'General Hospital' bids farewell to Geary's iconic Luke Spencer

Anthony Geary's last episode of General Hospital aired Monday on ABC.

The actor has been a titan in the soap-opera industry, appearing on the daytime drama for more than three decades, during which he earned eight Emmy Awards.

Monday's show featured his lovable scoundrel Luke Spencer's departure from his longtime home.

"I'm leaving Port Charles... for good," Spencer told his friend and occasional rival Sonny Corinthos, played by Maurice Benard. "I recently experienced some Category 5 changes in my life that tore me up pretty badly and put me in pieces. I need to go away and get myself together and find out who I'm going to be the rest of my life. ... I've caused too much damage with [my ex-wife] Tracy and my family. It's something I'm going to have to do on my own."

His daughter Lulu -- played by Emme Rylan -- then caught up with him and told him how much she loves him and what a great father he is, even though he frequently goes off on various escapades. She tearfully leaves him and delivers a letter from him to her mother Laura, Luke's ex-wife, played by Genie Francis.

The contents of the note were not revealed in this episode.

"Goodbye, Port Charles," Spencer, now alone in the dark on the show's iconic waterfront docks, said with a little smile and a salute. "Good luck to you."

With a duffle bag flung over his shoulder, he stepped through fog and presumably onto a waiting boat.

In announcing his exit from the soap, the 68-year-old actor said he was eager to enjoy a quiet life in Amsterdam where he has a home.

"I'm excited to raise the curtain on Act 3, to reinvent myself in my new home to pursue whatever opportunity there may be. It's an exciting prospect to me," Entertainment Weekly quoted Geary as saying after he taped his last show last month. "They've done a wonderful job of wrapping up the character. So, this seems like the ideal time to go."