This article appeared in Soap Opera Magazine on November 19, 1996.

Wedding Anniversary Exclusive: My 15 Years of Luke & Laura
by Anne Marie Allocca

Fifteen years ago, 17 million people gathered in front of their televisions on Nov. 16, 1981, to watch GH's Luke and Laura marry in the TV wedding of the century. Anthony Geary (Luke) had captivated fans from his first appearance on the show in 1978. (His performances won him the Outstanding Lead Actor Emmy in 1982, and he's already considered a shoo-in for another nomination this year.) When Luke was paired with Laura (actress Genie Francis), GH struck gold. Now stroll down memory lane with Tony Geary as he recalls some of his (and Luke's) most memorable moments.--Anne Marie Allocca

Soap Opera Magazine: Do you have a favorite Luke and Laura adventure?

Tony Geary: The very first runaway story--The Left-Handed Boy with Sally/Max and Hutch. It was so successful that all the other soaps--and ours--have adapted it. How many young couples have run away since as an adventure? It started with the fight with Scotty and Luke on the boat and ended up with the solving of the Left-Handed Boy. It took us about eight months, and for my money, it's never been done as well. It was beautifully laid out.

SOM: When you flash back to Luke and Laura's wedding, what comes to mind?

TG: A really, hot uncomfortable day in Los Angeles. We were all in morning coats, overdressed for the afternoon, for a very long day--and we were roasting. The clips from that show have followed Genie and myself for the rest of our lives, to the point where she cringes when she sees them. I'm like, "Oh, God, are we going to see these again?" I'm glad other people enjoy it, but whenever we appear anywhere, there's always the wedding-vow clip. It was beautifully shot, but my memories are Number One, the experience was really uncomfortable, and Number Two, the clip has been haunting me the rest of my life.

SOM: What's your prognosis for the marriage since the revelation of Nikolas?

TG: Before I give my prognosis, I'd say my hope is a lot more trouble because that's been a lot more fun to play. Genie and I sort of make our marks with the edgier, more emotional material. We do it well, and it also rings true for these characters. What doesn't ring true for them is a happy, contented home life. That doesn't work for us. The prognosis itself? Dangerous, but not critical. I think it will be worked out in the end, but I don't know if the feelings that have been stirred up from this will ever be resolved. Just like life, you can forgive and love and go on, but sometimes you never forget. It does affect the future, and it should--this was a major event in their lives. I don't think we can ever just walk on happily into the sunset again without looking over our shoulders.

SOM: The edgier side is also more interesting to watch.

TG: Luke's always been about controversy. He was born in controversy, and he's a very controversial character. I don't personally follow it, but I've heard from several sources that the fans are in an uproar about his behavior and his darker side. The Internet is burning up with discussions about it. That's great. If everybody loves you, then that's one thing, but if you've got people who feel so passionately about what you're doing, either positively or negatively, that they actually engage in heated discussions among themselves, that's something else. I like to think of myself as a theater person. And I think I'm a little more European in my approach--theater is to provoke and disturb. I'm not interested in merely entertaining, and I'm certainly not interested in making people comfortable. I always look for a way to keep the audience on edge.

SOM: How do you think Luke justifies his feelings toward Nikolas?

TG: I don't think Luke justifies any of his feelings--he just has them. Everybody knows the Luke and Laura romance began with a violent event--with a rape. Perhaps not a typical rape, but she was taken by force. That's an issue that's never really been resolved in Luke's mind. And the thought of another man having his wife by force and then her conceiving a child of that rape or that misuse of her body, this pushes all of his unresolved problems. I think he sees Nikolas as a product of rape. It's going to be really difficult for him to ever see Nikolas as anything else. He has to believe Laura was taken; he can't believe she was a willing participant in making this child. People have asked me a couple of times, "Don't you think that's inconsistent?" But when you have unresolved issues, you don't want them right in your face. Nikolas is a threat on many levels. Luke's an extremist and an emotionally volatile man, and at the bottom of all of it is his protection of his family. It's not really about the kid so much, it's about the family. At this stage, Luke is not able to see Nikolas as Laura's son, he only sees Nikolas as a Cassadine. That's how I understand his behavior, but I'd never try to justify it. He's planted drugs on the kid, he's doing some extreme things which I'm loving. This is a guy who'll do anything to protect what he perceives as a threat to his own. That tracks right back to his childhood, so there's no inconsistency whatsoever as far as I'm concerned. I'm not interested in a hero. The people with the chinks in their armor are more interesting to the audience. This is an opportunity to show some vulnerability and some madness because it's all in there. It's all in him.

