He’s daytime television’s most celebrated actor and now, Anthony Geary of General Hospital fame has something of his very own to celebrate!
Geary, born May 29, 1947, in Coalville, Utah, is celebrating his birthday today, which means he’s turning 72 years old today.
He’d already been a working actor appearing on All In The Family, Room 222, and The Young And The Restless (as bad guy George Curtis) when GH legendary producer Gloria Monty offered him the role of Lucas “Luke” Lorenzo Spencer.
The late Douglas Marland was the head writer of GH at the time. He brought Geary onto the scene when Bobbie Spencer (Jacklyn Zeman) enlisted Luke’s aid in her quest to ruin the life of Laura Webber (Genie Francis).
Sparks flew between the characters and they were thrust into a storyline that kept both actors on the front-burner for quite a while. In 1981, Newsweek magazine dubbed GH “Television’s Hottest Show” with Geary and Francis on the cover.
Geary won his first (of eight!) Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Leading Actor In A Drama Series for his role as Luke in 1982. Ironically, the presenters were then-CAPITOL stars the late Carolyn Jones (ex-Myrna) and Constance Towers (ex-Clarissa), who would go on to play opposite Geary as Helena Cassadine on GH!
The actor exited GH in 1983, returned for a guest spot in 1984, and then came back in 1991 to play Luke’s cousin Bill Eckert. The character was killed off around the time that Geary reprised his legendary role of Luke.
He continued to work on GH for many years in a variety of storylines with a variety of leading ladies. In 2013, GH gave viewers some closure when Luke and Laura split for good, but they’ll always be tied by their children and memories of “love on the run.”
Geary won additional Daytime Emmys for playing Luke in 1999, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, and (whew!) 2015!
The actor announced he was leaving GH in 2015 and he made a cameo appearance when Jane Elliot (ex-Tracy) made her final appearance on GH in 2017.
Currently, Geary resides in Amsterdam. Soap Hub joins the actor’s family, friends, and fans in wishing Geary a happy birthday and many happy returns.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC. Check local listings for air times.
Video Credit: facemyfire
Video Credit: General Hospital
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