Luke Spencer is a fictional character in the American television soap opera General Hospital, played by Anthony Geary from 1978 until his departure in July 2015. Geary holds the record for most Daytime Emmy wins for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his work as Luke. He was the show's fifth most tenured character after Monica Quartermaine, Laura Spencer, Scott Baldwin, and Bobbie Spencer. The character was famously paired with Laura Spencer (named Laura Webber when he met her), starting soon after Luke Spencer joined the show. The pairing, termed "Luke and Laura" by fans, was extremely popular with viewers, and led to the creation of the "supercouple" concept, which many other soap operas attempted to emulate. The pairing culminated with the couple's wedding, which took place on the episodes aired on November 16–17, 1981; the November 17 episode was watched by 30 million people and remains the most watched hour in soap opera history. Casting Anthony Geary was originally hired for a 13-week stint on General Hospital in November 1978, which eventually grew into a full contract role. Geary received Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1980 and 1981, and had his first win in 1982. Geary was nominated again in 1983, before leaving the show on December 27, 1983. He later reprised the role from October 26 to December 10, 1984. In 1991, Geary returned to General Hospital as Luke's cousin and look-alike Bill Eckert, due to the actor's desire to play something other than Luke. However, in response to audience feedback and demand, the character was killed off, and Geary resumed the role of Luke on October 29, 1993. Geary was nominated in 1997 and 1998 for Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Lead Actor, and had his second win in 1999, and his third in 2000. He received another nomination in 2003, and had his fourth win in 2004. When Geary won for the fifth time in 2006, he set the record for most lead actor wins. Geary has been known in later years for his annual long vacations from the show. As Geary explained to Entertainment Weekly, "That's my contractual situation. There came a point where they really couldn't offer me more money in negotiations. I've made a very fine living and I'm grateful for that. But what they could offer me would be more time. So what's happened