SOM: Even though Nikolas saved Lulu's life, Luke still doesn't accept him.

TG: Not at this point. The way Luke looks at it, the kid was a match. He didn't choose to be a match. That's the luck of the draw. Just because it was him doesn't mean that we have to bow down to him. It could have been anybody. And secondly--even more importantly--somewhere in the back of Luke's psyche, Lulu is now contaminated with Cassadine blood. I don't think he would ever be able to embrace his daughter the way he does his son. He's an unforgiving man. I have planted the seed way back in the deepest edges of Luke's psyche that Lulu is not a pure Spencer anymore. They've not written that, but I have planted those seeds. If we continue to play this character long enough for Lulu to become a young woman, there's some real interesting stuff there if a writer ever wants to let those seeds bloom. This is the kind of thing I've always done with this character. I believe he's a living person. The one great thing an actor can do in daytime is give a character history. And when you give them history the audience can tap into, that's gold. Way back when Laura was taken away by the Cassadines, the seeds of hatred and murder were planted in Luke's heart. We're now getting some blossoms as a result of that history. And perhaps one day we'll be able to deal with the fact that Luke has problems with Lulu. At this point, she's just a baby, and he adores her, but I've planted the seeds. Lucky's my first born and the only pure-blood Spencer.

SOM: Have you ever told the writers, "Luke wouldn't do this?"

TG: Have I ever? I say that all the time, particularly when we get new writers. These are very difficult characters. I don't want them simplistic, I don't want them homogenized--we've experienced that. That doesn't work. I think it's part of my job to question and to say he wouldn't do this when he wouldn't. I've found through the years that people respect it. If you've been playing a character for 18 years or 20 years as Genie has--and we've had 25 different writers or more--there's only one consistent element, and that is the actor playing the part. It's unethical not to fight and say he wouldn't do that. If you don't you're not taking the character seriously. And if you don't take the character seriously, the audience isn't going to. You have to be true to yourself and you have to fight for the truth. Otherwise, there's no hope for this character. Characters aren't viable for years and years on soaps by being inconsistent.

SOM: Do you have any regrets about Luke?

TG: Not so far. I wish he'd been written differently at times. Without slamming any writers--I don't want to do that--when we came back, it was with a terrific story right out of the Luke and Laura hope chest. Then I think we spent a year being some people I didn't know. I regret that year, but I don't think we had anything to do with it. As for me, I'm content with him. As long as we push the envelope and continue to keep the character on the edge and keep the audience a little uncomfortable, I'm a happy guy.

SOM: The writers dug into Luke and Laura's history by bringing in the Cassadines. Would you like to see a new enemy come onto the canvas?

TG: Sure. The history of the characters is where the richness lies. You can bring new characters in, but it's always best to bring them in through the history of the character. Bob Guza, who was here briefly to lay this story out for us with Stefan Cassadine, was a dialogue writer way back during that first runaway story. He always got the characters because he was there as they were being created. He was able to say, hey, you guys have really been wasted here, so we're going to dip into the history. I think he came up with gold. I'm real happy with any time they can keep the history of the characters alive. I really think the audience is far more interested because that connects to their own history. At the same time, you've got to keep moving forward. There are plenty of stories yet to play with new villains. One of my favorite villains ever on GH was Faison. Anders Hove, a Danish actor, was just a wonderful actor. He made Faison a fascinating and very dark villain--the kind of villain audiences love. He was very attractive and very sexy. I'd love to see that character pop up again. When you deal with Luke and Laura, you need to take a broader brush stroke because there's room for it. It's soap opera, not soap pen pals. Look at your queen bitches of daytime--it's all about taking characters that are really sort of out there. The Lukes and the Lauras, the Erica Kanes--every show has them. You've got to crank them up a couple of notches so you get something other than infidelities to deal with. Otherwise, every show is the same. I'm all for new villains as long as they fit the franchise.

SOM: The reaction was epic when Luke raped Laura. Would you do that scene today?

TG: Yes, I would. Why not? I'm not into politically correct. When it comes to the theatre, as I told you, I think it should be disturbing. I know the network would never do it today, but of course I would.

