Tristan Rogers, the Australian actor who made Robert Scorpio one of soap’s most iconic heroes, has died at the age of 79. His longtime manager, Meryl Soodak, confirmed his passing to ABC 7 Eyewitness News on Friday, Aug. 15. Rogers had revealed in July that he’d been diagnosed with cancer.
Soodak remembered him fondly, telling the outlet that his role on General Hospital “meant everything to him.” She added, “He loved being Scorpio and he created that role from nothing. He was supposed to work a day and he ended up making it into something huge. He was just a genuinely loyal, kind human being and he loved his family.”
General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini also shared a statement with People, saying, “The entire General Hospital family is heartbroken to hear of Tristan Rogers’ passing. Tristan has captivated our fans for 45 years and Port Charles will not be the same without him (or Robert Scorpio). … Tristan was a one-of-a-kind talent and will be greatly missed. May he rest in peace.”
Born in Melbourne in 1946, Rogers tried out a rock band, modeling gigs, and commercials before landing in acting. His early credits included Australian soaps like Bellbird and Number 96, as well as a few British films. He came to the U.S. in 1980, and soon after scored the role that would define his career: super-spy Robert Scorpio on General Hospital.
Initially brought on for just one day, Rogers’ Scorpio became central to the show’s biggest storylines. He even stood as Luke Spencer’s best man during Luke and Laura’s 1981 wedding — an episode watched by 30 million viewers, still the most-watched soap opera installment in U.S. history.
Photo: Christopher Willard/ABC
“I didn’t know at the time the importance of General Hospital; it was just one more job for me,” he told Soap Opera Digest in 2020. “But it was really exciting… I got caught up in the General Hospital tidal wave and just got swept away by it.”
Though Robert was killed off in 1992, the character made a miraculous soap-style return in 2006, and Rogers would continue to pop back up in Port Charles through 2019. “I think this character will follow me to my grave,” he once told The New York Times.
Rogers also took Robert to the spinoff General Hospital: Night Shift, where the character battled colon cancer. “Characters like mine don’t get colon cancer,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “They get shot, they get beaten up, they get hit by trains. They don’t get colon cancer. It’s not very glamorous. I thought it was a hell of a challenge… maybe along the way, if somebody watches this and sees what we’re doing, they might go out and get tested.”
Outside GH, Rogers had roles on The Young and the Restless, Babylon 5, and Fast Track. He voiced a character in Disney’s The Rescuers Down Under and even won a Daytime Emmy for the Prime Video series Studio City in 2020.
He is survived by his wife, Teresa Parkerson, and their children, Sara and Cale.
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