Tristan Rogers, Star of General Hospital, Passes Away at 79

At the age of 79, Tristan Rogers, the well-known Australian actor who played Robert Scorpio on the daytime soap opera General Hospital, passed dead.

After his cancer diagnosis was made public in July, his longtime manager, Meryl Soodak, confirmed his passing to ABC 7 Eyewitness News on Friday, August 15.

After Rogers joined General Hospital in 1980, the role of Robert Scorpio swiftly established itself as a mainstay of the program.

“He loved being Scorpio and he created that role from nothing,” Soodak said in response to Rogers’ reflection on the role’s significance.

He was just meant to work for a day, but he turned it into something enormous.

He simply loved his family and was a sincere, compassionate person.

In a statement made public to PEOPLE, Executive Producer Frank Valentini of General Hospital conveyed the show’s united grief.

“The news of Tristan Rogers’ passing has devastated the entire General Hospital family,” Valentini said.

“Port Charles won’t be the same without Tristan (or Robert Scorpio), who has enthralled our fans for forty-five years.”

I send my sincerest condolences to his friends and family during this trying time.

Tristan will be sorely missed; he was a unique talent.

I hope he finds peace.

Despite having no official training, Rogers, who was born in Melbourne in 1946, left school at the age of 18 and first sought a career in music before pursuing modeling and commercials before switching to acting.

Before relocating to the United States, he built a name for himself in Australian television with appearances in shows including Bellbird and Number 96. He also starred in the British film Four Dimensions of Greta (1972).

After his transfer, Rogers was chosen to play Robert Scorpio, a figure who was originally only supposed to make an appearance for a single day but swiftly gained popularity.

After serving as a spy for the fictional World Security Bureau, the figure went on to become Port Charles’s district attorney and police commissioner.

Rogers played a significant role in the show’s historic Luke Spencer and Laura wedding, which drew 30 million viewers and is still the highest-rated soap opera episode in American television history.

Rogers once said, “I didn’t know at the time the importance of General Hospital; it was just one more job for me,” in reference to his early days on the show.

However, it was incredibly thrilling. I simply got carried away by the General Hospital tidal wave after being entangled in it.

“I think this character will follow me to my grave,” he said in 2006, despite the fact that his character was killed off in 1992.

In the spinoff General Hospital: Night Shift, Rogers played a character who battled colon cancer, a plot point that deviated from the usual soap opera material. Rogers also continued to appear on General Hospital.

Rogers felt his plot would encourage viewers to be mindful of their health.

In addition to his work on General Hospital, Rogers voiced characters in a number of television series, including Disney’s The Rescuers Down Under, and The Young and the Restless.

For his role in the television series Studio City, he was awarded a Daytime Emmy.

Prior to his 1995 marriage to Teresa Parkerson, with whom he had two daughters, Sara and Cale, Tristan Rogers was married to Barbra Meale from 1974 until 1984.

His wife, kids, and innumerable fans who appreciated his work and commitment to the television industry all remember him.