Tristan Rogers death: Longtime ‘General Hospital' star dies at 79 after cancer battle
Rogers died Friday morning, his manager, Meryl Soodak, confirmed in a statement obtained by ABC 7 Eyewitness News.
Soodak noted Rogers had never been a smoker.
The Australian native was known for the role of Robert Scorpio on the soap opera 'General Hospital.'
Soodak said that role, which Rogers played on and off over 45 years, 'meant everything to him.'
"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,' his manager said. 'He was just a genuinely loyal, kind human being and he loved his family.'
Rogers is survived by his wife, Teresa Parkerson, and their children, Sarah and Cale. He had been married to Parkerson since 1995, according to his IMDb biography.
The TV star announced his cancer diagnosis last month.
'While he remains hopeful and is working closely with his medical team on a treatment plan, this is a challenging time for Tristan and his family,' Rogers' representatives said in a statement shared by multiple outlets.
'They are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support and love from their friends and family. Tristan sends his love to his fans and wants them to know how much he appreciates their loyalty and encouragement over the years. This support means more to him now than ever,' the statement read.
'General Hospital' Executive Producer Frank Valentini shared condolences on behalf of the TV show.
'The entire General Hospital family is heartbroken to hear of Tristan Rogers' passing,' he said in a statement shared by multiple outlets. 'Tristan has captivated our fans for 45 years and Port Charles will not be the same without him (or Robert Scorpio).'
'I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to his family and friends during this difficult time. Tristan was a one-of-a-kind talent and will be greatly missed. May he rest in peace,' Valentini said.
Tributes from heartbroken fans poured in when news broke of Rogers' death.
'RIP Tristan Rogers. I'm glad we got to see him last being a dad to [General Hospital character] Sasha, it was like a goodbye in a way to us subtlety. Bless him,' one fan wrote on X.
A fan page dedicated to soap opera actor Matthew Ashford also shared condolences: 'We are saddened to hear of #TristanRogers passing today. A soap legend, costar and friend - gone but never forgotten #RIP.'
'Another sad day for our GH fam: Tristian Rogers has passed away this morning at the age of 79. We lost one of the greats. Thank you for all you have given us Tristian. May he rest in peace,' another fan wrote.
Rogers also appeared in over 100 episodes of TV series 'The Young and the Restless' and 'The Bay,' according to IMDb. He also did a stint on the TV show 'Studio City.'
His 'General Hospital' co-star, Finola Hughes, whose character Anna Devane shared a whirlwind romance with Scorpio, talked about her first time working with Rogers in a Soap Opera Digest interview in April.
'Legendarily, as he walked away from set, he turned to me, put his arm around me and said, 'We're gonna have fun, kid!' It was like straight out of a Western!' she said.
'The Young and the Restless' actress Jess Walton, whose character Jill Foster Abbott was coupled with Rogers' character Colin Atkinson, praised the actor's humor to Soap Opera Digest in a 2019 interview.
