Anthony Geary, whose layered portrayal of Luke Spencer reshaped expectations for daytime drama and made General Hospital a cultural touchstone, has died at 78. ABC confirmed his death on Monday, noting Geary passed away Sunday in Amsterdam from complications after surgery three days prior. His loss ends one of soap opera’s most influential careers, spanning over four decades and guiding the genre in new directions. ABC said it was “deeply saddened” to lose a performer “whose portrayal of Luke Spencer helped define General Hospital and daytime television.”
Frank Valentini, the show’s longtime executive producer, called the news devastating for cast and crew. “Tony was a brilliant actor and set the bar we strive for,” Valentini said, adding Geary’s work remains central to how the series measures performance and character. His collaboration with Genie Francis, who played Laura Webber, became the show’s backbone during the late 1970s and early 1980s, introducing narrative complexity new to daytime audiences.
After joining the cast in 1978, Geary earned eight Daytime Emmy Awards—more than any leading actor. He evolved Luke from a morally ambiguous enforcer into one of television’s most recognizable figures. The Luke-and-Laura romance, fueled by on-screen chemistry and national interest, pushed General Hospital onto magazine covers and into the mainstream. Their 1981 wedding, a two-part event with a cameo by Elizabeth Taylor, shattered ratings records, drawing an estimated 30 million viewers. The spectacle became a defining pop culture moment, referenced for decades in retrospectives from CNN and Variety.
Francis reflected on Geary’s artistry, describing him as “a powerhouse… shoulder to shoulder with the greats,” and saying, “no star burned brighter than Tony Geary.” She praised his commitment to truth in performance, even when it challenged daytime storytelling norms. Her tribute echoed fans and colleagues who saw Geary as a transformative figure whose instincts elevated every storyline.
Geary’s take on Luke stood out for its confrontation with darkness. Originally written as a hitman recruited to disrupt Laura’s marriage, Luke became one of daytime TV’s first and most complex antiheroes. The darkest moment—Luke’s assault of Laura—led writers to craft a controversial redemption arc that shifted his trajectory. Geary often acknowledged the tension in portraying a character audiences both loved and questioned. “He’s not a white hat or a black hat, he’s all shades of grey,” he told ABC’s Nightline in 2015, saying he valued the “anti-side of the hero.”
Born in Coalville, Utah, to a Mormon family, Geary discovered acting at the University of Utah. He joined a touring company of The Subject Was Roses, which brought him to Los Angeles and then to television. Before General Hospital, he appeared on prime-time series like Room 222, The Mod Squad, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Streets of San Francisco and Barnaby Jones. His versatility across stage and screen built his reputation as a performer who easily shifted between genres.
Although he stepped away from General Hospital in 2015, returning briefly in 2017, Geary remained part of the show’s legacy. In Amsterdam, where he lived with his husband, Claudio Gama, he continued creative pursuits and kept in touch with longtime colleagues. His absence will be felt by fans who grew up with Luke and Laura—a pairing that forever changed daytime television.
Geary leaves a body of work defined by risk, reinvention, and emotional complexity—a legacy that will continue to shape the genre he helped redefine.
