GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Anthony Geary Remembers Jacklyn Zeman
The daytime community was rocked by the sad news that GENERAL HOSPITAL star Jacklyn Zeman (Bobbie) had passed away, and as the news spread, it reached all around the world, including Amsterdam, where her TV brother and dear friend, Anthony Geary (ex-Luke) is living following his retirement from acting.
“For 40 years, I was fortunate enough to play Jackie Zeman’s big brother on GH,” the actor told TV Line. “In all those years, I never heard her utter one disparaging word about any actor, crew member, or co-worker. In fact, I never heard Jackie express an unkind word about anyone, ever. In a highly competitive profession where ego, feelings, and emotions are bread and butter, I’ve found this quality to be extremely rare. I expect it will be even more rare now that dear Jackie is gone.”
Shortly after Zeman joined the cast of GH in late 1977 as nurse Barbara “Bobbie” Jean Spencer, Geary was tapped by the soap in 1978 for a short-term arc as her brother, Luke Spencer. Of course, as fans know, he lasted much longer than the 13 weeks he was initially supposed to play, continuing to portray the character on and off until his 2015 retirement.
“She was quite simply one of the kindest, sweetest people I have ever known,” Geary declared. “I will miss her laugh, the deep, soulful look in her eyes whenever she expressed the love and pride she had in her two lovely daughters. Tonight, I already miss her, and feel a powerful ache where Jackie’s smile used to be.”
GH recently paid tribute to Zeman’s decades on the soap with a special montage of classic clips during the 2023 Nurses Ball when Carly touted her mother’s decades as a nurse at the hospital. But we’re sure that they will plan something even more special to honor Zeman’s passing as soon as they are able. And of course, we’ll let you know here at SoapsInDepth.com as soon as anything is announced.
