From Newsgroup: alt.obituaries
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/15/arts/television/anthony-geary-dead.html
Anthony Geary, Luke on rCyGeneral Hospital,rCO Dies at 78
Portraying Luke Spencer, he was one of the best-known soap opera stars in American television. His onscreen romance with Laura Webber, played by
Genie Francis, changed the landscape of daytime television.
By Sopan Deb
Dec. 15, 2025
Updated 5:58 p.m. ET
Anthony Geary, the actor best known for portraying Luke Spencer on the
popular soap opera rCLGeneral Hospital,rCY died in Amsterdam on Sunday. He was 78.
His death, in a hospital days after surgery, was confirmed by his sister
Deann Geary. Mr. Geary portrayed the mafia-connected Luke on and off for decades beginning in the late-1970s, a nuanced role that required
balancing the characterrCOs darker tendencies and softer undertones. Playing
a self-important, street-savvy criminal, Mr. Geary would later tell The Toronto Star, was rCLtaxing.rCY
rCLHe was a grab bag of emotions and directions, a minor icon of anti-
heroism in the rCO80s, and in many ways represented a lot of what was bad
with the decade,rCY Mr. Geary said. rCLHe was violent, he was greedy, he was arrogant and a chauvinist. At the same time he was romantic and
sensitive.rCY
The characterrCOs whirlwind rCo and controversial rCo romance in the 1980s with
Laura Webber (Genie Francis), became a cultural touch point. Luke and LaurarCOs deeply complicated history included Luke raping Laura in an
episode that aired on Oct. 5, 1979, though she would fall in love with him later rCo a story line that both captivated audiences and infuriated some
who said the show glorified sexual assault. (In recent years, Ms. Francis
has criticized the story line.)
The show soon turned Mr. Geary and Ms. Francis into stars. Soap operas
were not typically structured as star vehicles, but in 1981, the duo
landed on the cover of Newsweek with the headline, rCLTVrCOs Hottest Show.rCY Their wedding episode became the most watched episode of a daytime drama
in history, and Mr. Geary won his first Daytime Emmy in 1982, the first of eight in his career.
The onscreen relationship with Laura consumed Mr. GearyrCOs life offscreen, too. He and Ms. Francis became celebrities, widely recognizable and
deluged by fan mail. But he also recalled in a 1989 interview with The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that some fans would shout, rCLLuke, rape me,rCY at him during personal appearances.
rCLIf I couldnrCOt avoid the subject entirely, I just said I appreciated that we touched them so deeply,rCY Mr. Geary said.
Mr. Geary left the show in 1984 but returned in the early 1990s, though
not as Luke, but rather a look-alike cousin of LukerCOs, Bill Eckert. He eventually returned as Luke himself in 1993, reuniting with Laura. (They
also appeared in character in an episode of the sitcom rCLRoseannerCY in 1994.)
Tony Dean Geary was born in Coalville, Utah, on May 29, 1947, to Russell
Dean Geary, a contractor, and Dana Anderson. Tony was fascinated with
movies and wanting to be an actor. Starting in grade school, he kept a notebook in which he logged every movie that he saw, including who
directed and starred in them, according to a 2007 interview with the Television Academy Foundation.
Mr. Geary studied theater at the University of Utah, which he attended on
a scholarship. He was discovered by the comedian Jack Albertson, who
helped Mr. Geary get cast in a touring production of the Broadway play
rCLThe Subject Was Roses.rCY
rCLI was raised a Mormon, which gave me a solid family base, but I rejected the philosophy and prejudice I found repressive,rCY Mr. Geary said an interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune in 1984. rCLI lived very much in
my imagination to escape that repression. This led to acting.rCY
In addition to his sister Deann, he is also survived by his husband,
Claudio Gama, and another sister, Jana Geary Steele.
Mr. Geary appeared in dozens of regional theater productions and was an established stage actor before he was cast in rCLGeneral Hospital.rCY After he began his career in television, he changed his first name to Anthony
because he felt the name had rCLgravitasrCY that Tony didnrCOt, he told the Television Academy Foundation in 2007. One of Mr. GearyrCOs first television roles was in a first season episode of rCLAll in the Family.rCY
In the 1970s, Mr. Geary appeared in several television shows, including rCLMannix,rCY rCLShaftrCY and rCLThe Young and the Restless,rCY before landing on
rCLGeneral Hospital.rCY
Mr. Geary was, at points, chilly about taking part in daytime soap operas,
a genre that is seen as lacking prestige.
rCLI almost did rCySalvadorrCO with Oliver Stone, until he hired me and found out I was Luke Spencer, and pulled back his offer,rCY Mr. Geary recalled in the Television Academy Foundation interview. rCLIt was hurtful at the time, but I understand that if yourCOre doing a big film, for the five seconds or less that someone goes, rCyIsnrCOt that that guy on rCLGeneral HospitalrCY?rCO rCo
theyrCOre out of the movie.rCY
At other points, Mr. Geary embraced the role, especially as it left him as
one of the most recognizable soap opera stars in television history. He
left the rCLGeneral HospitalrCY for good in 2015, except for a one-off appearance in 2017.
rCLI donrCOt mind doing daytime,rCY Mr. Geary told The Union-Tribune in 1984. rCLThe money is less and the hours are longer, but IrCOm an actor, and acting beats wrecking cars at night.rCY
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