LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Anthony Geary, the Emmy-winning actor best known for his decades-long role as Luke Spencer on the daytime soap opera "General Hospital," has died at age 78, it was reported Monday.

Geary, who lived in the Netherlands, died Sunday from complications following a scheduled operation three days earlier, according to the website TV Insider.

"It was a shock for me and our families and our friends," his husband, Claudio Gama, told the website. "For more than 30 years, Tony has been my friend, my companion, my husband."

Geary -- a Utah native who relocated to Los Angeles with help from actor Jack Albertson -- appeared on "All in the Family" and later starred on the daytime soaps "Bright Promise" and "The Young and the Restless" before arriving on "General Hospital" in 1978.

Geary became a pop culture sensation as Luke opposite Genie Francis' Laura Webber, a pairing that transformed "General Hospital" and daytime television itself. What began as a controversial storyline evolved into one of the most famous romances in soap opera history, culminating in Luke and Laura's 1981 wedding. It drew an estimated 30 million viewers and remains one of the most-watched events in daytime TV history.

The couple's popularity helped propel "General Hospital" to the top of the ratings and turned Geary into one of the genre's most recognizable stars.

"He was a powerhouse as an actor," Francis wrote on X Monday in response to Geary's death. "Shoulder to shoulder with the greats. No star burned brighter than Tony Geary. He was one of a kind. 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. Working with him was always exciting. You never knew what might happen."

Geary left the series at the end of 1983 but returned full time in 1991, initially portraying Luke Spencer's lookalike cousin, Bill Eckert. Luke soon reappeared as well, and Geary remained a fixture on "General Hospital" until his final episode as a regular aired July 27, 2015.

"This show has been a huge part of my life for over half my life, and Luke Spencer is my alter ego," Geary told TVLine in 2015.

"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 `G.H.' set one day. That wouldn't be too poetic."

Born Tony Dean Geary on May 29, 1947, in the small town of Coalville, Utah, he later adopted the name Anthony, telling Soap Opera Digest in 1996 that "Tony is a nickname."

Raised by Mormon parents alongside three sisters, Geary was drawn to performing at an early age.

He won a scholarship to study theater at the University of Utah, began his career on stage and moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s, supporting himself with a series of odd jobs, including selling toys at a department store, while waiting for his breakthrough.

Geary made his television debut in 1970 on "Room 222," a groundbreaking ABC television drama.

Soon after, he appeared on CBS' "All in the Family" as Roger, a man Archie Bunker wrongly believes is gay.

Geary then landed his first soap role on NBC's "Bright Promise," playing a man misdiagnosed as mentally impaired and institutionalized at birth.

In 1973, he joined CBS' "The Young and the Restless" as George Curtis, a rapist. After six months, producers asked him to stay on as they planned to rehabilitate the character, but Geary declined, believing it was time to pursue a film career.

That film career never materialized, though Geary found steady work on Quinn Martin-produced series such as "Dan August," "Barbary Jones" and "The Streets of San Francisco."

In 1974, he played a psychotic killer who takes hostages in the ABC television movie "Sorority Kill."

In 1978, Geary was cast in what was intended to be a 13-week arc as Luke Spencer on ABC's "General Hospital." Introduced as a hit man who raped Laura Webber, the character evolved into her romantic partner and eventual husband. The storyline made Geary a series regular, and the pairing of Luke and Laura became a pop-culture phenomenon.

Geary won a record eight Daytime Emmy Awards for outstanding lead actor in a drama series.

Geary met his husband, Gama, in February 1995, and the couple married in February 2019.

After Geary retired from acting in 2015, the two moved to the Netherlands, where Geary had owned a home in Amsterdam for several years.