‘General Hospital’ kills off Luke Spencer character years after Anthony Geary departed role

Luke Spencer’s time apparently has come and gone on “General Hospital.”

The soap opera character, portrayed mostly by Anthony Geary from 1978 to 2017, has been killed off.

Last seen in May 2017, the con artist-turned-entrepreneur-turned-politician-turned-mobster was reportedly killed during a cable car accident in Austria. Characters learned of the shocking accidental death on the New Year’s Day episode this week.

Geary, who won a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for the role, announced his departure in 2015.

And while Spencer remained a presence on the daytime serial, the character existed mostly off-camera with the exception of a brief return in 2017.

Luke’s marriage to Laura Vining (portrayed by Genie Francis) on Nov. 17, 1981, drew what remains the largest audience in daytime soap history, more than 30 million viewers.

The episode was credited with saving the show and helping ignited the 1980s soap opera boom.

Not too favored in the early days, Luke’s storybook romance with Laura started off with him infamously raping her at a discotheque as Herb Alpert’s 1979 pop jazz instrumental “Rise” played in the background.

The Coalville, Illinois, native was originally brought onto the show for a 13-week arc, during which he was supposed to attract younger viewers and after which he was scheduled to die.

Geary’s take on the role later became a fan favorite.

After a nine-year break from “General Hospital,” he returned in 1991 to take on the role of Luke’s look-alike cousin Bill Eckert.

That soap-opera-styled development turned out to be lukewarm for the fan base, and Geary soon returned as Luke in 1993.

At the time of his retirement from “General Hospital,” he told EW: “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.”

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