Anthony Geary bowing out of General Hospital after 37 years

Actor ANTHONY GEARY is leaving U.S. soap opera GENERAL HOSPITAL after almost four decades on air.
The TV veteran has been portraying Luke Spencer on the medical drama series since 1978, but he has decided to bow out of the show once his current contract ends in June (15).
In a statement, executive producer Frank Valentini writes, “Tony recently made his intentions clear that he would vacate his role of Luke Spencer this year, and it was a decision he did not come to lightly. After 37 years on the air, Tony felt this was the right time to bid adieu to Luke Spencer, Port Charles and General Hospital.”
His final episode will air in the U.S. this summer (15), but Geary, 67, insists he’s not retiring just yet – he simply wants to spend more time in his adopted home of Amsterdam, Holland.
He tells TVinsider.com, “I don’t like that word ‘retirement’. It sounds like some guy sitting around the pool drinking Mai Tais (cocktails) until his heart gives out, and that’s not me. I’m an actor, a showbiz kid. This year marks 50 years for me in this business – a half-century of professional work – and I am not about to bring that to an end. I will always act. I will always be looking for another project…
“This show has been a huge part of my life for over half my life and Luke Spencer is my alter ego. But I’m just weary of the grind and have been for 20 years. There was a point after my back surgery last year where it became clear to me that my time is not infinite. And I really don’t want to die, collapsing in a heap, on that GH set one day. That wouldn’t be too poetic. In fact, it would be poetically incorrect. I have another life and I want time to explore it.”