TV's Luke and Laura, 20 Years After

By Stephen M. Silverman

Tuesday November 13, 2001 12:14 PM EST

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Even people who don't watch daytime TV may recall the news when actors Genie Francis and Anthony Geary, better known as Luke and Laura Spencer, got hitched in 1981 on the ABC soap "General Hospital." This Friday, Nov. 16, would be the couple's 20th anniversary -- that is, had they not gotten divorced on the show last June. But, reports PEOPLE, "GH" will commemorate the TV wedding, which still remains the most watched soap event in history, when Geary has a flashback to his wedding vows on the anniversary date. Meanwhile, to relive the big day itself, tune in to SoapNet on Nov. 23, when the cable channel plans to air a 12-hour Luke and Laura marathon special, which includes their wedding as well as highlights from their relationship over more than two decades. Their love for one another isn't the only thing missing now that they're divorced, however. Francis's custom-made wedding dress disappeared from the show's wardrobe department some years ago. "The dress was made of silk taffeta, which wrinkles terribly, so I couldn't sit down," the actress recalls. "And the ground was wet so my high heels were sinking into the dirt." And though her headdress may have been beautiful, "any bride who wore it for 12 hours would have had a bad headache like I did," she says. "My favorite part of the day was dancing the Virginia reel and, of course, hearing 'That's a wrap!' "