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‘General Hospital’ Stars Genie Francis and Anthony Geary Dish on Luke and Laura’s Iconic Wedding on Event’s 35th Anniversary
It’s been 35 years since bad boy Lucas Lorenzo Spencer (Anthony Geary) and his luminous teen angel Laura Webber (Genie Francis) said “I do” on General Hospital in what is still the highest-rated event in daytime TV history. Now, the stars of the ABC soap open up in the latest issue of Closer Weekly on the event's anniversary to share some surprising stories about the wedding of Luke and Laura.
“It all looked fun and glamorous to the audience,” Genie exclusively tells Closer, “but everyone on the set that day was on edge about everything going perfectly. There was a lot of screaming and yelling. I couldn’t even sit because I was under such pressure not to wrinkle my dress.”
Luke and Laura's wedding in 1981.
“When I look back on that episode, all I can think about is how much I hate my hair,” cracks Anthony of the GH nuptials.
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The wedding was such a huge to-do that the two stars even received bottles of Bollinger champagne and a congratulatory note from Princess Diana.
There might have been no ceremony at all if it weren’t for Luke and Laura’s No. 1 fan, Elizabeth Taylor, who famously crashed the reception as glam supervillain Helena Cassadine.
Elizabeth at Luke and Laura's wedding in 1981.
“Elizabeth said, ‘I won’t come on the show unless there’s a wedding,’" recalls Tristan Rogers who played Luke’s best man, Robert Scorpio.
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The actor tells Closer that Genie “had an offer to go to CBS” and was planning to flee GH within weeks. “So, suddenly everything shifted,” Tristan says with a laugh. “When you’ve got Elizabeth Taylor, you make adjustments!”
For more BTS secrets from daytime TV’s most watched wedding, pick up the latest issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now!
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