Anthony Geary

Anthony Geary
Geary in 2013
Born	Anthony Dean Geary May 29, 1947 Coalville, Utah, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1970–present

Anthony Dean "Tony" Geary (born May 29, 1947) is an American actor.^[1] He is best known for playing the role of Luke Spencer on the ABC daytime drama General Hospital. Geary originated the role of Luke in 1978 and has since received a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.^[2][3] He also had a prominent supporting role in "Weird Al" Yankovic's cult comedy film UHF (1989).

Early life

Anthony Dean Geary was born in Coalville, Utah, a son of the late Dana (née Anderson) (2/10/1923-7/7/1997) and Russell Dean Geary (11/12/25-10/8/1991). His father was a building contractor and owner of a construction company. His mother was a homemaker and assisted his father in the business as the bookkeeper. His father was also the former mayor of Coalville, Utah. Both of Geary's parents were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.^[4] He has two sisters, Jana Geary Steele and DeAnn Geary Bond. Geary attended the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, on a theater scholarship. At age 21, he performed as a chorus boy with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca on the Las Vegas stage. It was while performing there that he fell and scarred his chin.

Career

Geary made his first appearance on television in an episode of Room 222 and later appeared in All in the Family, The Mod Squad, Mannix, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Streets of San Francisco and Barnaby Jones. Geary's first daytime role was in NBC soap opera Bright Promise from 1971 to 1972.^[5]

He played George Curtis, who was a rapist, in The Young and the Restless and in 1978 was hired for a 13-week story arc to play Luke Spencer in ABC soap General Hospital. His character in General Hospital began as a hit man and later as a rapist who fell in love and subsequently married his victim, Laura Webber (played by Genie Francis). His portrayal of Luke Spencer on General Hospital was well received and grew into a full contract role. The 1981 on-screen wedding of his character and Laura Webber holds the record as the highest rated soap opera episode of all time.^[6]

He holds the distinction of winning a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. He was first nominated in 1980, 1981, and had his first win in 1982.^[7][8] Geary was nominated again in 1983, before leaving the show in 1984. Over the next several years he took roles in various theater and television productions, as well as in several films, but not at the level of success he had hoped for. Despite the popularity of his work as Luke Spencer, filmmakers such as Oliver Stone pigeonholed Geary based solely on the fact that he was a "soap actor". In a conscious effort to distance himself from GH, he actively sought a role in "Weird Al" Yankovic's film debut UHF (1989), that of the quietly eccentric scientist Philo (named for television pioneer Philo Farnsworth). Geary, a self-professed fan of Yankovic, went so far as to grow his hair like Albert Einstein's and stay in character as Philo when meeting the film's casting team; he immediately landed the part.^[9]

Anthony Geary holding his 8th Daytime Emmy next to General Hospital Online creator May Lee, April 26, 2015

In 1991, Geary returned to General Hospital as Luke's cousin and look-alike Bill Eckert, due to the actor's desire to play something other than Luke.^[6] However, due to poor feedback from the viewing public, the character was killed off and Geary resumed the role of Luke in 1993.^[6] Tony appeared in more than 50 stage plays, including an award-winning one-man show titled Human Scratchings in 1996. He was nominated in 1997 and 1998 for Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor, and had his second win in 1999,^[7] and his third in 2000. He received another nomination in 2003, and had his fourth win in 2004.^[10] When Geary won for the fifth time in 2006,^[8][10] he set the record for most lead actor wins.^[6] Geary received another Emmy nomination in 2007, and in 2008, he again set a record for most lead actor wins with his sixth^[11] Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor.^[12]

Geary set a record in 2012 with his 7th Daytime Emmy win and again in 2015 for his 8th win for Outstanding Leading Actor in a Drama Series after 16 nominations for the same role of General Hospital's Luke Spencer. Geary publicly announced on Friday, May 8, 2015 that he would be leaving his role on the long-running daytime drama series General Hospital. Geary finished taping his last scenes on the General Hospital set on Tuesday June 23, 2015. His last airdate was July 27, 2015.^[13]

