As portrayed by legendary Anthony Geary, Luke Spencer has been described as the most popular character in soap opera history*. One critic said: “Geary’s individualism, uniqueness and awesome range is the most notable in Daytime (television) history,” a statement that is typical of the actor’s reviews.  Most recently for the 2005 television season, Geary won his fifth Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series.  He won his first Emmy Award as Outstanding Lead Actor in 1981 and received his additional Emmy Awards in 1999, 2000 and 2004.  Equally impressive, Anthony holds nominations in 1980, 1982, 1996, 1997 and 2003.

In January 1991, Geary returned to “General Hospital” in the role of Bill Eckert, a cousin of Spencer’s and a man of many -- often dark -- colors. Geary was seen on-screen as both Bill Eckert and Luke Spencer as the story progressed, until the death of Eckert.

Geary has come a long way from Coalville, Utah, the small mountain community of 800 where he was born. Anthony was a gifted student, attending the University of Utah as a Presidential Award Scholar in theater. Jack Albertson saw him perform there and cast him in “The Subject Was Roses.” The production, starring Albertson and Martha Scott, toured Hawaii and settled at the Huntington Hartford Theater in Los Angeles, where Geary decided to establish himself. His ensuing musical theater credits comprise a catalogue of classics. Highlights in this period were his co-starring engagement with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca at the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas in “Your Show of Shows” and a tour as Jesus in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s “Jesus Christ Superstar.”

Geary has performed in more than 50 stage productions throughout the United States. His appearance in the one-man show, “Human Scratchings,” performed to sold-out houses in Los Angeles in 1996, earned him unanimous critical acclaim and a DramaLogue Award. His other extensive theatrical credits include roles in productions of “The Wild Duck,” “The Inspector General,” “The Cat’s Paw,” “The Glass Menagerie” and “Barabbas” at the Los Angeles Theater Center.  He also portrayed Octavius Caesar, opposite Lynn Redgrave and Timothy Dalton, in a production of Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra” for PBS and the BBC.

Geary has made guest appearances on more than 40 television shows. Among his TV credits are roles on “Starsky & Hutch,” “Barnaby Jones,” “The Streets of San Francisco,” “The Blue Knight,” “All in the Family,” “The Six Million Dollar Man,” “The Partridge Family,” “Most Wanted,” “Mannix,” “The Mod Squad,” “Room 222,” “Doc Elliot,” “Temperatures Rising,” “Marcus Welby, M.D.,” “Hotel” and “Murder, She Wrote.” He also performed in the television movies “Perry Mason and the Case of the Murdered Madam,” “Kicks,” “Sins of the Past,” “The Imposter,” “Intimate Agony” and “Do You Know the Muffin Man?,” and in the Daytime dramas “Bright Promise” and “The Young and the Restless.”

Geary’s feature film credits include roles in “U.H.F.,” “It Takes Two,” “Pass the Ammo,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “Penitentiary III,” “The Disorderlies,” “Private Investigation,” “Johnny Got His Gun,” “Scorchers” and “Night of the Warrior.”  In addition, Geary is seen in the upcoming independent feature film “Carpool Guy,” which was directed and stars fellow “General Hospital” cast member, Corbin Bernsen.

As a producer, he received a Cindy Award for the drama “Sound of Sunshine, Sound of Rain,” a children’s story for Public Radio. He has also taught improvisation and story-theater techniques.

DID YOU KNOW:  Geary competed in track and field and swimming events as a college student, and also raced horses. He is a certified scuba diver, as well as an accomplished roller-blader.  He splits his time between Los Angeles and his home away from home, Amsterdam.

* New York Post; May 22, 2004

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