'That man makes me laugh so much,' Walton said. 'Rehearsing with him can sometimes be a challenge. I have to keep telling him, 'Please don't say it like that because I'm going to laugh when I'm not supposed to in the story.' But when we run lines, I usually end up laughing the whole time. He's so great.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Stranger Things star explains decision to ‘drop off the map' after breakout role
Stranger Things star Dacre Montgomery has addressed his decision to retreat from the spotlight following his breakout role as the series' antagonist, Billy Hargrove. The 30-year-old Australian actor shot to fame for his portrayal of Billy, the abusive older stepbrother of Sadie Sink's Max Mayfield, in Netflix's hit sci-fi thriller. Introduced in season two, he appeared throughout season three before his character's death in the finale, later returning briefly in season four through flashbacks and visions. Since leaving the show in 2019, Montgomery has only starred in a few other projects, including Baz Luhrmann's Oscar-nominated Elvis Presley biopic, Elvis, and Dan Kay's new psychological thriller, Spider & Jessie. Explaining his noticeable absence from Hollywood in a new interview with The Australian, he said: 'I think things have changed. 'Traditional Hollywood stars existed because there was mystery,' he noted. 'Social media has done away with that. That's a large part of why I dropped off the map for the last five years.' Montgomery added: 'I'm not trying to compete with anyone else, I'm living my truth — and hopefully being able to pay the rent while I'm doing it.' Back in 2019, Montgomery spoke to The Independent about how he intended to take advantage of the exposure Stranger Things had given him, saying he was going to be 'really particular about what's next.' Revealing he had only done three auditions in the last two years, he said his next project was a romantic comedy called Broken Heart Gallery. 'I'm doing it for two reasons,' he said, 'One, comedy is a very different heartbeat to drama. It scares me, and I also feel like it's a good ego-stripping exercise — I can't take myself too seriously. I think that's an important next step.' He continued: 'On the flip side of that, I've been doing a podcast for over two years. It's kind of an amalgamation of beat poetry that I've been writing for a long time, and I collated into six distinct tracks. Eight months ago, I started approaching musicians around the world to help me compose scores that I could narrate my beat poetry too. We wrapped production about four days ago. That's been a very cathartic experience.' Stranger Things, created by the brothers Matt and Ross Duffer, has made stars of its young ensemble, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, and Noah Schnapp, who star as a group of school friends living in 1980s Indiana, where strange supernatural forces begin to interfere. The Emmy-winning series is expected to release its highly anticipated fifth and final season in three parts. Volume one, which will be comprised of four episodes, will be released November 26. Volume two, containing the next three episodes, will be released on Christmas Day. Then the finale, titled 'The Rightside Up,' will premiere New Year's Eve. Solve the daily Crossword

USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Terence Stamp, who starred as 'Superman' villain Zod, dead at 87
LONDON − Terence Stamp liked to recall how he was on the verge of becoming a tantric sex teacher at an ashram in India when, in 1977, he received a telegram from his agent with news that he was being considered for the movie "Superman." "I was on the night flight the next day," Stamp said in an interview with his publisher Watkins Books in 2015. After eight years largely out of work, getting the role of the arch-villain General Zod opposite Christopher Reeve in "Superman" and "Superman II" turned the full glare of Hollywood's limelight on the Londoner. Buoyed by his new role, Stamp said he would respond to curious looks from passersby with a command of "Kneel before Zod, you bastards," which usually went down a storm. He died on Sunday morning, Aug. 17, age 87, his family said in a statement. The cause was not immediately known. "He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and as a writer, that will continue to touch and inspire people for years to come," the family statement said. Tristan Rogers dies at 79: The actor played superspy Robert Scorpio on 'General Hospital' Terence Henry Stamp was born in London's East End in 1938, the son of a tugboat coal stoker and a mother who Stamp said gave him his zest for life. As a child, he endured the bombing of the city during World War II and the deprivations that followed. "The great blessing of my life is that I had the really hard bit at the beginning because we were really poor," he said. He left school to work initially as a messenger boy for an advertising firm and quickly moved up the ranks before he won a scholarship to go to drama school. Until then, he had kept his acting ambitions a secret from his family for fear of disapproval. "I couldn't tell anyone I wanted to be an actor because it was out of the question. I would have been laughed at," he said. He shared a flat with another young London actor, Michael Caine, and landed the lead role in director Peter Ustinov's 1962 adaptation of "Billy Budd," a story of brutality in the British navy in the 18th century. That role earned him an Academy Award