Type keyword(s) to search

News

Who was Anthony Geary? All about General Hospital star who died at 78

Anthony Geary, the iconic General Hospital star who portrayed Luke Spencer for decades, has died at 78, leaving behind a groundbreaking legacy that reshaped daytime television and soap opera history.
posted by Ashray BS
Monday 12/15/2025 at 3:21PM EST
  • American actor Anthony Geary, wearing a dark grey flecked blazer, with a white handkerchief in the left breast pocket, over a white shirt and a floral pattern tie, United States, September 1985. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)
    American actor Anthony Geary, wearing a dark grey flecked blazer, with a white handkerchief in the left breast pocket, over a white shirt and a floral pattern tie, United States, September 1985. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)

    Anthony Geary, who was best known for his iconic role as Luke Spencer on General Hospital, has passed away at the age of 78. His passing is the closure of one of the most influential runs in soap opera history, with several iconic hits.

    Geary died on Sunday, December 14, in the Netherlands, where he took up residence after his retirement. He died of complications from a recent operation, reports said.

    His husband of more than 30 years, Claudio Gama, announced the news in a heartfelt statement that called Geary his “friend, companion and husband” and described the loss as a heartbreak for their family and friends.

    Anthony Geary was born on May 29, 1947 in Coalville, Utah and raised in a Mormon household. He was an early adopter of the arts and eventually won a theater scholarship to attend the University of Utah. In college, he was cast in a touring production of The Subject Was Roses that brought him to Los Angeles and started him on the road to an acting career.

    Geary started his television career in 1970 when he made his television debut playing a guest role on Room 222.

    He had guest roles on several popular shows in the early 1970s, including All in the Family, The Partridge Family, Starsky & Hutch and Marcus Welby, M.D. He also did a short stint on The Young and the Restless before landing the role that would come to define him.

    Anthony Geary's role in General Hospital and his other achievements

    In 1978, Anthony Geary was cast in the role of Luke Spencer on General Hospital under a short-term contract and played the character for thirteen weeks, but due to the popularity of his character, he later received a regular contract.

    Luke and Laura were daytime`s original supercouple, whose on-screen wedding aired on November 17, 1981. This episode was supposedly viewed in 30 million homes, and is popularly believed to be the highest-rated soap opera episode in American television history.

    But as popular as the pairing was, the origins of that storyline, which featured a sexual assault repurposed later into a romance, brought criticism over time.

    Geary and Francis would later admit that the storyline was problematic, and the series ultimately came to re-examine it more satisfactorily in subsequent storylines. Geary’s work won him an all-time record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for outstanding lead actor in a drama series, out of 17 nominations.

    He had been the star since debuting in 1978. While he occasionally took time off from General Hospital to try his hand at theater and film, such as UHF and Scorchers, he kept coming back to Luke Spencer. He retired from the series in 2015, making a brief return in 2017.

    Post-retirement, Anthony Geary moved to Amsterdam permanently in an effort to settle down in a less visible lifestyle. Though he was private about many aspects of his personal life, his influence on daytime television was indelible.

    TOPICS: Anthony Geary, All in the Family, General Hospital, The Partridge Family, Human Interest, Luke Spencer


More Anthony Geary on Primetimer: