

His longtime co-star Genie Francis wrote on X: “He spoiled me for leading men for the rest of my life. I am crushed, I will miss him terribly, but I was so lucky to be his partner. Somehow, somewhere, we are connected to each other because I felt him leave last night. Good night sweet prince, good night.“

Geary was born on May 29, 1947, in Coalville, Utah. His father was a contractor and his mother stayed home to raise him in the Mormon faith.

Anthony Geary with his longtime 'General Hospital' screen partner Genie Francis at the Daytime Emmys in April 2015 (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for NATAS)

He made his television debut at the age of 23 in a 1970 episode of the James L Brooks comedy-drama series Room 222. In subsequent years, he made guest appearances in several hit shows, including All In The Family and The Partridge Family.

Geary landed his first significant soap role when he was cast in the college-set series Bright Promise in 1971. He went on to appear in The Young and the Restless in 1973.

In 1978, Geary landed what would become the defining role of his career. He was originally cast to play Luke Spencer over a 13-week storyline which saw his hit man character rape and then fall in love with Laura Webber, played by Francis.

The couple’s story proved so popular and compelling that Geary was retained by the show, and their characters eventually became engaged. When Luke and Laura married onscreen in General Hospital on November 17, 1981, approximately 30 million viewers tuned in to make it the highest-rated soap opera episode in the history of American daytime television.

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Geary won his first Daytime Emmy in 1982 before leaving the show for almost a decade, during which time he acted in several theatre productions and films, including the surreal “Weird Al” Yankovic comedy UHF in 1989.

Geary returned to General Hospital in 1991, initially playing Luke’s cousin Bill Eckert before resuming the character of Luke in 1993 when Francis also returned to the show.

In 2015, he won his record-setting eighth Daytime Emmy (having been nominated 17 times) before announcing his retirement. He made a brief return in 2017, meaning that in total he appeared in 1,997 episodes of General Hospital.

He moved to Amsterdam after retiring, where he lived until his death.