‘General Hospital’ Star Dies of Cancer: Tristan Rogers Was 79

The actor responsible for one of General Hospital’s most famous characters has died.

Tristan Rogers, who played Robert Scorpio on the series beginning in 1980 all the way up until less than a month before his death, has died. He was 79.

“The entire ‘General Hospital’ family is heartbroken to hear of Tristan Rogers’ passing,” said GH 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).”

Rogers was born in Melbourne, Australia, but moved to Los Angeles to try to make it in Hollywood. Initially, his Australian accent prevented him from most roles, until he happened to land a two-day bit part on General Hospital.

“I had no idea at the point how big the show was,” Rogers said in a 2022 interview with fellow GH alum Maurice Benard. “I had no name. I was brought in expressly to beat up the hero, Luke, (played by Anthony Geary), and then disappear.”

He said he was asked by producers if he would like to stay on, and he agreed. At the time, no storyline or character was written for him, so for three weeks he was simply asked to show up in various scenes “looking furtive, looking suspicious.” Eventually, his identity was written to be that of super-spy Robert Scorpio, who has remained a commonly-mentioned character throughout the entire series’ run even when he’s not on screen.

Rogers played the character on-and-off from 1980 until July 17, 2025, where he made a surprise guest appearance after his character left the show’s fictional town of Port Charles in a November 2024 episode.

He also starred in other soaps like The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young & The Restless, and Studio City, the latter of which won him a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor.

He is survived by his wife, his daughter, and his son.