It’s Official! ABC Sets Air Date for Anthony Geary Tribute Episode — Unseen Moments and Major Surprises Revealed!
General Hospital will honor Anthony Geary, the eight-time Daytime Emmy winner who passed away on December 14, with a special encore of the July 27, 2015, episode marking Luke Spencer’s farewell to Port Charles.
Airing January 1, the repeat revisits the emotional hour that wrapped up Geary’s nearly four-decade association with the soap.
Geary joined GH in 1978 after catching the attention of the show’s executive producer, Gloria Monty, and became one of the most influential figures in soap opera history.
He left in 1983, briefly returned in 1984, then rejoined the show in 1991 as Luke’s lookalike cousin, Bill Eckert, a role he played until 1993 before once again resuming the role of Luke. Geary retired from GH in 2015, making one final appearance in 2017.
The storyline that led to Luke’s departure began the year before, in 2014, when Luke had undergone a profound psychological change.
He began acting strangely and increasingly out of character, committing crimes and frightening his friends and family members. Viewers nicknamed this unsettling version of Luke “Fluke,” initially assuming it was Bill Eckert.
In early 2015, Fluke’s identity became the subject of widespread speculation. After a bomb exploded aboard The Haunted Star, the suspect’s fingerprints matched Luke’s.
It was revealed that the man in custody was the real Luke, who was committed to Shadybrook after a violent courtroom outburst.
Luke escaped Shadybrook and sought out his sister Patricia (Dee Wallace), believing she knew the cause of his breakdown. After Luke held wife Tracy (Jane Elliot), daughter Lulu (Emme Rylan), and sister Bobbie (Jacklyn Zeman) hostage, Tracy ultimately broke through to him.
Luke fled again but soon returned to his childhood home, where repressed memories surfaced: He had accidentally caused his mother Lena’s death in 1963 and killed his abusive father, Tim Spencer, in self-defense.
That long-buried secret caused his personality to splinter, and “Fluke” was the manifestation of his dark side. Luke was arrested and sent for treatment.
Following his release, Luke reunited with Laura (Genie Francis), and they embarked on another adventure: Rescuing Lucky (Jonathan Jackson), Ethan Lovett (Nathan Parsons), and young Jake (James Nigbor) — whom Luke thought he’d killed in a hit-and-run accident — from Helena Cassadine (Constance Towers).
Back in Port Charles, Tracy annulled their marriage. Brokenhearted, Luke returned to his childhood home in despair, faced his past, said goodbye to his family, and ultimately chose to leave Port Charles to face his future alone.
ABC/Todd Wawrychuk
In 2022, Tracy revealed that Luke had died under mysterious circumstances in a cable car accident in Austria, likely engineered by Victor Cassadine (Charles Shaughnessy).
Tune in on January 1 to relive how Geary closed the chapter on his legendary run on GH.
General Hospital, Weekdays, ABC
