General Hospital Just Killed off Iconic Character Luke Spencer After 44 Years — Here's How!

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Farewell, Luke Spencer!

The iconic General Hospital character previously portrayed by actor Anthony Geary was killed off on the Jan. 3 episode of the longest-running soap opera in the United States.

On Monday's episode of the ABC daytime drama, Tracy Quartermaine, played by Jane Elliott, revealed in a conversation with Spencer's ex-wife Laura Collins, portrayed by Genie Francis, that the famed Port Charles resident had died in a cable car accident in Austria.

Later in the episode, the show hinted that Victor Cassadine, portrayed by Charles Shaughnessy (who starred as Mr. Sheffield on The Nanny), may have been responsible for Spencer's death.

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Geary retired from the role in 2015 after 44 years on General Hospital. He first joined the cast in 1978 and became well-known as one half of the Luke and Laura power couple, going on to win a record eight Emmy awards for the role. 2021 marked the 40th anniversary of the controversial couple's onscreen wedding, which drew a record-shattering 30 million viewers when it aired in 1981, per ABC News. The episode went down as the "highest-rated hour in American soap opera history," Newsweek reported.

At the time of this retirement from General Hospital, an emotional Geary told Entertainment Weekly that he was looking forward to the next chapter of his career.

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"I'm excited to raise the curtain on act 3, to reinvent myself in my new home to pursue whatever opportunity there may be. It's an exciting prospect to me," Geary told the outlet. "They've done a wonderful job of wrapping up the character. So this seems like the ideal time to go."

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Shortly after his departure from General Hospital, Geary told the outlet that he wasn't opposed to returning to the show, albeit briefly. "If the story is interesting to me and it works out, I may come back to the show for six weeks or so," he said at the time.

Geary played Spencer for the last time on the show in 2017. Ahead of the appearance, he spoke with EW about the emotions he experienced around no longer being a regular on the show after four decades onscreen.

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"It was once very difficult for me to realize that more than likely my obituary in the paper will read, 'Luke of Luke and Laura fame died today.' It was very upsetting when I came to that realization," Geary said.

"It's been a really exciting ride," he later added. "In the end, it's been well worth it."

General Hospital celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2023.