Anthony Geary, Iconic as 'General Hospital's' Luke, Dies at 78

Anthony Geary, who with Genie Francis made up "General Hospital's" iconic lovebirds Luke and Laura, has died at 78.

TV Insider reported the actor's December 14 death, which stemmed from complications following an operation but was characterized as being out of the blue.

Geary is survived by his husband Claudio Gama.

“The entire 'General Hospital' family is heartbroken over the news of Tony Geary’s passing,” the show's executive producer Frank Valentini said in a statement. “Tony was a brilliant actor and set the bar that we continue to strive for. His legacy, and that of Luke Spencer’s, will live on through the generations of 'G.H.' castmembers who have followed in his footsteps.”

Many have followed, but they are big shoes to fill — Geary, considered one of the most popular soap actors of all time, won the Daytime Emmy for his performance as Luke an astonishing eight times, in 1982, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, and 2015, out of 17 nominations.

Genie Francis tweeted, "He spoiled me for leading men for the rest of my life. I am crushed, I will miss him terribly, but I was so lucky to be his partner. Somehow, somewhere, we are connected to each other because I felt him leave last night. Good night sweet prince, good night."

His co-star John Stamos, Blackie on the show, posted on Instagram, "I am deeply saddened by the passing of my friend and former costar, Tony Geary. Coming on the heels of the tragic deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, whom I admired immensely — this feels like a heartbreaking moment for so many of us who grew up watching and learning from these giants of our craft."

"I was only 19 years old on my first job, General Hospital, and Tony could not have been kinder or more welcoming. At that age, everything feels big. He made it feel safe. I was mesmerized by his acting. I would stay after my scenes were finished just to watch him work — not because I had to, but because I wanted to learn. Watching Tony was like watching someone rewrite the rules in real time. He changed the face of daytime television. And in very real ways, he changed my life."

Born May 29, 1947, in Coalville, Utah, he made his TV debut on an episode of "Room 222" in 1970, but it was his second gig that was something of a break — a flashy appearance on a Season 1 episode of "All in the Family."

In the episode, he played Mike "Meathead" Stivic's (Rob Reiner) friend Roger, whose mannerisms led a disapproving Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) to assume, wrongly, that he was gay. It turned out one of Archie's macho friends was the one who was gay.

In a tragic twist of fate, Geary and Reiner — who shared scenes on the episode — both died at 78... and both died on December 14, 2025.

Geary went on to appear as a regular on the short-lived soap "Bright Promise (1971-1972) and on such shows as "Dan August" (1971), "The Partridge Family" (1972), "The Streets of San Francisco" (1974-1976), and "Starsky and Hutch" (1978).

During the early part of his career, he also acted in the films "Johnny Got His Gun" (1971) and "Blood Sabbath" (1972).

Most famously, he was Luke Spencer on "General Hospital" noncontinuously from 1978-2017 — approximately 2,000 episodes. It all started from what was supposed to be a 13-week run.

At the peak of his fame, his Luke and Genie Francis' Laura were the most popular fictional couple on the planet, crossing over into the mainstream from soapdom.

The pair appeared on countless magazine covers, and their theme song by Christopher Cross — "Think of Laura" — was a Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 smash in 1984.

Shockingly, the couple's storied romance began with antihero Luke raping Laura in Port Charles' empty Campus Disco. Laura shouted, "No, Luke, no!" in the intense-for-daytime scene, which ended with the 17-year-old actress curled in a ball and crying as Luke ponders what he's done. (Geary had previously played a rapist on the soap "The Young and the Restless" in 1973.)

Creepily, in retrospect, Luke sent Laura flowers after the rape. Much less creepily, Geary sent flowers to Francis after they filmed their emotionally draining scene.

On November 16 and 17, 1981, the fictional couple married in what became the biggest-ever ratings event for daytime TV, with 30 million viewers. This after they had bonded together to save the world from the Ice Princess... a weather machine.

The episode even had arguably the biggest movie star of all time, Elizabeth Taylor, in attendance, playing villain Helena Cassadine.

Geary tried avoiding soaps, acting in "Disorderlies" (1987), "UHF" (1989), and "Scorchers" (1991), but was lured back and made peace with his fame as Luke Spencer.

He made his last appearance as Luke in 2017, and the character was revealed to have been killed in 2022.

His husband told TV Insider, “For more than 30 years, Tony has been my friend, my companion, my husband," suggesting a love story as long-lasting as Luke and Laura's, and far less dramatic.