SOM: The show later termed it a seduction.

TG: They backpedaled like crazy. They never expected the audience to respond to Luke's side of it like they did. It annoys me that people portray this as if we outraged the audience. We didn't do that. We did a rape, and the audience fell in love with Luke. That wasn't our fault. Nobody was trying to denigrate women or put one over on anybody--that's rewriting history. The audience responded to Luke and his pain. Gloria (Monty, GH's executive producer at the time) wasn't afraid of that. She was a woman who believed-she didn't go to focus groups--she believed in "I'll lead the audience, not follow them." That's the way I feel, too. When you start following the audience, the tail is wagging the dog. You bet I'd do it again--in a flash. It's a great dramatic moment. But I don't think anybody else has got the courage to do it again.

SOM: Should Luke tell Lucky about the rape?

TG: I don't think it's relevant to Lucky. The rape has nothing to do with him. His parents love and adore each other now. It's none of his business, and I don't believe people need to tell everybody everything. But I think if it came up, Luke would try to be honest. Luke has always kept a close eye on Lucky because Luke sees a lot of himself in Lucky--probably to the point where it's not even healthy sometimes. He's identified and merged with Lucky over this Nikolas situation to the point where it's just a little bit sick--and I've done that on purpose. He looks for himself in Lucky, the good and the bad. Luke knows there's a lot of bad things about him, and those are the things he's on the lookout with Lucky about. He was on watch about Lucky's gambling. It didn't concern him as long as Lucky wasn't getting himself in a dangerous situation. If he saw Lucky obsessing about a young woman, Luke might keep a close eye on him, only because of his own past.

SOM: Does Jonathan Jackson (Lucky) help you with your performance?

TG: He never lies. He's one of the truest actors I've ever worked with. He doesn't push for results. He's so open and there--he's not shy with me or afraid of me. He's a total peer, and when we work, he's utterly my son. He has absorbed Genie and me. If you watch him, he's got a lot of her emotional turns, and he's picked up my rhythm. He moves like me. I've seen him in other things, and he doesn't do that. This is a choice he's made as Lucky. This is not just a kid who's worked with us so much that he's now like us. He just did a movie on Showtime--Prisoner of Zenda, Inc.--where he played two characters and neither one was Lucky. I worried for a while that he was absorbing so much of the two of us that he was losing his own identity. But he isn't, and I'm pleased to see that. But as Lucky, he's utterly our child. I really feel like, "God, if I had a son, I'd want him to be just like Jonathan." He's the perfect physicalization of Luke and Laura's love. He's a beautiful little guy, and he's a great actor who has a wonderful heart. He's intelligent.

SOM: You make a script your own with improv. Has another actor ever surprised you?

TG: Sure. Tristan Rogers used to do it all the time. Kin Shriner used to do it. All the actors that I work with. Everybody knows that as far as I'm concerned, they have the freedom to fire right back. Improvisation is often born out of not wanting to stop the scene even though somebody is lost. Sometimes that works really well because you're totally spontaneous and in the moment. It's not a matter of just getting out there and having fun and ad-libbing all over the place, it's a matter of knowing who you are and what you want and keeping on track. It's much more disciplined than people realize. I don't even like the word ad-libbing because it sounds like you're playing. Life is an improvisation, it's not an ad-lib.

SOM: What comes to mind when I name some of your co-stars--first, Kin Shriner (ex-Scotty)?

TG: I smile anytime I think of Kin. He's one of the funniest people I've ever met. He has a wonderful sense of humor and he's a little goofy. I like that in my soap friends. Somebody was pointing out in one of the fight scenes we had that I accidentally popped Kin in the mouth and knocked him on the couch and his mouth bled through the scene. He didn't go, "Stop tape!" as so many younger actors might do these days. He continued--and that's improvisation. He dealt with it, and we continued the scene. One of the directors asked, "Did he ever pop you back?" And I said, no, but I let him write his dialogue on the back of my neck. Playing an attorney, he had all these technical legal terms that he couldn't remember. I was sitting, and he kept walking behind me, so he asked, "Can I just write this on your neck?" I said, "Well, I owe you one for bloodying your mouth."

SOM: Norma Connolly (Ruby)?

TG: One of the dearest people I know. I love Norma, she has been a real friend and a real solid anchor through all of this, not only for Luke, but for me as a person. Ruby is Luke's role model for Mother Earth. And there is a lot of Laura in Ruby. There is a lot of Laura's tender taking-care-of-people side that he fell in love with.

