Anthony Geary (born May 29, 1947) is an American actor. He is known for playing the role of Luke Spencer on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

daytime drama ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

''. He originated the role of Luke in 1978 and received a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series prior to his retirement. Geary had a prominent supporting role in the

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...

comedy ''

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...

'' (1989); other notable films include '' Johnny Got His Gun'' (1971), '' Disorderlies'' (1987), '' Scorchers'' (1991), '' Teacher's Pet'' (2004) and '' Fish Tank'' (2009).

Early life

Anthony Geary was born May 29, 1947, in Coalville, Utah, a son of a contractor father and homemaker mother.

Career

Geary made his first appearance on television in an episode of '' Room 222'' and later appeared in '' All in the Family'', '' The Mod Squad'', ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private inves ...

'', '' Marcus Welby, M.D.'', '' The Streets of San Francisco'', and '' Barnaby Jones''. Geary's first daytime role was in NBC soap opera ''

Bright Promise ''Bright Promise'' is an American daytime soap opera that ran on NBC from September 29, 1969 to March 31, 1972. Synopsis The show revolved around students and faculty at the fictional Bancroft College, located in the community of Bancroft, somew ...

'' from 1971 to 1972. He played George Curtis, who was a rapist, in '' The Young and the Restless'' and in 1978 was hired for a 13-week story arc to play Luke Spencer in ABC soap ''

''. Luke Spencer began as a hit man and later became a

rapist Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, Abusive power and control, ...

who fell in love with and subsequently married his victim,

Laura Webber Laura Spencer may refer to: * Laura Spencer (actress) (born 1986), American actress * Laura Spencer (''General Hospital''), a fictional character in the television series ''General Hospital'' * Laura Horton (formerly Spencer), a fictional characte ...

(played by Genie Francis). His portrayal of Luke Spencer on ''General Hospital'' was well received and grew into a full contract role. The 1981 on-screen wedding of his character and Laura Webber holds the record as the highest-rated soap opera episode of all time. He holds the distinction of winning a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He was first nominated in 1980 and had his first win in 1982. Geary was nominated again in 1983, before leaving the show in 1984. Over the next several years he took roles in various theater and television productions, as well as in several films, but not at the level of success he had hoped for. Despite the popularity of his work as Luke Spencer, filmmakers such as

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

pigeonholed Pigeonholing is a process that attempts to classify disparate entities into a limited number of categories (usually, mutually exclusive ones). The term usually carries connotations of criticism, implying that the classification scheme referred t ...

Geary based solely on the fact that he was a "soap actor". In a conscious effort to distance himself from ''General Hospital'', he actively sought a role in

's film debut ''

'' (1989), that of the quietly eccentric scientist Philo (named for television pioneer Philo Farnsworth). Geary, a fan of Yankovic, went so far as to grow his hair out like Albert Einstein's and stay in character as Philo when meeting the film's casting team; he immediately landed the role. Geary Emmy 2015

In 1991, Geary returned to ''General Hospital'' as Luke's cousin and look-alike

Bill Eckert ''General Hospital'' is the longest-running American television serial drama, airing on ABC. Created by Frank and Doris Hursley, it originally was set it in a general hospital (hence the title), in an unnamed fictional city. In the 1970s, the ...

, due to the actor's desire to play someone other than Luke. However, due to poor feedback from the viewing public, the character was killed off and Geary resumed the role of Luke in 1993. Tony appeared in more than 50 stage plays, including an award-winning one-man show titled Human Scratchings in 1996. He was nominated in 1997 and 1998 for Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor, and had his second win in 1999, and his third in 2000. He received another nomination in 2003, and had his fourth win in 2004. When Geary won for the fifth time in 2006, he set the record for the most lead actor wins. Geary received another Emmy nomination in 2007, and in 2008, he again set a record for most lead actor wins with his sixth Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor. Geary set a record in 2012 with his seventh Daytime Emmy win and again in 2015 for his eighth win for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Drama Series after 16 nominations for the same role of

's Luke Spencer. Geary publicly announced on Friday, May 8, 2015, that he would be leaving his role on ''General Hospital''. Geary finished taping his last scenes on the ''General Hospital'' set on June 23, 2015. His last air date was July 27, 2015. He later made a cameo appearance on a May 2017 episode to facilitate the retirement of co-star and former on-screen wife Tracy (played by

Jane Elliot Jane Elliot is an American actress, best known for her role as Tracy Quartermaine in the ABC daytime soap opera, ''General Hospital''. Life and career Elliot was born in New York City. She was married to Luis Rojas and has three children, Adria ...

). An exception to his series of dramatic roles is the part of a scientist/studio engineer in the comedy movie ''

''. He also appeared in 1987's '' Disorderlies'', with rappers the Fat Boys.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Geary, Anthony 1947 births Living people Male actors from Utah American male film actors American male voice actors American male television actors American male soap opera actors Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series winners People from Coalville, Utah Latter Day Saints from Utah