A notable exception from his series of dramatic roles is the part of a scientist/studio engineer in the comedy/spoof movie UHF. He appeared in 1987's Disorderlies, with rappers The Fat Boys.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970	Room 222	Tom Whalom	Episode: "Choose One & They Lived Happily/Unhappily Ever After"
1971	All in the Family	Roger	Episode: "Judging Books by Covers"
1971	Johnny Got His Gun	Redhead
1971-1972	Bright Promise	David Lockhart	Soap opera
1972	Blood Sabbath	David
1972	The Mod Squad	Johnson	Episode: "Good Times Are Just Memories"
1972	The Partridge Family	Greg Houser	Episode: "Ain't Loveth Grand?"
1973	Mannix	Eddie Decken	Episode: "A Way to Dusty Death"
1973	Shaft	David Oliver	Episode: "Hit and Run"
1973	The Young and the Restless	George Curtis	Soap opera
1974	Doc Elliot	Dennis Graham	Episode: "The Carrier"
1974	Sorority Kill	Tony
1971-1975	Marcus Welby, M.D.	John Gavanelli	2 episodes
1974-1976	The Streets of San Francisco	Gary Jelinek / Cajun / Joe Markham	4 episodes
1976-1977	Barnaby Jones	Deputy Blake Jeffries / Nelson Mosley / Wilson	3 episodes
1977	Most Wanted	Chops	Episode: "The Driver"
1978	The Return of Captain Nemo	Bork
1978	Project U.F.O. TV Series	Darryl Biggs	Episode: "Sighting 4010: The Waterford Incident"
1978	Starsky & Hutch	Delano	Episode: "The Trap"
1978	The Six Million Dollar Man	Arta	Episode: "The Lost Island"
1978-1984 1993–2015	General Hospital	Luke Spencer
1983	Antony and Cleopatra	Octavius Caesar
1983	Shaft of Love	Doug Hathaway
1983	Intimate Agony	Dr. Kyle Richards
1984	Sins of the Past	Lt. Malovich
1984	The Impostor	Cade
1985	Kicks	Martin Cheevers
1985	Hotel	Eli Gilmour / Phil Tanner	2 episodes
1986	You Are The Jury	Sam Billings	Episode: "The State of Ohio vs. James Wolsky"
1987	P.I. Private Investigations	Larry
1987	Disorderlies	Winslow Lowry
1987	Penitentiary III	Serenghetti
1987	Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam	Steve Reynolds
1988	You Can't Hurry Love	Tony
1988	Pass the Ammo	Stonewall
1988	It Takes Two	Wheel
1988	Dangerous Love	Mickey
1989	UHF	Philo
1989	Night Life	John Devlin
1989	Do You Know the Muffin Man?	Stephen Pugliotti
1989	High Desert Kill	Dr. Jim Cole
1989	Crack House	Dockett
1989-1990	Murder, She Wrote	Eric Grant / KGB Lt. Fyodor Alexandrov	2 episodes
1990	Sunset Beat	Uncredited Role	Made For TV Movie
1990	Sunset Beat	Uncredited Role	Episode: "One Down, Four Up" (TV Series)
1991-1993	General Hospital	Bill Eckert (Also played by Geary in a Dual Role)	Soap opera
1991	Night of the Warrior	Lynch
1991	Scorchers	Preacher
1993	Whistlestop Girl	Andy
1994	Roseanne	Luke Spencer	Episode: "Suck Up or Shut Up"
1995	Burke's Law	Clayton Cole	Episode: "Who Killed the Centerfold?"
1998	Port Charles	Luke Spencer
2004	Teacher's Pet	John / Juan	voice
2005	Carpool Guy	Carpool Guy
2008	General Hospital: Night Shift	Luke Spencer	Episode: "Past and Presence", (Part One & Part Two)
2009	Fish Tank	Van Man
2013	Alice and the Monster	George

Awards and nominations

List of acting awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result	Ref.
1980	Soapy Award	Best Actor	General Hospital	Won	[14]
1981	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Nominated	[15]
1981	Soapy Award	Best Actor	General Hospital	Won	[14]
1982	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Won	[16]
1982	Soapy Awards	Best Actor	General Hospital	Won	[14]
1983	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Nominated	[17]
1993	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Lead Actor	General Hospital	Nominated
1994	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Lead Actor	General Hospital	Nominated
1997	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Nominated	[18]
1998	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Nominated	[19]
1999	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Won	[20]
1999	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Lead Actor	General Hospital	Won	[21]
2000	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Won	[22]
2000	Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Lead Actor	General Hospital	Won	[23]
2002	Daytime Emmy Award	America's Favorite Couple (shared with Genie Francis)	General Hospital	Nominated
2003	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Nominated	[24]
2004	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Won	[25]
2006	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Won	[26]
2006	TV Land Award	Most Wonderful Wedding (shared with Genie Francis)	General Hospital	Nominated
2007	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Nominated	[27]
2008	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Won	[28]
2009	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Nominated	[29]
2012	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Won	[30]
2015	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Won	[31]
2016	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Nominated	[32]