SOM: Jackie Zeman (Bobbie)?

TG: When I first came on, Jackie was the queen bitch of daytime. I was sort of her Tonto, running around letting the air out of people's tires for her. We've always had fire between us. If there's anybody there that feels like a sister, it's Jackie. And I think she'd tell you there's been a brotherly connection, even though we don't spend a lot of time together away from the show. I love the fights we have. We had one just yesterday where I lay into her for going to the Dominican Republic and getting a divorce from Tony. This whole thing where she's getting attracted to Stefan Cassadine. Some of the fights we've had have been my favorite moments. She anchors me to the streets, me as the actor. When Luke sees Bobbie, he never sees her as a nurse or as a mother; he always sees her as a street whore. He always loves her for that. That's not a judgment--he loves her survival, he loves what she's capable of doing to take care of herself. There's a lot of fire there, so it's wonderful to have scenes with Jackie.

SOM: Tristan Rogers (ex-Robert Scorpio)?

TG: Tristan and I had a special connection that's really unique. When we first met, there was an animosity between us that was real--and it worked on the air. Through the years, we somehow were able to put it to rest. We're very similar. We're both Geminis, both outlaws. We both have a lot of disdain for the bullsh**. We're both a little rude--well he's really rude. I aspire to be as rude as Tristan. We're very tight and I trust him implicitly. That Luke and Scorpio connection! I don't think you've seen male friendships that were that complex--not very often anyway. I just wish Scorpio were back. They've never found his body, so I'm always hoping he'll wash up or turn up under some rock.

SOM: Lynn Herring (Lucy)?

TG: She's such fun--and an utter professional. The work she turns out is consistently terrific--and she's so beautiful. Luke looks at Lucy as his second daughter. There's an attraction to her that he doesn't want to deal with because he's a happily married man and all, so the way he handles it is to protect her like he would a daughter. I prefer the goofy Lucy, the sillier she is, the more fun I have with her. I think if there was ever anybody in town that Luke would actively go after if he weren't married, it would have to be Lucy.

SOM: Elizabeth Taylor (Ex-Helena Cassadine)?

TG: What can I say about Elizabeth that you can print? It was really a pleasure--well, it was more than a pleasure, it was a great thrill--to work with her and get to know her. She's a wonderful woman. Her humor is superb. She's one of the funniest, bawdiest people I've ever known. She has a wonderful, nasty laugh. Anything beyond that I'm saving for my book.

SOM: Would you ever consider writing a book?

TG: Oh, yeah, but I'm not saying it would be a book about soap operas. I believe in people's privacy, and I think it would be bad karma to tell the stories about people I know. But I'm definitely writing a book about me and my life in art, such as it's been. That's definitely in the works. I have notes on it from back to 1973. I've been keeping journals all my life for one reason or another. I just think my own history is important to me. The day is going to come in my life when we find out that what I was all this time wasn't an actor but a writer. I plan to retire from acting when it becomes too impossible to light me anymore--and then I'll be writing. But I write now. I have short stories, I have plays. My journals tend to be flights of fancy rather than diaries, so, yeah, there's a book or two there.

PHOTOS:

1. Great shot (above) of Tony in a green oxford shirt and jeans against a yellow background--his eyes look phenomenal. Caption: "Anthony Geary is the first to admit there's an edge to Luke--and to himself. 'I'm not interested in making people comfortable,' he says. 'I always look for a way to keep the audience on the edge.'"

2. A series of 3 small shots of L&L from the old days, Laura during the rape scene, and the toast in Wyndhams' department store. Caption: "GH struck gold by pairing Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis). Although the relationship began with a rape, the two were soon toasting true love. 'Genie and I sort of make our marks with the edgier, more emotional material,' says Anthony Geary. 'It rings true for these characters.'"

3. A series of 3 small shots of the Left-Handed Boy plot, the Virginia Reel at the wedding, and L&L with Elizabeth Taylor. Caption: "The Left-Handed Boy mystery is Anthony's favorite storyline. His memories of the blockbuster Luke and Laura wedding: It was uncomfortably hot and the clips have haunted every day of his life since Nov. 16, 1981. And, oh, yes, there was the fun of meeting and working with the delightful Elizabeth Taylor."