What Happened To Lucky Spencer On General Hospital?
Lucas Lorenzo "Lucky" Spencer Jr. is the first born child of legendary "General Hospital" couple Luke (Tony Geary) and Laura Spencer (Genie Francis). Lucky spent much of his childhood with his parents on the run from mobster Frank Smith, before they finally settled in Port Charles (via Soap Central). Later, he learned that he had an older brother, Nikolas Cassadine, who resulted from Laura's captivity by Stavros Cassadine years earlier. Lucky and Nikolas clashed at first before finally overcoming their differences and bonding over their little sister, Lulu Spencer. Lucky had a troubled young adulthood before finally deciding to be a police officer. He managed to become a successful detective before he let his complicated personal life get in the way of his career.
Lucky Spencer was played by several actors over the years, but the most recognizable is Jonathan Jackson who originated the role in 1993 and remained until 1999. He also returned from 2009 to 2011, and again briefly in 2015. In between Jackson's stints on "GH," actor Jacob Young took over the role from 2000 to 2003 and Greg Vaughan did the same from 2003 to 2009.
Lucky is best-known for his years-long on-again-off-again romance with Elizabeth Webber. Though the character is no longer featured on the show, Lucky's presence is still felt on "GH" through his sons and the rest of his family. Lucky was most recently mentioned in early 2022 when his father Luke Spencer was killed.
An assault, a wedding, and a fire
On Valentine's Day 1998, Lucky Spencer came across Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) in a park where she had just been sexually assaulted by an unknown man, according to Soaps in Depth. Lucky quickly got help for Elizabeth by calling his aunt, nurse Bobbie Spencer (Jacklyn Zeman), and promised to watch over her.
Over the next several months, Lucky and Elizabeth worked together to identify her rapist so that he could be brought to justice. At the same time, Lucky found out from his brother, Nikolas Cassadine (Tyler Christopher), that his father had raped his mother before they were married years earlier. Lucky was distraught over the news and his relationship with his parents deteriorated resulting in him moving out on his own. Lucky and Elizabeth grew closer while supporting each other through their hardships and they eventually fell in love. On Valentine's Day 1999, one year after Elizabeth's attack, the two exchanged vows in a church — though the ceremony was more symbolic than legal, since they were still teenagers.
Just a few short months later, there was a fire at Jason Morgan's bike shop where Lucky had been renting a room (via Soap Central). Afterward, a body was found in the building along with a necklace that Lucky had gifted to Elizabeth, and Lucky was presumed dead.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
A brainwashed Lucky returned from the dead
A year after Lucky Spencer's supposed death, it was revealed that he was actually alive and being held captive by his father Luke Spencer's enemies, Helena Cassadine (Constance Towers) and Cesar Faison (Anders Hove), per Soap Central. Lucky was rescued by his parents and returned to Port Charles where Elizabeth Webber was overjoyed to have her first love back from the dead. Little did anyone know, Faison had managed to psychologically program Lucky while he was being held captive and Helena was now using mind control on him.
Helena instructed Lucky to push Elizabeth away and suggest she be with his brother, Nikolas Cassadine, who happened to be Helena's grandson. Fortunately, Elizabeth realized what was going on and encouraged Lucky to seek professional psychiatric help to be deprogrammed. Lucky and Elizabeth remained together and he eventually proposed. However, Helena's powers were strong and she instructed him to forget his feelings for Elizabeth. Her plan worked and he broke off the engagement, though Elizabeth continued to try to help him overcome this programming. It was eventually successful. Despite being back in control of his own mind, Lucky found it difficult to go back to the way things were between him and Elizabeth (via Soaps in Depth). In 2002, she caught him kissing her sister, Sarah Webber (Sarah Laine), and, devastated, she broke off their relationship.
After some turbulence, Lucky and Elizabeth started a family
The next three years were extremely eventful for Lucky Spencer. He had helped his brother, Nikolas Cassadine, stage the death of Rick Webber (Chris Robinson) to protect their mother who they believed had killed him; watched his mother then have a mental breakdown and become institutionalized; survived an ill-fated relationship with sex-worker Summer Holloway (Brittney Powell); became a cop in order to help solve Summer's murder; and then had to arrest his own father after he stabbed Stavros Cassadine (Robert Kelker-Kelly) (via Soap Central).
By 2005, Lucky and Elizabeth Webber had reconciled and started a relationship again. Elizabeth had a young son named Cameron, fathered by the troubled Zander Smith (Chad Brannon) who was killed before she even gave birth (via Soap Hub). Lucky agreed to raise Cam as his own and the couple became engaged. Though Lucky was a cop and Liz was now working as a nurse, they were struggling financially. Elizabeth agreed to be a surrogate for her friends Courtney Matthews (Alicia Leigh Willis) and Jasper "Jax" Jacks (Ingo Rademacher) for some extra cash, and Lucky disapproved (via Soaps in Depth). Unfortunately, Elizabeth miscarried the baby and though their relationship was strained, she and Lucky were married.
An addiction, an affair, and another baby
In 2006, Lucky Spencer suffered a back injury which led him to become addicted to painkillers. His shifting personality and paranoia soon put an even bigger strain on his marriage to Elizabeth Webber, which was already fraught with financial difficulty (via Soap Central). Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms) began supplying Lucky with prescription pills in an attempt to get him to return her romantic affections. Lucky and Maxie ended up having an affair which pushed Elizabeth into bed with Jason Morgan (Steve Burton), and she ultimately divorced Lucky.
