| Luke Spencer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| General Hospital character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Anthony Geary as Luke Spencer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by |
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| Duration |
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| First appearance | November 20, 1978 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | May 4, 2017 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; guest | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Douglas Marland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Gloria Monty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Book appearances | Robin's Diary The Secret Life of Damian Spinelli | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spin-off appearances | Port Charles General Hospital: Night Shift General Hospital: Twist of Fate (1996) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crossover appearances | Roseanne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Luke Spencer is a fictional character in the American television soap opera General Hospital, played by Anthony Geary from 1978 until his departure in July 2015.[3] Geary holds the record for most Daytime Emmy wins for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his work as Luke.[4][5] He was the show's fifth most tenured character after Monica Quartermaine, Laura Spencer, Scott Baldwin, and Bobbie Spencer.
The character was famously paired with Laura Spencer (named Laura Webber when he met her), starting soon after Luke Spencer joined the show. The pairing, termed "Luke and Laura" by fans, was extremely popular with viewers, and led to the creation of the "supercouple" concept, which many other soap operas attempted to emulate. The pairing culminated with the couple's wedding, which took place on the episodes aired on November 16–17, 1981; the November 17 episode was watched by 30 million people and remains the most watched hour in soap opera history.[6]
- ^ Mentioned in a 1978 episode (which?)
- ^ GH ~ 1978 ~ Fall Ep #9 – Part 2 (Full Episode) – YouTube
- ^ "What Happened to Luke on GH". Soaps In Depth. May 26, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ "Daytime Emmy Winners: Outstanding Lead Actor". soapcentral.com. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ Ruiz, Tony (June 27, 2020). "Here's every Daytime Emmy Best Actor winner: Did they deserve the gold?". GoldDerby. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ Wolf, Buck (November 16, 2006). "Luke and Laura: Still the Ultimate TV Wedding". ABC.com. Retrieved May 20, 2009.