Less than a month after making a rare appearance on ABC’s “General Hospital,” Tristan Rogers, who portrayed legacy character Robert Scorpio, passed away on Friday. He was seventy-nine.
“The entire ‘General Hospital’ family is heartbroken to hear of Tristan Rogers’ passing,” said executive producer Frank Valentini in a statement. “Tristan has captivated our fans for 45 years and Port Charles will not be the same without him (or Robert Scorpio).”
In his early twenties, Rogers, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, had his stage debut as a drummer in a rock band with several pals. When they failed, Rogers resorted to modeling and commercial work to supplement his income. Rogers made the decision to try acting once the band broke up. He worked as a DJ in addition to playing a variety of parts in Australia before relocating to Los Angeles in an attempt to make a name for himself in Hollywood. He claimed that although his accent initially threw off casting directors, he was able to secure a two-day appearance on “General Hospital” in 1980.
During the 2022 episode of “State of Mind with Maurice Benard” on YouTube, Rogers said to fellow “General Hospital” actor Maurice Benard, “I had no idea at the point how big the show was.”
“I didn’t have a name. Rogers stated, “I was brought in specifically to beat up the hero, Luke (played by Anthony Geary), and then vanish.” Gloria Monty, the executive producer at the time, asked him if he wanted to stay on after his first day was halfway over. For three weeks, Monty wanted him to simply show up in scenes “looking furtive, looking suspicious” until they came up with a plot because they didn’t have a character developed for him. He was eventually given the name Robert Scorpio after it was agreed that he would portray a spy known as “CK8”. For the remainder of Rogers’ life, even when he wasn’t on the cast, the character would be a mainstay in Port Charles.
Fans continued to love Scorpio’s intermittent romance with Emma Samms’ character, Holly Sutton. Additionally, Scorpio had multiple stories and a romance with Finola Hughes’s character, Anna Devane, another spy. Kimberly McCullough’s character, Robin, was the daughter of Scorpio and Devane. During her brief comeback to the program last fall, Samms disclosed that Scorpio was the father of her adult daughter, Sofia Mattson’s character Sasha Gilmore.
In November 2024, Rogers and Samms departed the show together in sequences that were filmed with a reference to “Casablanca.” When Sasha brought her new kid to his house in France in July, he made a brief comeback to the show. Rogers was later found to have lung cancer.
“Studio City,” which earned Rogers an Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Digital Drama Series Daytime Emmy Award, “The Bold and the Beautiful,” and “The Young & the Restless” are among his other acting highlights. His wife, Teresa Parkerson, a son, and a daughter survive him.
