General Hospital Has Lost Its Most Famous Spy

Tristan Rogers, the Emmy-winning actor who played legacy character Robert Scorpio on ABC's General Hospital, died Friday, less than one month after he made a special appearance on the soap opera, reports the AP. He was 79. His longtime manager tells ABC7 that Rogers died after a battle with lung cancer, although he'd never been a smoker.

• Born in Melbourne, Australia, Rogers' first foray into performing was in his early 20s, when he played drums in a rock band with a group of friends. They weren't successful, so Rogers turned to commercial work and modeling to earn some money. When the band dissolved, Rogers decided to give acting a try. After various roles in Australia, he also worked as a DJ and eventually moved to Los Angeles to try to break into Hollywood. He said casting directors were initially turned off by his accent, but he eventually landed a two-day role on General Hospital in 1980.

• "I had no idea at the point how big the show was," Rogers told fellow GH actor Maurice Benard in a 2022 interview. "I had no name. I was brought in expressly to beat up the hero, Luke [played by Anthony Geary], and then disappear," Rogers said. His first day was halfway over when then-executive producer Gloria Monty asked if he'd like to stay on. They had no character written for him, so for three weeks Monty asked him to just appear in scenes "looking furtive, looking suspicious" until they came up with a storyline. It was decided he would play a spy known as "CK8," and eventually he was given the name "Robert Scorpio."

• The character would remain a fixture in the fictional city of Port Charles for the rest of Rogers' life, even when he wasn't a current cast member. Scorpio's on again/off again romance with Emma Samms' character, Holly Sutton, remained a favorite among fans. Scorpio also had a romance, and many storylines, with another spy, Anna Devane, played by Finola Hughes.
• Rogers and Samms left the show together in November 2024 in scenes taped with a nod to Casablanca. He returned to the show in July for one episode, which is when it was revealed that Rogers had lung cancer.
• Rogers' other acting credits include The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young & the Restless, and Studio City, which won him an outstanding supporting actor honor at the Daytime Emmy Awards.
• "The entire General Hospital family is heartbroken to hear of Tristan Rogers' passing," said Frank Valentini, the show's executive producer, in a statement. "Tristan has captivated our fans for more than 50 years and Port Charles will not be the same without him (or Robert Scorpio)." Rogers is survived by his wife, Teresa Parkerson, as well as a daughter and a son.