Bigger surprises were yet to come. By 1972, General Hospital had become the top-rated daytime drama, having toppled Days of Our Lives and As the World Turns from their top positions. Popularity peaked as the storyline regarding Audrey (Rachel Ames) took place, including her rape by her husband Tom Baldwin (Paul Savior), subsequent child of that ill-fated union, and her plans for remarriage to Steve. A kidnapping of son Tommy, a murder, and a trial quickly ensued.

Unfortunately, and for what were not readily explained reasons, ratings had begun to slide by 1973. The writers and producers tried unsuccessfully to turn the trend around. Even with the revival of the ever popular drama between Jessie and Phil Brewer, who'd been presumed dead, the show couldn't seem to recapture its lost magic. Maybe the focus on the hospital setting was becoming too confining or maybe the melodrama had grown stale. But the best that could be attained was a fan following for new character Diana Maynard, played by Valerie Starrett. Diana suffered at the hands of Phil Brewer, as had Jessie, and went on to marry Dr. Peter Taylor (Craig Huebing), as had Jessie.

Other than these minor flare-ups of excitement, a downward spiral made way for a changing of the guards, marked by Jim Young's and the Hursleys' departures. The Hursleys handed the reins to their daughter and son-in-law, Bridget and Jerome Dobson (who later created Santa Barbara), but they had little success. Tom Donovan took over the producer's post, while a succession of new headwriters (Richard and Suzanne Holland, Eileen and Robert Mason Pollock, Irving and Tex Elman, the Hollands again) were brought in. The Hollands concentrated on using the untapped potential of actress Denise Alexander, who, two years before, had been wooed away from Days of Our Lives to play Dr. Lesley Williams. Before being replaced by the Pollocks, the Hollands began writing an unfolding scenario for Lesley that would eventually save the show from cancellation. In finding out that her daughter Laura (played first by Stacy Baldwin, later by Genie Francis), believed to have died in early childhood, was still alive, Lesley became increasingly desperate to fulfill her mothering role.

During the time the Pollocks were writing, several risky changes were implemented in Port Charles, New York. At the request of Fred Silverman, then head of ABC daytime programming, the serial was lengthened from 30 to 45 minutes. He thought viewers wouldn't want to tune in 15 minutes late to competing networks. The Pollocks got rid of almost 20 regular characters and introduced new ones, of whom the members of the Webber family were to have lasting interest. The storyline, written with notoriously heavy-handed dialogue, involved a volatile love triangle between Jeff Webber (Richard Dean Anderson), his wife, Monica (Patsy Rahn briefly, then Leslie Charleson), and his brother, Rick Webber (Michael Gregory, then Chris Robinson).

By mid-1977, with General Hospital facing certain cancellation six months down the road, ratings had plummeted. Grabbing at straws, the latest headwriters focused on a youthful plot for teenage Laura and young Scotty Baldwin (Kin Shriner). Still, the serial did nothing more than take a few drowning gasps until fate and three strokes of genius intervened.

The first saving grace came in the form of Gloria Monty, who was the former director of The Secret Storm. As the new producer, Monty started what would be hailed as her revolutionary producing of General Hospital on the first day of 1978. The second inspiration was in ABC daytime vice-president Jackie Smith's selection of Douglas Marland as headwriter. The third and hotly debated choice was in expanding from 45 minutes to an hour. So outlandish was Fred Silverman's strategy that Doug Marland asked him, "Why would you take a sick 45 minutes and turn it into an hour?" Maybe Silverman had consulted with an oracle and knew the show was about to make soap opera history.

Gloria Monty with Anthony Geary and Genie Francis

Gloria Monty's gamble was to dump those first five hour-long episodes (hundreds of thousands of dollars worth) down the drain and to revamp all aspects of production. The antiquated live-tape techniques were replaced by the latest camera technology, which used the process of shooting segments out of order and follow-up editing. Lighting, sets, and music were completely overhauled under Monty's guidance. So noticeable was the facelift that the actual construction workers were, out of sheer necessity, caught by the camera during tapings. New scripts included references to repairs being done at the hospital.

Of greater impact was Marland's tantalizing treatment of Laura's seduction by an older man, her subsequent murder of him, and Lesley's confession to Laura's crime. Add to that the jealous devices of new character Bobbie Spencer (Jackie Zeman) who wanted Scotty Baldwin all to herself.

Within a year, the serial had climbed to number three position in the ratings: a miracle. More miracles were ahead. The serial became the darling of the media, setting ratings records that blew the roof off.

Laura Webber and Luke Spencer

In the mid '80s with Luke and Laura no longer in the spotlight, the serial focused on the dramas involving Robert Scorpio and Frisco Jones. Meanwhile, General Hospital ceased to be referred to as "The Luke and Laura Show."

Ironically, Genie Francis's Laura might never have come to life had her father succeeded in stopping her plans to become an actress. At the same time, one of Anthony Geary's first quips to Gloria Monty before agreeing to come on as Luke was "I hate soap operas."

Young audiences, teenagers, and college students have become a mainstay of the serial's popularity. During peak periods, the Nielsens have reported as high as 75 percent of viewers falling into the age bracket of 18 to 34. In 1981, a General Hospital rally at Harvard University had the same kind of feverish attendance as a Beatle concert in the sixties.

Celebrity fans of the serial include Lady Bird Johnson, the Kansas City Royals baseball team, Milton Berle, and the late Sammy Davis, Jr. Both Davis and Berle appeared as guest stars. Elizabeth Taylor's love for the show led to her much touted appearance.

General Hospital created instant stardom for many of its regulars-who couldn't go out in public without being mobbed. Anthony Geary was hailed early on as the Tom Selleck of daytime. Pop musician Rick Springfield used his role as Noah Drake to revive his musical career. Emma Samms (Holly) gained popular acclaim and was whisked away by nighttime's Dynasty. Demi Moore's Jackie was her vehicle into feature films.

D.L. Brock and Bobbie Spencer

Perhaps the biggest name to emerge from almost 30 years on the air is that of Gloria Monty, a name synonymous with General Hospital. Monty orchestrated an array of innovations that, for better or worse, influenced the rest of the daytime drama world. In fact, the general consensus is that when Gloria Monty sneezes, all other soap opera producers get colds.

Jimmy Lee Holt and Celia Quatermaine

No one was more surprised at this daytime heartthrob's rise to international stardom than the actor himself. His comment was, "My face is not the face of a sex symbol," then he added, "but Luke Spencer isn't interested in being pretty."

Reared in the tiny town of Coalville, Utah (population 300), Anthony Geary dreamed about becoming an actor. To that end, he pursued and attained a scholarship to the University of Utah's drama program. It was there that he captured the attention of guest director Jack Albertson, who cast him in The Subject Was Roses.

A professional tour of the play soon followed, and 18-year-old Geary's dream began to materialize. He headed for the bright lights of Hollywood. Still, he maintained a back-up plan-if acting failed to pan out, then he could always return to Coalville as a theatre arts instructor.

Such was not his fate. After 13 years of slugging it out in minor television roles, he defied the odds by becoming daytime's number-one leading man: Luke Spencer.

Since his permanent departure from General Hospital in 1984, Tony Geary has gone on to do feature films, television guest appearances, and several stage productions. Presently, he has no intention of returning to daytime drama.

The Newsweek issue of September 28, 1981, with Genie Francis and Tony Geary on the cover, said it all, "TV's Hottest Show-Luke and Laura of General Hospital".

Experts clamored to find out just how this strange phenomenon had occurred. How had a serial set in the world of medicine blasted off to exotic places and catapulted the lives of two romantically entwined characters into soap opera immortality?

Many pointed to Gloria Monty's brilliant casting of Tony Geary in the role of Luke Spencer. Others claimed that the storyline, written by Pat Falken Smith (who replaced headwriter Doug Marland), of Luke's controversial rape/seduction of Laura was the source of the dramantic upswing in the ratings. Another camp held that the riveting espionage story, along with the tantalizingly luscious sets, had allowed Luke and Laura to become America's number-one sweethearts.

No less of a consideration in the success was the 1981 appearance by Elizabeth Taylor at Luke and Laura's wedding. Whatever the actual cause, the serial had captured a viewership of 14 million homes (audience share of 52). Never before had this been achieved in daytime drama, and it would, in the coming years, set the pace and tone for every other serial on the air. Needless to say, Luke and Laura led the way.

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General Hospital's History