September 30, 1996 is a special day for Genie Francis and Anthony Geary. It was on this day 6 years ago that they were inducted into the Soap Opera Hall of Fame.
They are THE soap opera couple of all time. There will never be another that has their special magic. Luke & Laura fans everywhere are anticipating the next chapter of daytime's greatest love story
As fans of Luke & Laura and Tony & Genie, we wanted to have a special tribute to the actors and the special bond that they share with each other and with us.
First, some memorable comments each has made about the other and then a link to their very special day six years ago as reported in SOW.
Tony About Genie
"Our souls meet out there somewhere."
"The way Genie and I work, Laura is Luke's heart and humanity. Whether she's on camera or not, her presence is there. Laura will always be in Luke's life. But I prefer to have Genie here."
"This is daytime -- we come, we go, we come back. I just want to work with her again and hope we get a good story."
"Genie is a consummate professional. She is always prepared and always truthful, and she also is the best audience for my jokes in the world."
"My experience with this lady is that she's happiest -- and feels most fulfilled -- when she has an opportunity to unzip her little heart and bleed all over the place. I just don't know anyone else who does it better. ...Literally every day she wants to give you a big ol' chunk o' heart.... She just wants to bleed for ya."
"....keeping things alive onscreen, that really has to do with Genie and me.. we're interested in each other and trust each other as actors and find each other's weaknesses and work together, it's not difficult. That doesn't age, doesn't die, doesn't get weak or dull, that connection."
"I would never have brought back Luke without Laura, because she defines him. His feelings, his life, are all about her. I had so closed the door on Luke that there was a point when I couldn't even remember who he was. But when I sat down with Genie again, and looked at her and touched her and smelled her, it all came back. I can't do it without her."
"This story couldn't have been done without Genie. Genie defines Laura by allowing an audience inside a complicated moment, and I could not allow an audience in without her love, Laura's love."
"Ultimately, what really made it work is that we trust each other. Genie and I have an intimacy that...well, sex is not nearly as intimate as what we have. We listen and we watch each other and we feed off each other. That's what our chemistry is."
"I've missed Genie. Every day, she shows up to work ready to bleed for you. That's the kind of actress she is. She's always working: 'How can I hurt more? How can I be more full of love?' When an actor does that for you, that's a tremendous gift. I love her. I love working with her. She makes me better. She connects to this character so deeply."
"We quickly learned to trust each other. There's no one I'd rather work with. Nothing is more important to two actors than trust. You can open up to them and hope the camera catches it...... We can hang onto each other's glances and unspoken moments, saying more with our looks and silent language than with pages and pages of dialogue."
"I always thought of Genie as an angel, somewhat like Luke thinks of her. You've got to cross-pollinate these parallel existences."
"We are profoundly close. Nothing means more to me on the set than to make Genie laugh when she looks troubled or to have her just touch my arm and say, 'I know, honey.' It's a marriage of creativity that's 20 years old, so much unspoken material and love between us. I adore her. I adore her. I am so glad we never fell in love in real life because it could never be this good. I couldn't be unfaithful to Laura with Genie--not that I ever had the opportunity, you understand. She is a very special woman."
"The last show on General Hospital on which the audience saw Luke and Laura together, Laura was pregnant. She told Luke about it. I'll never forget doing that scene. Genie had no children at the time, and it was the first time she ever said those words to a man. She was so incredible that day. So beautiful. I'll never forget how excited she was. I got swept up in it and thought afterward: I'll never forget that. Nobody will ever tell me they are going to have my baby, and if they ever do, I will never feel like that. But the feeling of the moment was extraordinary."
"I love her, I truly love her."
Genie About Tony
"It's a very intimate relationship... one that few people will understand I think because it goes way beyond friendship."
"As an actor, I've never had another partnership as fulfilling as the one with Mr. Geary."
"I've learned to rely on Tony for support. If I'm nervous, I can always hold his hand."
"People always ask me about our private relationship, because this has been such an epic love story. But I don't like to put it into words because I think it somehow diminishes it. There's a very profound and real love between us, and that's about all I can say. You try to explain it to people and you end up doing it a disservice."
"When I look into his eyes....no part of me feels the need to hide because I feel he accepts me fully and wants to see and celebrate all of me."
"The pleasant surprise for me is that when I look into Tony's eyes, he's still 100% present, sharing everything that's going on. Acting with him is like a beautiful dance."
"It's very intimate. There are few friends that I have that I'm that open with. So we know each other quite well and it's very special."
"He and I have a partnership that I haven't found anywhere else. I could act with him forever."
