Anthony Geary—famous as Luke on General Hospital—died on Dec. 14. He was 78. Geary started his career onstage, and even during his busy TV years, managed to find theater work as well. Beginning in the early ’70s, Geary worked his way up through small TV and movie roles, before finding fame as the ne’er-do-well Luke Spencer on General Hospital (from 1978 through 2017). I am not a soap viewer, but even I heard of the famous “Luke and Laura” wedding in 1981 (and was appalled at his terrible perm). Geary continued to act through 2016, but Luke always haunted his career. It was only onstage that he escaped, in such shows as The Wild Duck, The Inspector General, The Cat's Paw, The Glass Menagerie, Barabbas, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Antony and Cleopatra. “Many of the scripts that are sent to me are nothing more than Luke Spencer rehashed and I won't do it. I refuse,” he said. “The heartthrob routine disgusted me. I fought it every step of the way. You have no idea how awful it was to go on public appearances where literally hundreds of women would scream, ‘Luke, rape me!’”
