Eerie connection between Rob Reiner and Anthony Geary emerges as screen stars die on same day
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- READ MORE: General Hospital icon Anthony Geary dead at 78
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Rob Reiner and Anthony Geary, who both tragically died Sunday at the age 78, had past worked together on an early episode of All in the Family.
Authorities in Los Angeles suspect Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele, 68, were fatally stabbed by their troubled son Nick, 32, who has been arrested in connection with murder.
Geary, best known for portraying Luke Spencer on General Hospital, died on Sunday in Amsterdam following a surgical procedure three days earlier.
The actors eerily died on the same day at the same age - Reiner (March 6, 1947) was about three months older than Geary (May 29, 1947) - as both would have turned 79 next spring.
The actors had been linked more than 50 years ago after working together on an early episode of All in The Family that helped set the socially-conscious tone the Norman Lear sitcom would become famed for throughout the 1970s.
The episode - which Lear personally penned with late writers Burt Styler and Johnny Speight - was titled Judging Books by Covers and originally aired on February 9, 1971.
Rob Reiner and Anthony Geary, who both tragically died Sunday at the age 78, had past worked together on a 1971 episode of All in the Family
Reiner put himself on the map in the 1970s playing Michael 'Meathead' Stivic.
The character a liberal who often tangled with his father-in-law Archie Bunker (played by the late Carroll O'Connor) over social, racial and political topics.
According to a synopsis on iMDb, the storyline of the episode Geary appeared on saw Archie, an iconic TV curmudgeon, get 'irritated at Mike's (Reiner) 'offbeat friend' Roger (Geary).
The Roger character 'dresses and behaves in a way that leads' Archie 'to mistakenly conclude he is a homosexual.'
The twist in the show comes when 'Archie soon learns that one of his best friends is gay.'
The role was the second TV show Geary appeared on in his long career, with the first being Room 222.
Geary would go on to make appearances on other notable shows of the timeframe before landing his signature role on the soap.
They included The Partridge Family, Marcus Welby, M.D., The Streets of San Francisco and Barnaby Jones, among others.
The actors had appeared alongside one another on the fifth episode of the seminal TV show's debut season
The storyline saw iconic TV curmudgeon Archie Bunker, played by the late Carroll O'Connor, get 'irritated at Mike's (Reiner) 'offbeat friend' Roger (Geary)
ABC, the home network of General Hospital, released a statement following confirmation of Geary's tragic death.
'We are deeply saddened by the passing of Anthony Geary, whose portrayal of Luke Spencer helped define General Hospital and daytime television,' the network said Monday.
General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini said in a statement that 'the entire General Hospital family is heartbroken over the news of Tony Geary's passing. Tony was a brilliant actor and set the bar that we continue to strive for.'
Reiner's family told Variety in a statement Monday: 'It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.'
Other notable instances of famous people passing away on the same calendar day include former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher and Annette Funicello (April 8, 2013); Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett (June 25, 2009); and Freddie Mercury and Kiss musician Eric Carr (November 24, 1991).
