General Hospital Laid Luke to Rest Years Ago… So How Will the Show Pay Tribute to Anthony Geary — and, Make No Mistake, It Must

In the wake of Anthony Geary’s passing, General Hospital fans have found themselves wondering if and when the show might pay tribute to the actor and his iconic alter ego, Lucas Lorenzo Spencer.

But as fans of the soap know, Luke passed away several years ago in a move that was considered controversial by many.

Does that mean fans will not be given the closure they long for? Not necessarily… and here’s why.

The Story Behind Luke’s Exit

Hard as it is to believe, it was way back in 2015 that Geary announced his intention to leave the soap which had been his home-away-from-home on-and-off since 1978.

“This show has been a huge part of my life for over half my life, and Luke Spencer is my alter ego,” he told TV Guide at the time. “But I’m just weary of the grind and have been for 20 years.”

While the prospect of walking away might have filled some with trepidation, the opposite was true for Geary. “The closer it comes,” he said, “there is less anxiety and dread at seeing the end of the tunnel and it’s more like nirvana because my life is now wide open.”

Not long after Luke left town, the show crafted a story in which the much-loved character died. Yet this being a soap, rumors of Luke’s death proved greatly exaggerated when he crossed paths with former wife Tracy Quartermaine in May of 2017.

Just as Geary had relocated to Amsterdam in real life, it was later revealed that Tracy and Luke were happily living together in the Netherland’s capital city.

How Did Luke Spencer Die?

Aside from the occasional mention or update, that was the last viewers heard of Luke. Then, on New Year’s Day of 2022, Tracy returned to Port Charles sans her true love, reporting that he’d been killed when a cable car exploded in Austria.

Viewers were, to say the least, unhappy with this twist. Most refused to believe that so legendary a character would be killed in an off-screen accident. As reader GreenPalmtree said after reading the news in our recap of the episode, “Luke is the least dead character there has ever been on a soap and that is saying something!”

As for us, we declared Luke’s resulting funeral the Best Sendoff of 2022, even while adding “we still don’t buy that General Hospital really killed off” the character.

That was an assertion we stood by, assuming eventually the show would convince Geary to return for at least a few episodes with which to give Luke a proper ending and fans some much-needed closure.

Now, of course, that would seem impossible. Or is it?

A Final Farewell

It seems impossible to imagine that General Hospital won’t find a way to pay their respects to Geary, Luke and their mutual importance to the show’s history. While it won’t be a simple task, it feels imperative.

While the show managed to craft posthumous storylines for Leslie Charleson’s Monica and Jacklyn Zeman’s Bobbie, those character had been kept alive — if off-camera — for several years. This was not the case with Geary’s Luke.

That said, imagine if Luke’s loved ones were to discover that he had, in fact, been alive the past three years. Racing to rescue him from a captor — Helena, is that you? — they arrive too late.

Suddenly, they must deal not only with another wave of grief but also guilt for having been fooled into believing earlier reports of his passing.

Another option would be for General Hospital to simply do a standalone episode in which the cast, crew and fans share their favorite memories of both the actor and his creation.

Given that he and Genie Francis were heading up the show during its most wildly popular era, ABC might even consider airing the special during primetime.