Anthony Geary, Biggest Soap Star of All Time, Dies at 78
He was Luke Spencer, off and on, for 2000 episodes of 'General Hospital,' and one half of the soaps' ultimate supercouple
December 15, 2025
Anthony Geary of General Hospital’s Luke and Laura fame, died December 14 at 78, three days after a surgery he had been expected to survive.
His husband Claudio Gama told TV Insider, “For more than 30 years, Tony has been my friend, my companion, my husband.”
Not long before Geary’s unexpected death, he was seen in a video enjoying an episode of former co-star Maurice Benard’s State of Mind podcast featuring his former co-star Genie “Laura” Francis, who became his lifelong friend.
His widower said to TV Insider, “He told me, ‘Those are two lovely and talented people, great friends, and I miss them.’”
Following his death, Francis remembered him warmly on Twitter, writing:
“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.”
General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini offered via statement:
“The entire General Hospital family is heartbroken over the news of Tony Geary’s passing. 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.”
It was a deep legacy in the medium — Geary was nominated for the Daytime Emmy an astounding 17 times, winning eight.
He played Luke from 1978 until 2017, off and on, appearing on about 2,000 episodes.
The by-today’s-standards outrageous story of Luke and Laura kicked into high gear when he raped Laura in fictional Port Charles’s Campus Disco, professing his love for her as she begged him to stop.
The scene was intense for daytime TV nearly 50 years ago, but was followed by Luke sending Laura flowers.
That scene was all the more troubling considering Geary was in his 30s and Francis, though playing a young married, was just 17.
In spite of the crazy beginning of their romance, they became a closely followed couple on the show, so much so that they crossed over from soaps into the mainstream, appearing on magazine covers and inspiring Christopher Cross’s 1984 Top 10 hit “Think of Laura.”
On November 16 and 17, 1981, when Luke and Laura wed — with guest star Elizabeth Taylor in attendance — the episodes each attracted some 30 million viewers, a daytime record.
For years, Francis and Geary made public appearances, stoking their icon status.
Tony Geary was born May 29, 1947, in Coalville, Utah. He made his television debut on an episode of Room 222 in 1970.
One of his earliest major impressions on TV came playing Roger, a friend of Mike “Meathead” Stivic’s on a Season 1 episode of All in the Family. Roger, a flamboyant heterosexual, had bigoted Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) convinced he must be gay, only to discover Roger was straight while one of his own good buddies was the queer one.
Stivic was, of course, played by Rob Reiner. In a tragic coincidence, Reiner died at 78 on the same day Geary did, allegedly murdered alongside his wife of 36 years by their own son, Nick Reiner.
Geary’s first soap appearance was on Bright Promise (1971-1972), and he played a rapist on The Young and the Restless in 1973.
Some of his other credits including guesting on Dan August (1971), The Partridge Family (1972), The Streets of San Francisco (1974-1976 for four episodes) and Starsky and Hutch (1978).
He also acted in the films Johnny Got His Gun (1971), Blood Sabbath (1972), Disorderlies (1987), UHF (1989) and Scorchers.
Geary is survived by his husband.⚡️