References

1. "The New York Times". The New York Times.
2. "General Hospital's Anthony Geary: "We'd Been Living on Death Row" - Today's News: Our Take". TVGuide.com. 2012-07-26. Retrieved 2013-07-08.
3. "Daytime Emmy Awards 2012 winners: 'General Hospital' wins big as Anthony Geary takes home record seventh award - Zap2it". Blog.zap2it.com. 2012-06-23. Retrieved 2013-07-08.
4. Anthony Geary profile, filmreference.com; accessed August 31, 2014.
5. "Anthony Geary biography". Movies.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2013-07-08.
6. West, Abby (2008-03-31). "Tony Geary Reflects on 30 Years of GH". Entertainment Weekly. ew.com. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
7. "Lucci Gets Her First Emmy". The Seattle Times. seattletimes.com. Associated Press. 1999-05-22. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
8. "DeGeneres, 'General Hospital' win Emmys". MSNBC. msnbc.com. Associated Press. 2006-05-03. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
9. http://www.avclub.com/article/we-got-it-all-uhf-oral-history-weird-al-yankovics--215579
10. "Photo Gallery". LA Times. latimes.com. 2008-06-04. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
11. "Daytime Emmy nominations snub Anthony Geary and (oh, no!) poor Betty White". Gold Derby/LA Times. goldderby.latimes.com. 2010-05-12. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
12. TV Guide News (2008-06-21). "Backstage at the Daytime Emmys Brings Laughs, Tears". TV Guide. tvguide.com. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
13. "Anthony Geary's General Hospital goodbye: See the video - EW.com". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com.
14. "The Soap Opera Digest Awards History". Celebrating The Soaps. celebratingthesoaps.net. Archived from the original on March 22, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
15. "1981 Emmy Winners & Nominees". Soap Opera Digest. New York City: American Media, Inc. Archived from the original on August 18, 2004. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
16. Clark, Kenneth R. (June 12, 1982). "Daytime Emmys Inspire Emotions". Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: E. W. Scripps Company. p. 155. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
17. Goudas, John N. (June 4, 1983). "The best on daytime TV won't be seen on daytime TV". The Miami News. Miami, Florida: Cox Enterprises. p. 47. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
18. "1997 Emmy Winners & Nominees". Soap Opera Digest. New York City, New York: American Media, Inc. Archived from the original on August 18, 2004. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
19. Littleton, Cynthia (March 11, 1998). "ABC tops Emmy noms". Variety. Los Angeles, California: Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
20. "Lucci wins!". The Day. New London, Connecticut: The Day Publishing Company. Associated Press. May 22, 1999. p. 8. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
21. Associated Press (February 28, 1999). "'General Hospital' named favorite soap at awards". The Argus-Press. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
22. Bernstein, Paula (May 22, 2000). "'Million' mints Emmy". Variety. Los Angeles: Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
23. Associated Press (March 11, 2000). "'General Hospital' wins 5 honors". The Vindicator. Retrieved February 10, 2013.
24. "Nominees for Daytime Emmys". USA Today. Tysons Corner, Virginia: Gannett Company. Associated Press. March 12, 2003. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
25. "DeGeneres wins Emmy for best talk show". MSNBC. New York City: NBCUniversal. Associated Press. May 28, 2004. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
26. "Ellen DeGeneres repeats sweep of Daytime Emmys". Kentucky New Era. Los Angeles: Taylor W. Hayes. Associated Press. May 1, 2006. p. 8. Retrieved May 6, 2013.
27. Bonawitz, Amy (February 11, 2009). "34th Annual Daytime Emmy Winners". New York City: CBS News. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
28. Silverman, Stephen M. (June 21, 2008). "Ellen DeGeneres, Tyra Banks Win Daytime Emmys". People. New York City: Time Inc. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
29. "The 36th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Award Nominations". New York: emmyonline.org and National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. May 14, 2009. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
30. "Daytime Emmy Awards 2012: The Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. New York City: Prometheus Global Media. June 23, 2012. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
31. "The 42nd Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Award Winners". Burbank: emmyonline.org and National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. April 26, 2015. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
32. "The 43rd Annual Daytime Emmy Award Nominations" (PDF). New York: emmyonline.org and National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. March 24, 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 24, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.

External links

• Anthony Geary at the Internet Movie Database
• Anthony Geary interview video at the Archive of American Television