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Genie Francis is remembering her General Hospital costar and on-screen husband, Anthony Geary.
On Monday, Dec. 15, the actress shared an emotional tribute dedicated to her former costar, shortly after news broke that he died at 78 on Sunday, Dec. 14. TV Insider first shared the news, citing Geary’s husband, Claudio Gama.
Francis, 63, wrote on Facebook that she “woke up and went into my husband’s arms” after her life “was flashing before me and I was afraid of death” in her sleep. She then got a call from General Hospital executive producer, Frank Valentini, telling her that Geary died.
“I immediately felt remorse, I hadn’t spoken to him in years, but I felt his life end in my sleep last night, and with it a big part of me, and mine,” Francis wrote. “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.”
She added, “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.”
Francis then wrote that working with Geary was “always exciting,” adding “you never knew what might happen.”
“He spoiled me for leading men for the rest of my life,” she wrote. “I am crushed, I will miss him terribly, but I was so lucky to be his partner. Somehow, somewhere, we are connected to each other because I felt him leave last night. Good night sweet prince, good night.”
Francis and Geary played daytime’s biggest supercouple, Luke and Laura Spencer, after Geary originated the role of Luke in 1978. Before he departed the series in 2015, Geary made history with Francis as their characters’ 1981 wedding became the highest-rated moment in daytime history, with 30 million fans tuning in.
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Geary died on Sunday, Dec. 14 following complications from an operation three days prior, TV Insider reported. “It was a shock for me and our families and our friends,” Geary’s husband, Claudio Gama, told the outlet in a statement. “For more than 30 years, Tony has been my friend, my companion, my husband.”
In a statement shared with PEOPLE on Monday, General Hospital executive producer Valentini said the “entire General Hospital family is heartbroken” over the news.
“Tony was a brilliant actor and set the bar that we continue to strive for,” Valentini said. “His legacy, and that of Luke Spencer’s, will live on through the generations of GH cast members who have followed in his footsteps. We send our sincerest sympathies to his husband, Claudio, family, and friends. May he rest in peace.”
Back in November, Geary’s husband revealed on Instagram that he and the General Hospital star tuned in for Maurice Benard’s two-part interview with Francis and her husband Jonathan Frakes on his State of Mind podcast. “We had a lovely time,” Gama wrote. “For Tony, [he] was watching his friends and colleagues and for me watching Mr. Jonathan Frakes is always a pleasure, I’m a huge Star Trek fan.”
Geary was a 16-time nominee for the Daytime Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series, winning the award 8 times. His mob-hitman character of Luke met Laura in 1979 and forced himself on her, before they went on the run in 1980 and sparked a fan-favorite romance.
On Nov. 17, 1981, their wedding episode made history (and even featured a cameo from Elizabeth Taylor), while the characters eventually welcomed son Lucky (Jonathan Jackson) and daughter Lulu, although the marriage didn’t last. Luke and Laura eventually split in 2001.
“People still see daytime television as the bastard of the industry, but the fact that Elizabeth Taylor chose to come here because she’s a fan must mean we’re doing something right,” Geary told PEOPLE in 1981. “It validated General Hospital for me.”
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In a 2015 interview with ABC News, Francis said that Luke and Laura’s relationship was “always very real.”
Reflecting on his General Hospital legacy, Geary told Entertainment Weekly in 2015 that it was “once very difficult” for him to deal with the fact that he was best known for the performance.
“It’s not my favorite time of my life, and I don’t think it represents me as a person or an actor,” he said. “It’s kind of like whenever you are introduced, they haul out a high-school graduation picture. It can be irritating.”
Still, he added: “It’s been a really exciting ride. In the end, it’s been well worth it.”
