Tristan Rogers, who played Robert Scorpio on 'General Hospital,' dies at 79: Reports
Tristan Rogers, best known for his longtime role as Robert Scorpio on "General Hospital," has died, according to multiple media reports. He was 79.
Rogers died from lung cancer, his longtime manager Meryl Soodak told ABC7 and The Hollywood Reporter. USA TODAY has reached out to Soodak.
The news comes a month after the soap star shared with fans in a July 17 news release that he had been diagnosed with cancer.
"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," the statement read. "As they face both the emotional and physical burdens that come with this diagnosis, the family kindly asks for privacy and understanding."
The release said that Rogers "sends love to his fans" and that their support "means more to him now than ever."
Rogers is survived by his wife of 30 years, Teresa Parkerson, and their two adult children, daughter Sara and son Cale.
Rogers' path to becoming a daytime staple
Rogers, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, cut his teeth as a soap actor in the 1970s with roles on the Australian TV series "Number 96," "The Box" and "Bellbird."
The budding actor traded the Down Under for the fictional town of Port Charles, New York, when he joined the cast of "General Hospital" in December 1980, playing super spy Scorpio.
Rogers went on to enjoy a 12-year stint on the long-running drama before departing the series in 1992. He was nominated for two Soap Opera Digest Awards during his initial "GH" tenure, including a 1986 nod for outstanding daytime actor in a leading role.
After a nearly 15-year hiatus, Rogers returned to the show in 2006 for a series of recurring appearances, followed by additional guest performances in 2008, 2012-2016 and 2018-2024. In total, the fan-favorite actor has appeared on over 1,400 episodes of "General Hospital," according to Rogers' IMDb page.
Rogers also appeared on several episodes of the "General Hospital" spinoff "General Hospital: Night Shift" in 2008.
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NBC News
7 minutes ago
- NBC News
Tristan Rogers, who played super spy Robert Scorpio on 'General Hospital,' has died at 79
Tristan Rogers, 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. He was 79. '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 45 years and Port Charles will not be the same without him (or Robert Scorpio).' Born in Melbourne, Australia, Rogers' first foray into performing was in his early twenties and playing 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 'General Hospital' actor Maurice Benard on the YouTube show, 'State of Mind with Maurice Benard' in 2022. '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 half-over when then-executive producer Gloria Monty asked if he would 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 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. Scorpio and Devane shared a daughter, Robin, played by Kimberly McCullough. Samms returned to the show for a stint last fall where it was revealed that Scorpio was the father of her adult daughter, Sasha Gilmore (played by Sofia Mattson.) 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 when Sasha arrived to his home in France with her new baby. It was then 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 outstanding supporting actor in a digital drama series at the Daytime Emmy Awards. He is survived by his wife, Teresa Parkerson, and a daughter and a son.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Tristan Rogers, ‘General Hospital' Actor, Dies at 79
Tristan Rogers, who became a fixture of daytime television by playing a mysterious spy-turned-police commissioner on the soap opera 'General Hospital,' died on Friday at his home in Palm Springs, Calif. He was 79. Meryl Soodak, his manager, confirmed his death and said the cause was lung cancer. Mr. Rogers joined the cast of 'General Hospital' in 1980 as Robert Scorpio, a seasoned international spy whose charisma quickly made him a fan favorite. He was a heartthrob mainstay of the show during its ratings peak in the 1980s. Mr. Rogers appeared in more than 1,400 episodes of 'General Hospital,' which has been part of ABC's daytime lineup for more than 60 years and follows characters who live in the fictional town of Port Charles, N.Y. Tristan Rogers was born on June 3, 1946, in Melbourne, Australia. He had several television roles in Australia, including in the police drama series 'The Link Men' in 1970 and the mini-series 'Power Without Glory' in 1976. Mr. Rogers is survived by his wife, Teresa Parkerson, two children and a grandson, Ms. Soodak said. In 2020, he won an Emmy Award for a supporting actor in a digital drama series for his role in 'Studio City,' which follows an aging soap opera star who must navigate drama on-set and in his personal life. On the show's two seasons, Mr. Rogers played Doc, the protagonist's flawed stepfather who is coming to terms with his mortality. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Tristan Rogers,' General Hospital' Star, Dies at 79
