Anthony Geary, best known for playing Luke Spencer in General Hospital, has died aged 78.
Geary played the role for four decades and won a record eight Daytime Emmys.
According to a statement shared by his husband, Claudio Gama, the actor passed away on December 14 of complications following a surgery.
“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,” the statement read, as reported by TV Insider.
Geary retired from full-time work on General Hospital in 2015 and made his final appearance as Luke two years later. He eventually moved from Los Angeles to Amsterdam and married Gama in 2020.
“Hospital” executive producer Frank Valentini said he and the “entire ‘General Hospital family'” are “heartbroken” over the news of Geary’s passing.
“Tony was a brilliant actor and set the bar that we continue to strive for,” the statement, posted to the official show Instagram account, read. “His legacy, and that of Luke Spencer’s, will live on through the generations of #GH cast members who have followed in his footsteps. We send our sincerest sympathies to his husband, Claudio, family, and friends. May he rest in peace.”
His longtime co-star Genie Francis, whose on-screen love story with Geary captivated fans and became a cultural phenomenon, also shared her condolences. “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,” she wrote on X.
Weeks prior to his Geary’s death, Gama posted a video on Instagram of him watching Francis appear on the State of Mind podcast, hosted by Maurice Benard. Gama captioned the post, “It really made Tony very happy. He told me: ‘Those are two lovely and talented people, great friends and I miss them.'”
Geary’s early career included guest roles on a variety of television series, including appearances on All in the Family, Room 222, The Mod Squad, and Mannix.
He made his first daytime TV appearances on the NBC soap Bright Promise before joining The Young and the Restless, but it was his role in General Hospital that marked his career as one of the most iconic actors in American daytime television history.
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