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GH: Exclusive Exit Interview: Anthony Geary Leaves With All Guns Blazing


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So, he won't be remembered for his movie Disorderlies...LNL LOL.

He should just be proud of the fact that he is a legend in the genre. His name is well known with the likes of Lucci and so many others. Considering all of the Charity Rahmers,(okay, bad example...she's well known for sucking)...Look at all of the people that appeared in daytime and the only ones that remember their names. If it wasn't for Luke and Laura, he'd have been another footnote, that guy who raped Chris Brooks on Y&R...

Hey, as much as I can say about his attitudes, his scenes with Jane today were excellent (mostly because it was tony and Jane speaking, not the "writer" Elliott will miss Geary, and as annoying as Geary's scene chewing has been, I always liked the Tracey/Luke chemistry. Considering the writers we've had, we are lucky that JE wasn't killed off with the rest of the Q's.

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The impression I get is that TG wanted to be remembered for a whole body of work rather than merely one role (and a role on a "hoary, old daytime drama" at that). After all, when you think of some of the greats in the acting profession -- off the top of my head, there's Brando, Pacino, De Niro, and even classically trained ones such as Gielgud and Olivier -- there might be one or two "signature roles" that most remember them for, but whenever historians and such talk about them, they look at the whole arc of their career: how they started out, how they took risks and grew over time, how their work influences future generations of artists and so forth. Geary never had the chance to expand beyond Luke Spencer -- and yeah, okay, maybe the fact that L&L was SUCH a pop-culture phenomenon BITD had something to do with that. But, you know, as constricting as being known as Luke might have been, I don't see it as being a career ender. Geary might have faced an uphill battle breaking away from Luke, but it wasn't impossible, so long as he was willing to keep slugging away at it. I just think that after awhile he grew frustrated and tired, so he took what he saw as the easy way out: coming back to GH, and eventually, to Luke as well.

That's why I have to hand it to someone like Molly Ringwald, who seems to take in stride the fact that people still ask her about "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club" and "Pretty in Pink" all these years later. Is she happy about that? I doubt it. But, it is what it is.

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I suppose so. However, in order to break away, you've got to commit to that. And you've said yourself that he never did. It's part talent (add looks in into that for actors..lol) and part opportunity that allows people to soar. I'm not sure at this point which one TG truly lacked.

Either way, I'll just catalog him as bitter. He's an old man looking back over his life and feeling dissatisfied with the choices he made and the opportunities he was given (or wasn't). Disappointment has made him bitter, ungrateful, and blind to his blessings. Will Turner Classic Mocies dedicate a whole Saturday to play his greats? No. Will his style influence any up and coming thespians? Probably not. But none of that changes the fact that he's a succesful actor in that his art made him rich. And I know some one would say it's not about the money. But if it wasn't, then he would not have caved and come back to GH for it. I hope he finds peace.

An aside: if the genre lasts long enough, this will be Billy Miller in 30 years.

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Billy Miller? He is an acting and pop culture non-entity. Nobody ever heard of Billy Miller and most likely nobody ever will. Tony Geary was a solid B List celebrity for a time there, and that's why his retirement has gotten so much coverage. Geary is just another example that money doesn't buy happiness. I will say he influenced a lot of soap actors after him. Before Geary they all had blow dried conservative hair. After Geary you got characters like Bo and Patch.

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Chapter, book and verse. That was amazing!

He definitely did influence soap actors after him -- the anti-hero became the main lead on many a soap. He and GH even influenced out-and-out entire shows (Santa Barbara springs to mind -- something about the quality of the acting, the ethos, suggested it was trying to do its own form of GH with its stars and action/romantic tension).

There was one thing I didn't like about Geary's interview was the assertion before he came along, soaps were apparently filled with crappy actors and boring plots. I would disagree. For some soaps, the 1970s was a golden age (AW springs to mind) and I would rate the quality of the acting as good as any Broadway theatre. Even a small show like The Doctors -- what clips I have seen of it -- had actors who dazzled with talent and star power. Not just Elizabeth Hendricksen, Kathleen Turner and Alec Baldwin (although they were standouts) but somebody like Meg Mundy who played Mona Aldrich.

