I personally don't think Tony left the show embittered. He was just unhappy with the crappy, Jake-is-really-alive and Frank Smith resurrection story that the writers gave him as his exit. It was a really bad story. Otherwise TG said he was feeling more mellowed out than he did during his "blood on the walls" days at the show.
He did like the Fluke story, and the horrifying revelation that Luke killed his own parents. To be honest that's the story that should have exited him off screen. They should've brought Genie back, had Luke and Laura reconnect over their shared mental anguish, and bid tearful goodbye as he headed out of town to get his mind healthy and right.
But Tony had wanted to retire long before he did. If you follow his interviews regularly he mentions retirement for at least a decade before he actually left.
I think he stayed so long for the money and the perks. GH, soaps in general, have changed so much from his 80s and 90s heyday. They shoot faster, and there is much less creative collaboration between the actors and the writers and producers. Now it's mostly just do what you're told, do it fast, and move on.
That's fine with most actors. But Tony always relished the freedom to collaborate, and I imagine that once that was just about gone, so was his desire to stay on the show.
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