Volume I, Issue vi

February 1999

Books in Review by Arda Clark

Anthony Geary
by John Blumenthal
Simon and Schuster; 1982
Out of print (cover price is $6.95; expect to pay $25-30)

After months of searching for this book, engaging several out-of-print book finding services, I finally found it through a small used book store about five minutes away from my home. Overjoyed, I sat in my car in the parking lot, and read the book from cover to cover in less than 15 minutes.

I was not trying to win a speed-reading contest; there's simply not very much to read here. The book is a slim paperback, divided into six chapters, with an illustration of Geary by artist Ann Meisel on the cover. While the book is not paginated, I counted 24 pages of text (including the half-pages) and 49 black and white photos. Published in 1982, the book seems to have been intended to cash in on the tremendous interest in General Hospital and Geary then.

The back cover promises that the book will answer several questions: "Why are Luke and General Hospital so successful? Who is the real Anthony Geary? Where does Luke Spencer end and Anthony Geary begin?" Sadly, the book succeeds only partially, delivering mostly shallow and insubstantial answers.

To the question regarding the success of Luke and General Hospital Blumenthal writes: "The answer to that question lies largely in the talent, charm, wit and audacity of the man who each afternoon brings life to the character of Luke Spencer. That man's name is Anthony Geary, and there are plenty of reasons why he has caused such a ruckus. Unlike most of his colleagues on the soaps, he has made a mark for himself, by confidently chipping away at the old familiar mold of the stereotypical soap opera character. He has made Luke Spencer into the classic anti-hero, a man out of sync with society who is strong yet vulnerable, brutish yet dignified, brazen yet romantic."

As an ardent Geary fan, I have no disagreement with Blumenthal's statement. No one disputes that the character of Luke Spencer and the adventures of Luke and Laura revitalized GH and saved it from cancellation. Nor, I believe, would anyone dispute that Geary's brilliance as an actor made Luke Spencer much more than the minor character he was originally intended to be. Blumenthal, however, says nothing specific about Geary's acting skills and choices. Granted it is difficult to verbally describe acting skill, but an analysis of a scene or two that described Geary's delivery of dialogue, gestures, and facial expressions would have been welcome. Also welcome would have been specifics of how Luke Spencer was a departure from other soap characters and perhaps a discussion of how Luke's unconventionality mirrored longings in society for questioning accepted models of behavior.

Blumenthal prefaces his answer to the question "who is the real Anthony Geary" by citing Geary's vigilance in protecting his privacy. Although Blumenthal implies that he has special knowledge about Geary, there is no indication in the book that he had any direct conversations with Geary. Blumenthal seems to rely mostly on previously published interviews and articles, without identifying sources, dates, contexts. In fact, The Official General Hospital Trivia Book (published by ABC Daytime Press in 1997) identifies this biography as unauthorized.

In discussing the relationship between Geary and Luke, Blumenthal identifies Luke's humor and wardrobe as two elements influenced by Geary. He quotes Geary's comments on humor: "When I first came to the show, there was absolutely no humor in Luke at all. I brought it to him...I think Luke's biggest appeal is that he doesn't take himself seriously. He's borderline comic strip, not unlike Superman. I mean he wears a bulletproof vest and picks up rattlesnakes. Without humor, that would be terrible stuff." Blumenthal also relates Geary's reaction to Luke's intended wardrobe: "When I went into wardrobe the first day, they were bringing in double-knit suits and plaid jackets, so I told them that I get rashes from double-knit. I then started bringing stuff from home like a new-wave, punk-rock look long before it was in."

While the discussion of humor and wardrobe are fun to read, Blumenthal himself acknowledges that they are superficial elements of the relationship between Geary and Luke. The most revealing statement from Geary that Blumenthal quotes (without stating the source) is this: "I guess what makes me so passionate about Luke...is that he epitomizes what I need to say. I lived most of my life thinking I was not going to be all right. In my heart, I am not acceptable. I have a great deal of sensitivity and understanding for people, but you know who I like best? People who don't know where to turn. I love them because they're like me." Elsewhere Blumenthal quotes Geary's thoughts on Luke: "When I first created him, he was not in any way acceptable...He sang the song of the outcast. What was beautiful is that I made him lovable. Not acceptable, lovable. I didn't know I was doing it, but I loved him." These two quotations, I believe, say a great deal about Luke's popularity as a character. Geary's love for Luke transformed Luke from the two-bit hoodlum he might have been into the complicated, conflicted, always intriguing character we've come to know. Luke may have been a character only his mother would have loved; but through Geary's love for his character, the audience came to love Luke Spencer as well.

Blumenthal's writing style is irritating. He tries to make up for his lack of substance by padding his sentences with needless phrases. Wherever he can say something in several words instead of one, he does. In discussing Geary's birthplace, Coalville, Utah, Blumenthal writes: "Since its population is no more than eight hundred souls, Coalville does not even appear on most maps of the Beehive State, but it was here that Tony Geary was born some thirty-five years ago on May 29, here that he spent his boyhood, here that he first developed an enduring passion for the theater." Why not call Utah simply Utah? And why not say that Geary was born in May 29, 1947? Why spell out 800 and 35? To round the text up to 24 pages, of course.

While the irritating padded sentences may be overlooked, it's more difficult to overlook ludicrous statements such as Blumenthal's description of Luke and Laura's romance as one "that began auspiciously enough on the hard floor of a Port Charles discotheque." Perhaps Blumenthal's use of the word "auspiciously" is intended to be sarcastic; however, the immediate context does not support an ironic meaning, and taken at face value "auspiciously" is non-sensical.

Is there anything of merit in the book? For fans like me, who have come to appreciate Geary in recent years, the book compiles in one place bits of interviews from the late '70s/early '80s. It does provide some information on Geary's early career on stage, movies, and television. It discusses some of Geary's personal traits such as workaholism and his preference for being hungry when he's working--he apparently thinks feeling hungry helps bring his feelings to the surface. There are a few paragraphs on Geary's belief in re-incarnation and his self-description as a "moral anarchist." Blumenthal also cites Geary's love for roller-blading, swimming, and travel. While Geary's current love for travel is well-known, I didn't know until I read this book that he had hitch-hiked in Europe when he was 21. Other fun-to-know items include the names of Geary's cats--Bernard, Cannabis, and Taylor--and that he appreciates the unconventional beauty of Melina Mercouri and Ka tharine Hepburn (as opposed to Farrah Fawcett and Bo Derek).

The photos--many of which I'd never seen before--are probably the best feature of the book. Most of them are of Geary alone, but there are many photos of Geary with other GH actors including Genie Francis, Jackie Zeman, and Norma Connolly. My favorite photo shows Geary hanging upside down on a tree clutching a beer pitcher awarded to him after a speech at Harvard's Hasty Pudding Club in 1981.

As disappointing as the book is, Geary fans would nonetheless appreciate the photos, the bits of information, and the quotations that provide some insight into Geary. But don't expect to come away with the "in-depth portrait" the book's back cover claims it contains. Geary deserves a much better biography which remains to be written.

Note: In the meantime, the best source for information on Geary is Amy McWilliams's Anthony Geary Web Page.