Inside Anthony Geary's Final Years: How the “General Hospital ”Star Spent His Last Decade in Amsterdam
- - Inside Anthony Geary's Final Years: How the “General Hospital ”Star Spent His Last Decade in Amsterdam
Angela AndaloroDecember 16, 2025 at 4:13 AM
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Claudio Gama/Instagram
Claudio Gama and Anthony Geary (left), Anthony Geary enjoys tulips in Amsterdam -
Anthony Geary, who played Luke Spencer on General Hospital, has died at 78
The actor dedicated four decades to portraying the character before his retirement in 2015
Geary lived out the last decade of his life in Amsterdam with husband Claudio Gama
Anthony Geary lived the life he dreamed of in the years after leaving daytime TV behind.
The actor, best known for originating and playing Luke Spencer on General Hospital from 1978 to 2015, died on Sunday, Dec. 14, following complications from an operation three days prior, per TV Insider.
In 1978, Geary was hired to join General Hospital in what was meant to be a 13-week stint. The series was close to cancellation, but executive producer Gloria Monty was taking big swings to turn it around, and Luke became a central part of that.
The character went from what Geary described as "a real bastard" to a more sympathetic figure and one of the most beloved characters in soap opera history. He stepped away from General Hospital in 2015, making one final cameo on the series in 2017.
Geary took pleasure in the changes retirement brought to his life. Here is what the actor shared about his final decade.
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He left General Hospital in 2015
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Anthony Geary as Luke and Genie Francis as Laura in 2015
Geary was a 16-time nominee for the Daytime Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series. He won a record eight times. After all those years of stirring performances, fans were saddened in spring 2015 when Geary confirmed he'd be leaving the series.
"I'm excited to raise the curtain on act 3, to reinvent myself in my new home to pursue whatever opportunity there may be. It's an exciting prospect to me," he told Entertainment Weekly in 2015.
The actor and his husband moved to Amsterdam
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Geary and husband Claudio Gama moved full-time to Amsterdam in 2015, a decision he praised in the years that followed. Geary even provided backup vocals and appeared in a music video for Jim Warren’s song, “I Love Amsterdam."
"Amsterdam is a city of amazing qualities," Geary told Soaps In Depth in 2019. "Cobblestone streets designed 400 years ago for walking and cycling, tree-lined canals and quirky historical buildings, people from all over the world wishing you a good morning in every conceivable language... I love it here."
Luke's story also got to end in Amsterdam
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Anthony Geary and Jackie Zeman as Luke and Tracy
Geary's tenure on the show ended in 2015 with Luke sailing off into the foggy unknown. Two years later, fans got an update when it was Jane Elliot’s turn to complete her time as Tracy Quartermaine (which she has since resumed in cameos).
Tracy is seen traveling to Europe, where she walks into a cafe to find a smiling Luke looking back at her. The show left off that the two were living together in Amsterdam until January 2022, when the show killed Luke off-camera.
During an episode of the ABC daytime drama that month, Tracy Quartermaine revealed in a conversation with Laura that the famed Port Charles resident had died in a cable car accident in Austria.
He enjoyed some visits from his General Hospital castmates
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Kelly Monaco, Ian Buchanan and Finola Hughes are among the different General Hospital stars who didn't just stay in touch with Geary, but visited him overseas.
Geary reacted to Genie Francis' recent interview with Maurice Bernard just last month
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In Nov. 2025, Maurice Bernard, who plays Sonny Corinthos on General Hospital, shared an episode of his podcast, State of Mind, featuring former castmate Genie Francis, who played Laura Spencer Collins. Luke and Laura's romance was a cornerstone of the soap's action for many years, making them one of daytime TV's most beloved couples of all time.
Gama shared an Instagram post letting fans know Geary got to see the interview, writing, "Greetings and happy week to all from Amsterdam. This evening, only one post — I showed Tony State of Mind show from @mauricebenard latest you tube video series with guest Genie Francis and it really made Tony very happy. He told me 'Those are two lovely and talented people, great friends. And I miss them.' "
Geary believed everything in his life played out the way it was meant to
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In 2023, Geary reflected to Soap Opera Digest about life after being Luke Spencer.
“Not being on the show after having been on it for 30-plus years, practically half my life, I have a feeling of satisfaction because I did it, I showed up, I did my work, I won some trophies, I enjoyed the people I worked with for the most part and I feel I got out in time. I look back on it and it’s great and it gave me this wonderful life I have now, so I’m not going to complain," he shared.
"I live in the city that I’ve always wanted to live in my whole life and I have somebody who loves me and I have a life now, that I didn’t have before, no matter how many fan letters or Emmys or how many pages of dialogue to learn. I didn’t have what I have now. So, everything happened at the right time, I guess."
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
