One-half of the “Luke and Laura” craze that dominated soap opera storylines in the 1980s has died.
Anthony Geary was 78 years old.
His husband, Claudio Gama, confirmed his death to TV Insider.
“It was a shock for me and our families and our friends. For more than 30 years, Tony has been my friend, my companion, my husband," Gama said.
Geary died on Dec. 14 from complications from surgery three days after his operation, TV Insider reported.
The “General Hospital” actor grew up in Utah and moved to Los Angeles in the late 1960s to become an actor.
His first role was in “Room 222″ which led to bit parts in “All in the Family,” “Mod Squad” and “The Partridge Family,” Variety reported.
His big break was when he was cast in 1978 as what Variety called “the street-savvy hustler Luke Spencer” on “General Hospital.”
Initially, he was signed for only 13 weeks, but renewed for another six months when it ran out, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The soap opera romance between Geary’s Luke and Genie Francis’s Laura Webber, peaked with the on-screen wedding between the characters that brought in 30 million viewers and is still the highest-rated soap opera episode since its 1981 airing.
Elizabeth Taylor guest-starred in the episode, THR reported.
He appeared in 1,997 episodes of the show and was nominated for 17 Daytime Emmy Awards, winning a record-breaking eight.
Geary left the show in 1983, but returned in 1991 as his look-alike cousin and was with the soap opera as a regular until 2015.
“This show has been a huge part of my life for over half my life, and Luke Spencer is my alter ego,” Geary told TV Line in 2015. “But I’m just weary of the grind and have been for 20 years. There was a point after my back surgery last year where it became clear to me that my time is not infinite. And I really don’t want to die, collapsing in a heap, on that G.H. set one day. That wouldn’t be too poetic.”
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