Tristan Rogers, who played super spy Robert Scorpio, dies at 79

Less than a month after making a rare cameo on ABC’s “General Hospital,” Tristan Rogers, who portrayed legacy character Robert Scorpio, passed away on Friday. He was seventy-nine.

In a statement, executive producer Frank Valentini remarked, “The entire ‘General Hospital’ family is heartbroken to hear of Tristan Rogers’ passing.” “Port Charles will not be the same without Tristan (or Robert Scorpio), who has enthralled our fans for forty-five years.”

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 explore 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 said that while his accent originally threw off casting directors, he was able to get a two-day appearance on “General Hospital” in 1980.

In 2022, Rogers said to fellow “General Hospital” actor Maurice Benard in the YouTube series “State of Mind with Maurice Benard,” “I had no idea at that point how big the show was.”

“I didn’t have a name. Rogers said, “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 remain on after his first day was halfway done. For three weeks, Monty wanted him to just show up in scenes “looking furtive, looking suspicious” until they came up with a plot since they didn’t have a character developed for him. He was subsequently given the moniker Robert Scorpio when it was agreed that he would portray a spy known as “CK8.” For the remainder of Rogers’ life, even when he wasn’t a cast member, the character would be a mainstay in Port Charles.

Fans continued to love Scorpio’s intermittent relationship with Emma Samms’ character, Holly Sutton. Additionally, Scorpio had many stories, including a relationship 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 autumn, Samms disclosed that Scorpio was the father of her adult daughter, Sofia Mattson’s character Sasha Gilmore.

With an homage to “Casablanca,” Rogers and Samms departed the program together in November 2024. When Sasha brought her new kid to his house in France in July, he made a brief comeback to the program. Rogers was later diagnosed with lung cancer.

Rogers’ other acting performances include “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “The Young & the Restless,” and “Studio City,” for which he received a Daytime Emmy Award for best supporting actor in a digital drama series. His wife, Teresa Parkerson, a son, and a daughter survive him.