HOT GALLERY: General Hospital’s Luke and Laura Celebrate Their 30th Anniversary; We Look at Who Else Checked into GH over the Years

Thirty million people watched Luke and Laura get hitched in 1981, setting a record for the most-watched daytime drama ever. Even people who didn't indulge in General Hospital daily (perhaps because they were at school or work) were aware of the wedding, which was big, big news. (Watch this interview with the actors on Good Morning America from way back when.) The television event is still associated with the hit song "Think of Laura" by Christopher Cross, despite the fact that the song has nothing to do with GH, according to Cross's website.

Luke and Laura experienced many only-on-a-soap plots through the years (three words: Ice Princess saga). Both actors left the show and returned a few times, working on other projects along the way. (Here's a fun appearance they did together on Roseanne in 1994). As of this writing, Anthony Geary still pops in as Luke Spencer on GH, while Genie Francis's last visit was a few years ago; she has been playing Genevieve Atkinson on a different soap, The Young and the Restless. However, her character is currently catatonic, so fans shouldn't rule out a return by Laura to General Hospital's hallowed halls. Bonus video: watch the supercouple reflect on their supercoupleness in this interview with EmmyTVLegends.org.

Amber Tamblyn had a couple of film appearances before landing the role of Emily Bowen, an orphan who became Emily Quartermaine after Alan and Monica adopted her. The character went on to have a complicated relationship with Lucky Spencer, Luke and Laura's son. Tamblyn played Emily on GH from 1995 through 2001.

After GH, Tamblyn played the title role in Joan of Arcadia (2003-2005). She works steadily in film and TV, appearing in both Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants films (2005, 2008) and the recent 127 Hours, opposite current GH guest star James Franco. Amber is also an author, and she sometimes performs her own poetry alongside her mother, Bonnie Tamblyn. See her official website for details.

John Stamos became an instant "teen heartthrob" after landing the part of Blackie Parrish in 1982, a role that was supposed to last five days but went on for two years, according to this YouTube clip. For an overview of Stamos's stint on GH, watch this 20-minute video titled General Hospital—April 5th, 1984—A Daytime to Remember. Warning: the video features a heaping helping of '80s-esque hairspray and hunkiness.

Stamos became best known for playing Jesse Katsopolis on eight seasons of Full House (1987-1995). His many TV roles include a lengthy stay on NBC's ER (2005-2009) and a hilarious recurring role as Dr. Carl Howell on Glee (2010-2011). Stamos has been active in musical theater, appearing on Broadway many times. He also plays drums for the Beach Boys. Seems like a fun life.

Emma Samms originated the role of Holly Sutton, who became Holly Scorpio when she married Robert Scorpio. As a reminder of how much fun daytime soaps are, SoapCentral.com lists Holly's occupation as "ex-con artist." Here she is arguing with Luke about microfilm and other matters.

The British-born Ms. Samms, as lovely as ever at 51, ditched daytime for prime time, joining the cast of Dynasty in 1985. The writers killed her character, but it turns out—wait for it—she wasn't really dead! Samms has checked back in to GH a number of times, including 2006; here's a clip. (Don'tcha love YouTube?) In 2009, she hit the stage in Shall We Dance: A Tribute to Richard Rodgers.

Texas-born Janine Turner started modeling when she was knee-high to a grasshopper, according to her official website. (That's our wording, not hers.) After moving to New York, she was cast as "blonde kleptomaniac" Laura Templeton, a role she played from 1982 to 1983.

After GH, the lovely Ms. Turner booked a bunch of TV commercials, such as this one for Scope mouthwash. (We realize it's only TV, but we find it hard to believe that Janine Turner could ever have halitosis.) Playing the Fleischman-torturing Maggie O'Connell on Northern Exposure (1990-1995) exposed her to the world in a big way. Subsequent roles included Dr. Dana Stowe on Strong Medicine (2000-2002) and a recurring spot on Friday Night Lights (2008-2009).

Richard Dean Anderson's GH character, Jeff Webber, joined the hospital right out of med school. Jeff became Laura Webber's uncle through adoption. When Luke and Laura married in 1981, Jeff became Luke's... cousin? Semi-uncle? Something? We're not very good with family tree stuff.

After leaving GH, Anderson landed the plum role of MacGyver (1985-1992), one of those rare parts to become a pop-culture verb. Anderson played Jack O'Neill on various incarnations of the Stargate franchise and currently has a recurring role on the USA Network series Fairly Legal.

Rick Springfield wasn't confident that his music career was going to pan out, so he took an acting job on a daytime soap opera. We all know how that turned out—"Jessie's Girl" (1981) went all the way to #1 and still receives regular radio airplay. People liked him on GH as well. Here is Springfield's character, Dr. Noah Drake, meeting Luke Spencer (1981).

Springfield continues both his music and acting career, including a return to General Hospital; here is a  clip from 2007. He turned 62 this past August, and we want to know what vitamins he takes, because he looks much younger.

Ricky Martin is yet another GH alum with a big-time music career. Martin's acting output is smaller than Stamos and Springfield's; playing Miguel Morez on GH (1994-1995) is his best-known non-singing credit.

He started as a member of Menudo, which made him a Latin music star. In 1999, he broke through to the rest of the world with a little tune called "Livin' La Vida Loca." Martin will star in the upcoming revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita, scheduled to hit Broadway in March of 2012.

She was barely into her 20s at the time, but Demi Moore had already developed that deep, sexy voice when she played "investigative reporter" Jackie Templeton on GH (1982-1983). She looked great, too, as you can see on this YouTube clip.

Demi Moore went on to have a major-league acting career, with iconic roles in St. Elmo's Fire (1985), Ghost (1990), and Striptease (1996). Her most recent appearance on-screen is in the low-budget and highly acclaimed Margin Call. Off-screen, she and husband Ashton Kutcher founded the Demi and Ashton Foundation, a charity with the mission of eliminating the child sex trade.