It's ironic because he's bitching about the quality of actors on soaps now. I do agree with him about Jane Eliott. She should be the Susan Flannery of GH tbh -- the tentpole character.

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I meant as far as wanting to move out of soaps and only being around cause of money with the BM comparisons.

The creation of Bo and Patch was writers and producers going with trends. It wasn't individual actors studying TG's style and listing him as an influence. Two totally different things. With all the big names out there, I don't see anyone dreaming of making it big in Hollywood finding clips of GH and saying, "yeah, this is the guy. I'll take his approach in my high school's play of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."

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Anthony Geary's interview was great and spot on about how the industry has changed and their focus. I think we all can agree that we started to see exactly what he said in regards to the writing, acting, and casting. I also agree with him when he says if you end up speaking up or out, then most likely you are ousted and labeled the trouble making actor/actress. If you just go back and look at old episodes of soaps, GH, being one, the caliber of acting was different, the emotion was there with lines and storylines. The heart was felt all through the soap opera and that's what made it so tight-knit, real community throughout the soap.

I agree with him on the storylines as of late with Luke and his departure. I know many will disagree with me on this, but bringing back Jake and tying it to Helena, as always do, is just bad writing and lacks creativity. It was a poor decision. I understand wanting to redeem Luke's character in some ways, but there were better ways to do it. And that whole mess with Frank Smith being alive and paralyzed was idiotic. Everyone saw Luke shoot and kill Frank Smith. I don't get RC's fascination with resurrecting charaters from the dead who really serve just one purpose for an arc of a storyline just to kill them off again. It could have been as simple in just really doing your homework and making some better choices for storyline direction for Luke's exit.

I know he thinks that he will only be remembered for his portrayal of Luke and his romance with Luke and Laura! But that he should embrace because Luke and Laura's romance is one of the contributing factors that made GH and other soaps what they were especially when it came to supercouples and every soap has a staple couple or many big supercouples! But I do understand where he's coming from. The reality is when you are a part of such a big couple, fans are going to remember you for that and what you added to their lives and television screen. Embrace it and be proud of that work and know you made some difference or gave the audience some happiness. Luke and Laura were huge and I love them for their romance and storylines afterwards. But I also love the actor Anthony Geary because he has contributed great work to GH and the acting community with some stellar performances.

It's basically this, AG's interview was honestly without a doubt truthful. Yes, there were places in the interview that ego definitely shined through and he even acknowledged some of it. He will be missed on GH and since they won't have him on GH after next week, the show has some major scrambling to do to fill such a huge void and gap.

The focus needs to go back on the vets and fast, then base some storylines on the other generation. Couples like Lulu and Dante need to be fixed and forefront but with a huge dose of romance and adventure. Maxie and Nathan are great but they need something more to propel them to a super couple status IMO. I think they missed the opportunity again for Morgan and Kiki to propel them as young lovers. Jason (Jake) and Sam need to reunite. Lucky and Liz should have been that next big staple couple years ago and I think it could still happen. GH is definitely lacking a lot IMO right now and HEART is one thing! Where are the solid families? The Quatermaines are still very much absent and need to be rebuilt badly. The Hardy's are non-existent. The Scorpios are all over the place. The Webbers are where? And we could go on and on...it just lacks HEART and FAMILY! It would be great to see more scenes shared between Carly and Lulu, talking about life, problems, romance, and new beginnings especially since Carly is remarrying Sonny. Have Tracy and Dillon shared many scenes yet? I will say this the only back from the dead storyline I would like to see is the return of Alan Quartermaine! He should've never been killed off.

This is my rant for now lol! Sorry! I just have a passion for soaps and the return to greatness!

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