ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: MOST DRAMATIC SOAP-OPERA CHARACTER EXITS

After weeks (months? decades?) of dramatic good-byes, Luke Spencer (as played on and off for 37 years by Anthony Geary) left Port Charles, ambling off into the fog and the lights of a presumed ship headed for … I dunno … far, far away. In an interview with TV Insider, Geary clarified, “I have not retired from acting. Just from [General Hospital].”

However, less than two weeks later, he backtracked to EW.com, saying, “If the story is interesting to me and it works out, I may come back to the show for six weeks or so.”

So, despite the long good-bye, there (presumably) goes retirement.
At least when original cast member Susan Flannery chose to retire from The Bold and the Beautiful, the show allowed Stephanie a dignified (and succinct) death. That stuck.

Actors wanting to leave a soap is nothing new—even ones who’ve been onscreen for an extended period of time, or made a great impression within a shorter period. What varies is the quality of their sendoffs.

Read Entertainment Weekly's Top 10 List of Dramatic Character Exits at: http://community.ew.com/2015/08/04/dramatic-soap-opera-exits/#more-43850