The Australian actor began playing Robert Scorpio on the daytime soap opera in 1980 Tristan Rogers has died at the age of 79. The Australian actor was best known for playing Robert Scorpio on General Hospital. He first joined the soap opera in 1980. His longtime manager, Meryl Soodak, confirmed his death to ABC 7 Eyewitness News on Friday, Aug. 15. It was revealed in July that Rogers has been diagnosed with cancer. Soodak told the outlet that Rogers' General Hospital role "meant everything to him." 'He loved being Scorpio and he created that role from nothing,' Soodak continued. '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." PEOPLE has reached out to Rogers' manager and the General Hospital team for comment. Rogers was born in Melbourne in 1946. He left school in 1964 and eventually started a rock band with his friends. At 21, he turned to modeling and commercials to make money. Then he decided to become an actor — with no experience. 'As far as I was concerned, it was a way to make a bit of money. That's all,' he told in 2022. Many of his earliest roles came on Australian television. He appeared on the Aussie soaps Bellbird, Number 96 in 1974 and The Box in 1975. He also appeared in a few British films, including 1972's Four Dimensions of Greta. Rogers moved to the United States in 1980 and shortly after was cast as Robert Scorpio on General Hospital. Robert was a spy for the fictional World Security Bureau and later served as the police commissioner and district attorney of Port Charles. The character was good friends with Luke Spencer (played by Anthony Geary) and, in 1981, was part of Luke's wedding to Laura (Genie Francis) as Luke's best man. The wedding brought in 30 million viewers and remains the highest-rated soap opera episode in U.S. TV history. '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 about his casting. 'But it was really exciting, to be fresh off the boat and walk into this role. Of course, after that, everywhere I went, people would go, 'You're on General Hospital? That's the hottest thing in the country! You're working with Luke and Laura? Oh, my God!'. . . . I got caught up in the General Hospital tidal wave and just got swept away by it.' Robert eventually became a fan-favorite character and was one of the show's leading men. He was killed off in 1992 and Rogers departed the series. But — as often happens on soaps — Robert returned, alive, in 2006, when the show brought back many popular characters from the '80s. "I think this character will follow me to my grave," he told The New York Times at the time. Rogers continued to make sporadic appearances on General Hospital throughout the next decade, and since 2019 had appeared as a recurring character. 'I've seen this show at its best and at something less than that,' he told PEOPLE in 2023 for the show's 60th anniversary. In 2008, Rogers took the character to the General Hospital spin-off General Hospital: Night Shift, where Robert learned he had colon cancer and reconnected with his family. 'This [storyline] was about the deconstruction of an iconic character done in a way it hadn't been done before,' he told Entertainment Weekly at the time. 'Characters like mine don't get colon cancer. 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, more than the usual fare that you're given going into this: Go through the investigation, find the bad guys, have a gunfight, get a schmooze….This was a whole different animal.' He added, 'So I thought, maybe along the way, if somebody watches this and sees what we're doing, they might go out and get tested. And if we inspired that, then it's a bonus.' Reflecting on the dominance of soap operas — and their decline — he said in an interview for the 2011 book The Survival of Soap Opera, 'This is not a genre that will be around in another 50 years… in many respects, it isn't necessary. They have made their mark, and almost every type of medium owes something to the way the soaps have been put together, whether they want to admit it or not.' Rogers' other roles included an arc on The Young and the Restless from 2010 to 2011, as well as the TV series Fast Track and Babylon 5. He also did voice over work, most notably in the 1990 Disney film The Rescuers Down Under, and won a Daytime Emmy for his performance in the 2019–2020 Prime Video series Studio City. Rogers married Barbra Meale in 1974, and they divorced in 1984. He briefly dated his General Hospital costar (and on-screen love interest) Emma Samms, but they split in 1985 when she left the show. He married Teresa Parkerson in 1995. They share two children, Sara and Cale. Rogers is survived by his wife and children. Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