When Lucky found out that Elizabeth was pregnant again, he made the decision to go to rehab and stop using drugs. The two were able to reconcile after Lucky got sober and they remarried in 2007. Shortly after, Elizabeth gave birth to her second son, Jake.
Lucky became jealous of Elizabeth's continued closeness to Jason and found himself drawn to Jason's ex, Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco). Lucky and Elizabeth divorced again and Lucky and Sam began dating (via Soap Opera Digest). Later, it was revealed that Jason was Jake's biological father, not Lucky. Despite his hurt, Lucky agreed to continue raising Jake as his own in order to protect the boy from Jason's dangerous lifestyle.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Lucky reunited with Elizabeth and got a new family member
Lucky Spencer and Sam McCall's relationship eventually fizzled out and Lucky began dating Emily Quartermaine's twin, Rebecca Shaw (Natalia Livingston), which didn't sit well with Elizabeth Webber or Nikolas Cassadine (via Soaps in Depth). Elizabeth and Nikolas got together in an attempt to make Lucky and Rebecca jealous, and soon found themselves legitimately attracted to each other. However, their plan was ultimately successful and Lucky returned to Elizabeth once again.
Around the same time in 2009, Lucky discovered he had another long-lost half-brother. Ethan Lovett (Nathan Parsons) was the son of Luke Spencer and Holly Sutton (Emma Samms) and had been given up for adoption (via Soaps). He was a con man just like his biological father, and when he arrived in Port Charles, Ethan and Luke hit it off. Their relationship perturbed Lucky who had always had a difficult relationship with his dad and felt replaced by Ethan. Elizabeth tried to help Lucky bond with his new brother and the two eventually found common ground regarding their sister, Lulu Spencer, just as Lucky and Nikolas had years previously.
Another affair, another baby, and a new wife
By 2010, Lucky Spencer and Elizabeth Webber had become engaged once again and were living happily with their two sons — or so Lucky thought (Soap Central). Things took a turn for the worse when he discovered that Elizabeth and his brother, Nikolas Cassadine, were having an affair that had been going on for months. A distraught Lucky broke up with Elizabeth and began drinking heavily to numb his pain. More complications arose when Elizabeth found out she was pregnant again and didn't know which brother was the father of the baby. By this time, she was dealing with issues of mental illness and Lucky vowed to stay by her side regardless of who the father was, though his intention was more so to help her recover rather than a promise to get back together.
A paternity test revealed that Nikolas was the father, which left Elizabeth heartbroken because she wanted to make things work with Lucky. Feeling that he needed space, Lucky went on an undercover operation in Ireland where he met a woman named Siobhan McKenna (Erin Chambers) (via Soaps). She eventually returned to Port Charles with Lucky to help him take down a dangerous criminal named The Balkan. Lucky and Siobhan fell in love, and in 2011, they were married. Later, Elizabeth revealed to Lucky that Helena Cassadine had tampered with the results of her original paternity test and that he was actually Aiden's father. Lucky began to get to know his son, despite rising tension between his ex-wife and his new one.
Lucky suffered two terrible losses
During the time when Lucky Spencer was with Siobhan McKenna, a tragic accident occurred that left him heartbroken. It was at Lucky and Siobhan's wedding ceremony that Elizabeth interrupted with news that their son Jake had been in an accident (via Soap Central). Jake had been hit by a car and was declared brain dead. Lucky and Elizabeth were forced to make the difficult decision to remove him from life support and the little boy died. The situation became even more painful when it was revealed that Lucky's father, Luke, had been driving the car that killed his grandson. Lucky blamed Luke's drinking for the accident and their relationship disintegrated.
The following month, Siobhan was in a car accident that left her needing emergency surgery. While she was recovering in the hospital, mobster Anthony Zacchara (Bruce Weitz) came to see her, convinced that she had figured out his role in a drug ring that her husband, Lucky, was investigating (via Soaps). Though she denied knowing anything, Anthony didn't care. He smothered her until he believed she was dead. After he left, Siobhan had enough strength to write a final message to Lucky before she ultimately died. Completely destroyed by the death of his son and his wife, Lucky left Port Charles for good and returned to Ireland where he had met Siobhan and could be reminded of good memories (via TV Guide). He returned very briefly when he had a vision of Siobhan informing him that his son Aiden was sick, but went back to Ireland after the boy was treated.
Lucky briefly returned to rescue his son
In 2015, Lucky Spencer briefly reappeared on "General Hospital." The decision was made by the soap to temporarily bring back Lucky and Ethan Lovett, and to reunite Luke and Laura Spencer for one last adventure, in honor of Tony Geary's last scenes on the show.
Laura went to Luke with information that both of his sons, Lucky and Ethan, had been kidnapped by Frank Smith, the man they spent years on the run from decades earlier (via Soap Opera Spy). The two eventually located Ethan who informed them that Lucky escaped on his own. Soon after, Luke heard from Lucky that he had found information suggesting his son, Jake, was alive and being held by Helena Cassadine. Lucky met up with his parents on Cassadine Island where the three of them miraculously found Jake (via Soaps). Lucky was able to bring the little boy home to his ex, Elizabeth Webber. While back in Port Charles, Lucky was able to patch up his relationships with both Elizabeth and his father, Luke, before deciding that his children were still in good hands with their mother and he returned to Ireland.
Lucky was last referenced on the show in early 2022 when "GH" killed off Luke Spencer off-screen. Luke's love, Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Elliot), came to town to inform everyone of his death and hold a funeral (via TV Insider). Lucky was said to be volunteering in Africa at the time and unable to come due to quarantine restrictions, but that he and Ethan would attend a different celebration for Luke that was being held in Europe.