'General Hospital' announces special montage to honor TV soap legend after fan outcry
Between 1978 and 2015, Anthony Geary ruled the hearts of countless fans who couldn't get enough of him as Luke Spencer in 'General Hospital'. Geary was a daytime heartthrob and was the primary factor behind the show's meteoric rise to popularity in the 1980s. His contribution to the long-running daytime soap opera brought back some of the best ratings ever in the history of television. Together with Genie Francis's Laura at Port Charles, Geary maintained his throne as one of the most popular daytime actors of all time.
It was no surprise that fans of 'General Hospital' were devastated to learn about Geary's passing on December 14, 2025, at the age of 78, at his home in Amsterdam. Soon after, requests from all quarters started pouring in, asking the show to honour the late eight-time Daytime Emmy Award winner. ABC did this by rebroadcasting the last full episode where Geary appeared as Spencer on January 1, 2026. The episode had originally aired on the network back in 2015 and featured Spencer leaving Lake Charles behind.
Spencer's decision to leave his abode was accentuated by his need to process his trauma. Before that, Spencer had remembered that he accidentally ended up taking his own mother's life as a teenager, followed by the murder of his abusive father, Tim, according to Soap Opera Digest. The last time Spencer was seen on 'General Hospital' was during a no-dialogue appearance in 2017. The soap opera followed this up with a title card dedication to Geary that ran with the recently aired January 6, 2026, episode.
As the news of Geary's death was made public, Francis was among the first to share her heartfelt tribute, writing, "He was a powerhouse as an actor. Shoulder to shoulder with the greats. No star burned brighter than Tony Geary. He was one of a kind. As an artist, he was filled with a passion for the truth, no matter how blunt or even a little rude it might be, but always hilariously funny. He was the anti-hero, always so irreverent, but even the most conservative had to smile. Working with him was always exciting. You never knew what might happen."
However, fans of Geary were not content with the tributes that flowed from the network. Several took to social media to state that a simple title card dedication and a rebroadcast did not do justice to his legacy. Eventually, ABC's current programming executive Nathan Varmi declared on X, "Our team is working on a loving montage to be included later in the month, keep an eye out. RIP Tony Geary." It has now been confirmed that the said montage will follow the regular broadcast of the show's episode on Thursday, January 22. The montage would feature a collage assembled from Leary's appearances on the show spanning decades. In addition to this, the montage would also feature Geary's former co-stars, including Francis, paying their tribute to the legendary actor.
