Anthony Geary, who played Luke Spencer in General Hospitaldied at the age of 78.
His husband Claudio Gama told TV Insider that Geary died on Sunday in the Netherlands due to complications from surgery performed three days earlier.
“It was a shock to me, our families and our friends. For over 30 years, Tony was my friend, my companion, my husband,” Gama said.
Giri began his career in soap operas with roles in The Young and the Restless And Bright Promise before you join General Hospital in 1978 as Luke Spencer, appearing sporadically for nearly 40 years.
He left the show in 1984 and then returned in 1991, but played the Luke-like cousin instead. According to executive producer Frank Valentini, audiences didn't like it, so the cousin was dropped and Geary returned as Luke in 1993. Geary left the show in 2015.
Geary holds the record for most Daytime Emmy wins for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Luke, with eight wins in total.
Kettlebells told TV Insider in 2015, he was tired of the monotony of his 20-year career.
“After my spine surgery last year, there was a moment when it became clear to me that my time was not endless,” he said. “And I really don't want to die one day on set General Hospital“
Jean Francis, who played Geary's longtime partner in General Hospitalreacted to the news of his death on social networks.
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“This morning I woke up and walked into the arms of my husband. In a dream, my life flashed before me and I was afraid of death,” Francis, 63, wrote. “An hour later Frank Valentini called me and told me that Tony had died.”
“I immediately felt remorse, I hadn’t spoken to him for years, but last night in a dream I felt his life cut short, and with it a large part of me and mine,” she continued. “He was a powerhouse actor. Shoulder to shoulder with the greats. No star burned brighter than Tony Geary.”
Francis said the actor was “one of a kind.”
“As an artist, he was full of passion for truth, no matter how harsh or even a little crude, but always hilariously funny,” she wrote. “He was an anti-hero, always so irreverent, but even the most conservative had to smile. Working with him was always interesting.”
Francis said she was “devastated” by the news and would miss him terribly.
“I am so lucky to be his partner. Somehow we are connected to each other because I felt him leave last night. Good night sweet prince,” she added.
General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini said that “all General Hospital the family is heartbroken” over the news of Giri's death.
“Tony was a brilliant actor and set the bar that we continue to strive for,” Valentini said in a statement. “His legacy, like Luke Spencer's, will live on through the generations of GH actors who have followed in his footsteps. We send our deepest condolences to his husband Claudio, family and friends. May he rest in peace.”
— with files from Associated Press
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