General Hospital has been hit with tragedy after tragedy in recent years, but the news of Anthony Geary’s death hits different — both in Port Charles and on the other side of TV screens. While Geary’s legacy as Luke Spencer lived on long after the character departed in 2015, Geary’s absence will now feel final for the first time in a decade.
Key Takeaways
- Anthony Geary passed away on December 14.
- Geary played the iconic Luke Spencer for nearly four decades.
- Both Geary’s and Luke’s legacies will live on in Port Charles through the GH cast.
Luke’s Legacy
It’s been 10 years since Geary retired from GH after playing Luke off and on for nearly 40 years. While the actor made a one-episode appearance in 2017 for Jane Elliot’s (Tracy) retirement, it was Luke’s concluding storyline that changed the trajectory of lives in Port Charles.
Luke’s exit left room for Laura (Genie Francis) to officially move on from her one true love; it allowed Lucky (Jonathan Jackson) to accept who he truly was—an adventurous, world-traveler who couldn’t sit still in Port Charles; it caused Lulu (Alexa Havins) to step up like the Spencer she is, and it gave Tracy one last love story.
In his final days in Port Charles, Luke was beaten down and broken, trying to rediscover who he was after working through long-buried childhood trauma. But before any of that, he was the legendary Luke Spencer; one half of daytime’s most iconic supercouple Luke and Laura; former Mayor of Port Charles; a man who went from the thrill of saving the world from the Ice Princess to living a quiet life with his wife and son running a diner.
But it never mattered what he was doing or where he was. It didn’t matter if he was playing poker on the Haunted Star, romancing Tracy in Amsterdam, or over on Cassadine Island saving his family from yet another threat. His legacy was something not just remembered, but constantly felt in Port Charles.
Despite the character’s supposed death in 2022, there was always a glimmer of hope; that someday everyone would learn that Luke wasn’t really killed in the cable car crash. That he was out there somewhere, fighting to come back to Port Charles, even for just one, final ending to his story arc.
Geary’s death concludes Luke’s story, that spanned generations on GH, in a way we haven’t seen in the last decade. Port Charles may never be touched with the magic only Geary’s Luke could provide, but both the actor’s and character’s legacies will live on. Through Laura’s kind heart, Lucky’s personality, Lulu’s strength, Ethan’s (Nathan Parsons) wayward lifestyle, Tracy’s vulnerability—Port Charles will never be the same without him, but he’ll always be a part of this town.
