Despite that ignominious beginning, the romance became a fan favorite and helped turn General Hospital into a pop culture juggernaut. Their wedding was watched by 30 million people, the highest-rated episode of an American soap opera, ever. During the height of Luke and Laura’s romance, they averaged 14 million viewers an episode.

I was a bit of a mama’s boy growing up, which means I often watched television with my mom. That means I watched daytime TV. And that means I watched ’70s soaps. My mother was an ABC devotee; “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” were usually on the agenda.

Luke and Laura remained on the series for years after their onscreen romance faded out, both becoming long-tenured cast members on the soap. Others from the show also spoke out, with Sarah Joy Brown (Carly Corinthos) also writing on X:

The soap opera world continues to mourn the loss of General Hospital icon Anthony Geary, an actor who helped take soap operas to a whole new level, and keep GH on the air, along with co-star Genie Fra