nomination and filled him with pride. "To be cast by somebody like Ustinov was something that gave me a great deal of self-confidence in my film career," Stamp told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in 2019. "During the shooting, I just thought, 'Wow! This is it.' " Brandon Blackstock dies at 48: Obituary for Kelly Clarkson's ex gives shoutout to his 'loving partner' Brittney Marie Jones Famous for his good looks and impeccable dress sense, he formed one of Britain's most glamorous couples with Julie Christie, with whom he starred in "Far From the Madding Crowd" in 1967. But he said the love of his life was model and actress Jean Shrimpton. "When I lost her, then that also coincided with my career taking a dip," he said. After failing to land the role of James Bond to succeed Sean Connery, Stamp sought a change of scene. He appeared in Italian films and worked with Federico Fellini in the late 1960s. "I view my life really as before and after Fellini," he said. "Being cast by him was the greatest compliment an actor like myself could get." It was while working in Rome – where he appeared in Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Theorem" in 1968 and "A Season in Hell" in 1971 – that Stamp met Indian spiritual speaker and writer Jiddu Krishnamurti in 1968. Krishnamurti taught the Englishman how to pause his thoughts and meditate, prompting Stamp to study yoga in India. Mumbai was his base but he spent long periods at the ashram in Pune, dressed in orange robes and growing his hair long, while learning the teachings of his yogi, including tantric sex. "There was a rumor around the ashram that he was preparing me to teach the tantric group," he said in the 2015 interview with Watkins Books. "There was a lot of action going on." After landing the role of General Zod, the megalomaniacal leader of the Kryptonians, in "Superman" in 1978 and its sequel in 1980, he went on to appear in a string of other films, including as a transgender woman in "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" in 1994. Other films included "Valkyrie" with Tom Cruise in 2008, "The Adjustment Bureau" with Matt Damon in 2011 and movies directed by Tim Burton, including "Big Eyes" and "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children." He counted Princess Diana among his friends. "It wasn't a formal thing, we'd just meet up for a cup of tea, or sometimes we'd have a long chat for an hour. Sometimes it would be very quick," he told the Daily Express newspaper in 2017. "The time I spent with her was a good time." In 2002, Stamp married for the first time at age 64 to pharmacist Elizabeth O'Rourke, 35 years his junior. They divorced in 2008. Asked by the Stage 32 website how he got film directors to believe in his talent, Stamp said: "I believed in myself. Originally when I didn't get cast, I told myself there was a lack of discernment in them. This could be considered conceit. I look at it differently. Cherishing that divine spark in myself."
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Formula 1 Star's Girlfriend Wows in Ab-Baring Outfit
Formula 1 Star's Girlfriend Wows in Ab-Baring Outfit originally appeared on Parade. Charles Leclerc's girlfriend, Alexandra Saint Mleux, continues to captivate her followers with her stylish take on modern elegance by showcasing a mix of bold and high-fashion vibes. In an Instagram update, the Formula 1 WAG shared a glimpse of her vacation with her 2.5 million followers. The carousel of photos showcased a breathtaking backdrop while cruising on a yacht, but the real showstopper was the 22-year-old herself, radiating goddess-like beauty in every shot. Alexandra Saint Mleux's outfit featured a golden yellow set from the Australian women's wear label Arcina Ori. The Alessia top highlighted her sexy décolletage through the off-shoulder neckline and ruched centre, which complemented the bust area. Moreover, she paired it with a matching skirt with a low-rise and cinched waist that highlighted her toned abs. Lastly, completing her summer outfit were the bold gold jewelry and the evening mini heart minaudière in brown brass from Yves Saint Laurent. 'golden season,' she captioned her post. Her shimmering ensemble drew attention from her followers, with the majority commenting on her stunning physique and effortlessly radiant glow. 'Everyone always asks about the clothes, but where can I get the torso tbh,' one wrote. 'All the summer you ate with your gold era,' a fan chimed in. Another commenter added, 'Summer looks good on you!!" 'So so beautiful,' a follower said, hyping her confident vibe and head-turning outfit. 'Most beautiful,' a fifth commenter said. The emerging fashion sensation and Leclerc were first spotted together in the spring of 2023, instantly sparking dating rumors. According to People, the F1 driver confirmed their relationship in May of that year. Later that year, the duo continued to be seen in public events, including the Paris Fashion Week. They were also spotted sharing light PDA moments during the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. Now, with Alexandra making waves in the fashion world and Leclerc dominating the Formula 1 circuit, the couple continues to capture attention both on and off the grid, proving they're more than just a stylish 1 Star's Girlfriend Wows in Ab-Baring Outfit first appeared on Parade on Aug 10, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 10, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword