page_title: Anthony Geary
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Anthony Geary / Career
caption_attribution_description: English: Anthony Geary holding his 8th Daytime Emmy next to General Hospital Online creator May Lee (a.k.a. Ms. Purple!!)
context_page_description: Anthony Geary is an American actor. He is known for playing the role of Luke Spencer on the ABC daytime drama General Hospital. 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 comedy UHF; other notable films include Johnny Got His Gun, Disorderlies, Scorchers, Teacher's Pet and Fish Tank.
context_section_description: 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, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Streets of San Francisco, and Barnaby Jones. Geary's first daytime role was in NBC soap opera Bright Promise 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 General Hospital.  His character in General Hospital began as a hit man and later as a rapist who fell in love and subsequently married his victim, Laura Webber (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 pigeonholed 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 "Weird Al" Yankovic's film debut UHF (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 like Albert Einstein's and stay in character as Philo when meeting the film's casting team; he immediately landed the role.
  In 1991, Geary returned to General Hospital as Luke's cousin and look-alike Bill Eckert, due to the actor's desire to play something 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 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 General Hospital'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 non-speaking cameo appearance on May 4, 2017, to facilitate the retirement of co-star and former on-screen wife Jane Elliot.
  A notable exception from his series of dramatic roles is the part of a scientist/studio engineer in the comedy/spoof movie UHF. He also appeared in 1987's Disorderlies, with rappers the Fat Boys.
caption: Anthony Geary holding his 8th Daytime Emmy next to General Hospital Online creator May Lee, April 26, 2015
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