‘General Hospital’ News: Anthony Geary Quits GH, Confirms Leaving Soap And Luke Spencer Role

Anthony Geary is OUT at “General Hospital!” Rumors have been floating around for months now that Luke Spencer’s portrayer Anthony Geary was quitting the ABC soap for good – however Geary nor the “General Hospital” producers would confirm nor deny the casting news. Originally Anthony Geary was supposed to take a few weeks off, but according to a new report from Soap Opera Digest Geary is exiting the ABC soap permanently this summer.

“General Hospital” spoilers from Soap Opera Digest reveal, “It was a real shocker to the daytime industry: Anthony Geary — the genre’s historic eight-time Emmy Award winner — is walking away from GENERAL HOSPITAL! After nearly 40 years of playing Luke Spencer, the highly-respected actor is exiting the role permanently later this summer.”

Anthony Geary’s “Fluke” storyline has been front and center for nearly a year now on “General Hospital” – and just recently came to a close when it was finally revealed that Luke Spencer’s traumatic childhood caused him to suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder. “General Hospital” rumors teased that the Fluke storyline would be Anthony Geary’s last hurrah on the soap – and he wanted to “go out with a bang,” so to speak. Now, Anthony Geary is confirming that he is exiting the ABC soap, so “Fluke” truly was his grand finale.

Geary sat down with TV Digest’s Michael Logan for an exclusive interview on his decision to quit “General Hospital” after 40 years on the soap opera. When asked why he decided to leave GH, Geary explained: “The people at ABC and at GH have been amazingly good to me, allowing me to live on two continents and treating me, for the most part, extremely well. This show has been a huge part of my life for over half my life and Luke Spencer is my alter ego. But I’m just weary of the grind and have been for 20 years. There was a point after my back surgery last year where it became clear to me that my time is not infinite. And I really don’t want to die, collapsing in a heap, on that GH set one day. That wouldn’t be too poetic. [Laughs] In fact, it would be poetically incorrect. I have another life and I want time to explore it.”

Anthony Geary debuted as Lucas Lorenzo Spencer in 1978, and over the years he has become an iconic character on “General Hospital” – he will be missed by all of us here at SOS, and we wish him good luck on his future endeavors.