Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Remember him as Anthony Geary, a gay male actor with many theater credits and a great 30 year on-screen love story, followed by another great 20 year love story.

That’s what he wanted even though he acknowledged he would always be remembered as Luke Spencer.

Yes, he played the character who revolutionized daytime drama, across a 40 year span. Yes, he was one-half of the first and most memorable super couple from the soap world. Yes, he carried a deeply controversial storyline through that 40 year span.

The character of Luke Spencer died a mysterious, but seemingly accepted death off camera in 2022. That stage for another storyline is primed should it be needed. But it won’t. No one can step into those shoes now that actor Tony Geary has died at age 78.

I loved Luke Spencer when he was at his adventurous, wise-cracking, raging peak. His tender love for Laura Webber, his realization he had to walk away because he could not change his nature, and his sizzle with Tracy was good soapy stuff.

I also have always had a thing, a vibe with older men. The combination of world weary wisdom and gritty determination is potent, especially tempered by occasional kindness and fierce loyalty.

The character changed an entire genre forever, quite a feat. He raped the woman he loved, saw it paved over for decades as a ‘seduction’, then faced his actions head on in a fiery confrontation with their son and daughter. It wasn’t a redemption arc grounded in rewritten history or a big sacrifice. It was painful and gut wrenching. It changed the genre again, fleshing out the anti-hero trajectory.

Geary carried it off. He went toe to toe with big villains and never backed down in the storylines or on camera.  He carried absurd plots like a convenient bottomless pit in the basement of the hospital or look alike cousins with believability perhaps because he basked in a universe where such things were possible. He might be caught off-guard by returns from the dead, unexpected children, but Geary threw himself wholeheartedly into the entire genre.

Luke was a sexy scoundrel, an examination of masculinity from the 70s to the 2010s. From disco lothario to a very weird turn as a lecherous old man but really a programmed victim. His childhood was awful, but it didn’t stop him from abandoning his own kids, cheating, and perpetually running a con. He just had time on-screen to make amends and acknowledge the harm he caused.

Luke Spencer was a fantastic character almost unparalleled. But a character needs strong writing, good direction, and great actors. Geary was great.

There’s zero sense wondering if he could have been a big-screen star.

Gearys’ sexuality was a quiet part of his life, another striking way to question masculine tropes. One of the sexiest men on daytime was gay IRL. Why not? It makes his tender scenes when his gay nephew and namesake came out fresh. I wonder if he was proud of how GH treats LGBTQIA+ characters, currently two regulars and three recurring characters including Luke’s nephew and grandson.

One of my perpetual fav moments was Luke getting up and leaving during a cast credit group shot. It was an utterly Luke Spencer thing to do.

I was heartbroken when he left the show. I’m sad that he died too young to truly revel in what he had earned his career – a quiet final chapter.

As GH continues to lose legacy characters like Bobbie Spencer, Monica Quartermaine, Lesley Webber, and Robert Scorpio upon the death of the actors, they face new storyline challenges. Topping the ghost of BJ returning for her mother’s funeral  and Monica leaving her house to Tracy will be tough. Luke already had an on-screen memorial so paying tribute to Tony Gear is a different challenge.

But there’s good potential storyline with Laura coping with the death of her mother and Lulu’s primary caretaker. Perhaps Robert’s death will bring a recast Sasha and Daisy back on-screen to complicate Michael’s life again. We know Robin won’t return.

I’d also love to see a return to the Asian Quarter story with Selina Wu, her nephew Brad, and her here forth unknown daughter/niece, Terry.  Maybe a chance for Chase to have a storyline. Or Dante. And Curtis.

I’m meandering, but that’s sort of the point – the story goes on after each great character and actor fades off-screen. All three of Luke’s children have his vibe. His granddaughter is a Cassadine and also the granddaughter of his foe, Helena Cassadine. His niece Carly Spencer brings the family legacy of conniving and manipulation to a new level. Still …

There’s no character on-screen like Luke Spencer and there never will be. That’s all Tony Geary.

Thank you, Tony. I hope the accolades you didn’t want are a source of comfort to those who loved you.

I will miss you forever.