Anthony Geary, an eight-time Daytime Emmy winner who portrayed one-half of General Hospital‘s iconic soap opera supercouple Luke and Laura, died Sunday in the Netherlands following an operation three days earlier.

Despite that ignominious beginning, the romance became a fan favorite and helped turn General Hospital into a pop culture juggernaut. Their wedding was watched by 30 million people, the highest-rated episode of an American soap opera, ever. During the height of Luke and Laura’s romance, they averaged 14 million viewers an episode.