How many roles did Anthony Geary play on General Hospital? Everything to know about his characters

ABC Network and Hulu’s General Hospital is an American daytime soap opera series that first premiered on April 1, 1963, and was created by Doris Hursely and Frank Hursely.

The show focuses on the fictional town of Port Charles in New York, and has been critically acclaimed for its compelling storylines. General Hospital has won numerous Daytime Emmy Awards and revolves around the members of the Quartermaine, Spencer, Cassadine, and Corinthos families.

The show revolves around the storyline, themes and plot arcs of familial rivalries, dangerous mob rivalries, romantic relationships, and business transactions.

Veteran actor Anthony Geary joined the cast, crew and production of General Hospital in 1978, and ended up portraying a total of three roles on the show.

Anthony Geary is well-known for having played the legendary role of Luke Spencer for several years. He also ended up winning 8 Daytime Emmy Awards and critical acclaim for his acting, and had been associated with General Hospital for 40 years.

In addition to portraying Luke's character, he also played the role of Bill Eckert, who was Luke’s lookalike cousin, as well as the role of Tim Spencer, Luke's abusive and distant father.

He was last seen on the show in 2017, after which he retired. On December 14, 2025, Anthony Geary, aged 78, suffered from post surgery complications and passed away.

Details explored on the three roles that Veteran actor Anthony Geary played on ABC Network's General Hospital

On ABC Network and Hulu's daytime soap opera General Hospital, Veteran actor Anthony Geary had been associated for almost 40 years and throughout his tenure on the show, he ended up playing the roles of 3 characters.

He ended up joining the cast, crew, and production of General Hospital in 1978 when he began portraying the role of Luke Spencer, for which he gained widespread fame and critical acclaim.

He played one half of the legendary couple of Luke and Laura Spencer on the show, alongside actress Genie Francis. Several storylines on the show revolved around the romantic relationship of Luke and Laura; however, some were filled with controversy as well, after an episode that showed Luke assaulting Laura at a disco night party.

In 1981, both Luke and Laura got married in an affluent outdoor wedding ceremony and that episode of General Hospital quickly became the most watched episode of any soap opera. In 1984, their characters became absent from the show after the plot showed both of them choosing to build a life for each other away from Port Charles.

In 1991, Anthony Geary returned to General Hospital after a brief break of 7 years and began to play the role of Bill Eckert, who was the lookalike cousin of Luke Spencer. His character had a sark side but did whatever he could to help others.

In 1993, Geary played the role of both Bill and Luke after Luke came back to Port Charles.

In addition to playing both these roles, in 2015, Anthony also played the role of Tim Spencer, who was Luke's abusive father, for a few brief episodes. The storyline showed flashbacks of Anthony Geary playing Tim's character and also some light was shed on how Luke had ended up killing Tim when he was abusing his wife, Luke's mother. 

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