PALM SPRINGS—On August 15, Australian born actor, Tristan Rogers, best known for his decades-long role on the ABC Soap Opera General Hospital, as Robert Scorpio, passed away at his Palm Springs home following a battle with lung cancer. He was 79.
On August 16, the Executive Producer of General Hospital, announced the death of Rogers on his X social media page.
“The entire @GeneralHospital family is heartbroken to hear of Tristan Rogers’ passing. Tristan has captivated more than 50 years, and Port Charles will not be the same without him (or Robert Scorpio) (1/2) GH
4—time Emmy© nominated actor, best-selling author, and award-winning filmmaker, Jon Lindstrom gave tribute to his old friend on his X social media page.
“I know the sadness I feel at this news is shared by so many of you. #TristanRogers was one of the coolest, funniest people I ever met. Whenever we were together, which wasn’t nearly-often enough, we never missed a chance to try to crack the other one up. I wish I’d had more of those chances. R.I.P. #FlightOfAngels #Scorpio@GeneralHosptial #GH
In a 2022 interview with ABC7, Rogers told from whence he came. He was born in Melbourne, Australia. He’d done some commercial work there and tried his hand at being a DJ, before trying out for a small part on General Hospital.
“I had no name. I was brought in expressly to beat up the hero, Luke, (played by Anthony Geary), and then disappear,” Rogers said. This was just prior to the days of ‘Luke and Laura,’ on GH when 80s teens would rush home to catch their favorite Soap after school.
Rogers shared with his interviewer that the “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’”
He did so well in his small role that his then-new role was written with him in mind. He then spent decades in Port Charles, as he acted his part as Robert Scorpio on GH. The viewers might have fallen in love with his accent at first. He captured the hearts of his fellow actors and built his own fan base after that.
General Hospital was not the extent of Rogers’ career. He starred in many films, roles in The Young and the Restless, and was the voice of Jake in, The Rescuers Down Under.
In his personal life, he had a family, whom he loved. He was married to actress Teresa Parkerson, from 1995 until his death. That had two children, a daughter, Sara Jane, born in August 1992, and their son, Cale (Cassandra) was born in 1996.
Prior to that, he was married to Barbara Meale from 1974-1984.
