Anthony Geary

Actor Anthony Geary was interviewed for two-and-a-half hours in Beverly Hills, CA, consisting of two parts: one-half hour with General Hospital co-star Genie Francis, and two-hours alone. Geary described his early interest in movies and his acting ambitions.  He talked about his move to Los Angeles, appearing with Jack Albertson in “The Subject Was Roses” on stage.  He described his work in two soap operas, Bright Promise and The Young and the Restless.  He mentioned his primetime appearances in the 1970s in such series as All in the Family and The Streets of San Francisco (in particular one Streets episode in which he played a heroin addict).  He spoke about his approach to acting and how he learned the craft.  He recounted his casting, in his most well-known role, as “Luke Spencer” on the daytime serial General Hospital and his work with ingénue Genie Francis, who played “Laura.”  Geary gave his impressions of producer Gloria Monty and credited her with changing the face of soap operas.  He talked about Monty’s unconventional approach to producing General Hospital and cited as an example Monty’s decision to shoot a scene between he and Genie Francis entirely improvised: a nine minute sequence that led to his first Emmy Award win.  He looked back on the character of Luke, how he was originally conceived and his backstory.  Throughout the interview, Geary discussed frankly his continuous struggle to keep the integrity of his character and avoid the pitfalls of clichéd writing, rewriting lines himself.  He talked about General Hospital storylines, working with his fellow actors, and fan reaction to “Luke.”  He spoke about playing a different character (a cousin of “Luke”) in the early 1990s on General Hospital and how that character was killed off, dying in the arms of “Luke Spencer,” thereby completing the transition for another return of Geary as “Luke.”  He fondly recalled meeting screen idol Bette Davis and the thrill it was to hear her say that she knew his work. In their joint interview, Geary and Genie Francis spoke about acting together as “Luke and Laura” and the fan reaction to their appearance at ABC’s Super Soap Weekend in 2006.  The interview was conducted by Barrie Nedler on June 14, 2007.