Geary became a household name during his tenure on “General Hospital,” nabbing a record eight Daytime Emmys and reaching soap superstardom.

Anthony Geary, General Hospital’s Luke Spencer and 8-time Daytime Emmy winner, dies at 78

Geary became a household name during his tenure on "General Hospital," nabbing a record eight Daytime Emmys and reaching soap superstardom.

By Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre

Mekishana Pierre is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2025. Her work has previously appeared on *Entertainment Tonight* and Popsugar.

EW's editorial guidelines

December 15, 2025 1:17 p.m. ET

Anthony Geary as Luke Spencer on 'General Hospital' in 1981. Credit:

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Anthony Geary, the actor who portrayed Luke across five decades of *General Hospital* and earned eight Daytime Emmy Awards during his tenure, has died. He was 78.

Geary's husband, Claudio Gama, confirmed the news to TV Insider, sharing that the soap star died Sunday in the Netherlands following an operation three days earlier. "It was a shock for me and our families and our friends," Gama told the outlet. "For more than 30 years, Tony has been my friend, my companion, my husband."

Following his retirement from *General Hospital* in 2015, Geary lived with Gama — whom he met in February 1995 and married in February 2019 — exclusively in Amsterdam, where the couple shared their adventures together on Gama's Instagram page, including glimpses of "little Max," their beloved cat.

Anthony Geary at the 2015 Daytime Emmy Awards.

Frederick M. Brown/Getty

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

Born Tony Dean Geary in Coalville, Utah, the actor began his career in Los Angeles with the help of actor Jack Albertson and had several guest roles before originating the role of antihero Lucas Lorenzo Spencer on *General Hospital*, for what was supposed to be a 13-week run. Geary made his debut on Nov. 20, 1978, as the hitman with ties to the mob who reunites with his younger sister, Bobbie (the late Jacklyn Zeman).

Surprisingly, audiences responded well to the complexity of the character, who brought in younger viewers. The writers scrapped plans to kill off Luke and instead capitalized on the popularity of the pairing between Luke and Laura Webber (Genie Francis).

The coupling quickly reached soap supercouple stardom, despite their highly controversial beginning: Luke's rape of Laura. Their 1981 wedding drew 30 million viewers, making it the highest-rated episode in soap opera history and one of 20th century television's most memorable moments.**

Genie Francis and Anthony Geary for Luke and Laura's wedding on 'General Hospital'.

Bob D'Amico/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

For years, Laura's rape was treated as a sort of seduction — until 1998 when Luke and Laura's son Lucky (Jonathan Jackson) finds out the dark history behind his parents' romance. Lucky confronts his parents, which leads everyone, Luke and the audience included, to recognize what he did as sexual assault.

Geary had a love-hate relationship with the character of Luke throughout his tenure on the award-winning soap opera; the actor initially exited the show in 1984 to pursue other opportunities. But the character's popularity was "such that it was difficult to do much else," he previously admitted to ** in 2008.

'General Hospital' star Anthony Geary mourns longtime friend and castmate Tristan Rogers

Denise Alexander, 'General Hospital' and 'Days of Our Lives' star, dies at 85

Geary resumed the role of Luke Spencer in 1993 and stayed on until 2015 — though he did take a few hiatuses from the show during that time. The role earned Geary eight Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama, a record that still remains in that category.

"It was once very difficult for me to realize that more than likely my obituary in the paper will read, 'Luke of Luke and Laura fame died today.' It was very upsetting when I came to that realization," Geary told EW during the filming of his final episode, although he would return for one final appearance in 2017.

"It's been a really exciting ride," Geary said at the time of his and Luke's final bow. "In the end, it's been well worth it."

Geary's final onscreen episode of *General Hospital* aired July 27, 2015, with the character existing almost exclusively off screen until his official death in Jan. 3, 2022. In the shocking episode, Luke's widow Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Elliott) reveals to his former and eternal flame Laura that Luke's been killed in a cable car "accident" in Austria.

Anthony Geary and Genie Francis on 'General Hospital'.

Michael Yada/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

In addition to *General Hospital*, Geary appeared in numerous film and television projects, including *Intimate Agony*, *Do You Know the Muffin Man?*, *The Disorderlies*, *You Can’t Hurry Love*, *Crack House*, Weird Al Yankovic's *UHF*, *Scorchers*, *Night of the Warrior*, and *Carpool Guy*.

During an interview with the TV Academy Foundation in 2007, Geary was asked to describe his "proudest moment" as an actor. The actor recalled being at an awards event in Pasadena, Calif., in the '80s when he spotted a tiny woman in a large hat smoking a cigarette and realized it was Bette Davis.**** "I had been a fan since I was a child, and I thought, 'I cannot let this opportunity pass,'" he remembered. "So I summoned all my courage and walked over to her and said, 'Miss Davis, I just have to tell you how important you have been to me as an actor, as a person, as a role model, as an idol,' all of that. I put out my hand and said, 'My name is Tony Geary.' And she shook it and said, 'I know your work.' I didn't need any more than that."

- Celebrities & Creators

- Celebrity Obituary

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Celebrity”