Tonight: ABC will air a touching tribute episode to the legendary duo Luke & Robert — a special farewell to Anthony Geary & Tristan Rogers

General Hospital has unveiled an initial plan to honor the late, iconic soap star Anthony Geary. According to TV Insider on December 22, General Hospital plans to re-air the episode from 2015, where Geary’s Luke Spencer said goodbye to everybody in Port Charles.

The special encore episode will air on January 1.

Geary, who won eight Daytime Emmy Awards over the years playing Luke, died on December 14.

The actor first joined General Hospital in 1978. He ultimately appeared in nearly 2,000 episodes of the long-running soap opera. He departed the soap more than once over the years, and at one point, even returned to play Spencer’s cousin, Bill Eckert.

When Geary decided in 2015 to retire, he starred in a poignant episode of General Hospital where Luke shared emotional goodbyes with those he was closest to in Port Charles. Geary appeared one last time on General Hospital in 2017. In 2022, it was revealed that Luke died off-screen in an accident in Austria.

As People noted, Geary’s run on General Hospital was never supposed to last for decades. In fact, he was brought on initially for a 13-week arc.

In 2008, Geary talked to Entertainment Weekly about his love for the city of Amsterdam, which is where he moved full-time after retiring from General Hospital.

He noted that having a home in Amsterdam, where “nobody knows me there,” allowed him to “recapture a lot of the time I sort of lost in terms of just being a regular guy” instead of a soap star.

“That’s been very valuable to me,” Geary added, noting that part of his willingness to stay on General Hospital was that “it affords me a fantastic life and to be able to be bi-continental.”

Luke Spencer and Robert Scorpio: A Bond Forged in Adventure

The New Year’s Day encore will not only celebrate Geary, but also evoke memories of one of General Hospital’s greatest on-screen friendships: Luke Spencer and Robert Scorpio.

In 1980, the series introduced Tristan Rogers as Robert Scorpio, who soon became Luke’s partner-in-crime. Rogers’ arrival was perfectly timed, plunging Robert into the heart of Luke’s legendary Ice Princess caper and sparking an iconic duo between the two characters.

As Luke and Robert, Geary and Rogers shared countless adventures – foiling villains and trading wisecracks – and their on-screen chemistry captivated millions of fans.

It was clear that a genuine off-screen friendship had also formed, mirroring the brotherly camaraderie of their alter egos

Luke Spencer and Robert Scorpio’s enduring friendship defined an era of GH, both on-screen and off. Their connection remained unshakeable — “It was a classic relationship with a couple [of] ne’er-do-wells, who knew the worst about each other, but for the most part, remained friends anyway,” Geary once said.

He also cherished Rogers’ unpredictable style on set, noting that working with Tristan was often “funny, exciting, challenging, and infuriating – a perfect day’s work”. Rogers died in August 2025 at age 79. Geary admitted the news of his friend’s death left him “depressed,” but added, “I have great memories of him and always will”

Heartfelt Tributes from the GH Family

News of Geary’s passing left the General Hospital community in mourning. “It was a shock for me and our families and our friends,” Geary’s husband, Claudio Gama, said in a statement. “For more than 30 years, Tony has been my friend, my companion, my husband.” Gama also revealed that Geary died in the Netherlands only three days after undergoing an operation.

Frank Valentini, the show’s executive producer, praised Geary as a “brilliant” actor who set a high bar and noted that Luke Spencer’s legacy will live on “through the generations of GH cast members who have followed in his footsteps”