ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; Rick Rowell/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Tristan Rogers has died at the age of 79. The Australian actor was best known for playing Robert Scorpio onGeneral Hospital.He first joined the soap operain 1980. His longtime manager, Meryl Soodak, confirmed his death toABC 7 Eyewitness Newson Friday, Aug. 15. It was revealed in July that Rogers has been diagnosed with cancer. Soodak told the outlet that Rogers'General Hospitalrole "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 theGeneral Hospitalteam for comment. ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty 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 toldSoap.comin 2022. Many of his earliest roles came on Australian television. He appeared on the Aussie soapsBellbird, Number 96in 1974 andThe Boxin 1975. He also appeared in a few British films, including 1972'sFour Dimensions of Greta. Rogers moved to the United States in 1980 and shortly after was cast as Robert Scorpio onGeneral 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 ofLuke'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. ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty "I didn't know at the time the importance ofGeneral Hospital; it was just one more job for me," he toldSoap Opera Digestin 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 onGeneral Hospital? That's the hottest thing in the country! You're working with Luke and Laura? Oh, my God!'. . . . I got caught up in theGeneral Hospitaltidal 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 toldThe New York Timesat the time. ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Rogers continued to make sporadic appearances onGeneral Hospitalthroughout 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 forthe show's 60th anniversary. In 2008, Rogers took the character to theGeneral Hospitalspin-offGeneral 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 toldEntertainment Weeklyat 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." Kevin Winter/Getty 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 bookThe 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." Albert L. Ortega/Getty Rogers' other roles included an arc onThe Young and the Restlessfrom 2010 to 2011, as well as the TV seriesFast TrackandBabylon 5. He also did voice over work, most notably in the 1990 Disney filmThe Rescuers Down Under, and won a Daytime Emmy for his performance in the 2019–2020 Prime Video seriesStudio City. https://people-app.onelink.me/HNIa/kz7l4cuf Rogers married Barbra Meale in 1974, and they divorced in 1984. He briefly dated hisGeneral Hospitalcostar (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 onPeople
