Soap opera star Tristan Rogers, who is best known for his longtime role on โGeneral Hospital,โ has died.
His manager confirmed his death in a statement on Friday, Aug. 15. He was 79.
The actorโs death comes less than a month after he was diagnosed with cancer. In a statement shared with Deadline at the time, his rep said, โWhile he remains hopeful and is working closely with his medical team on a treatment plan, this is a challenging time for Tristan and his family.โ
The Australian actor joined the longrunning ABC soap opera in 1980 and portrayed the character Robert Scorpio for decades, making special appearances as recently as July 2025.
Frank Valentini, the executive producer of โGeneral Hospital,โ shared a touching statement about Rogers following his death. The statement read in part, โThe entire General Hospital family is heartbroken to hear of Tristan Rogersโ passing.โ
โTristan has captivated our fans for more than 50 years and Port Charles will not be the same without him (or Robert Scorpio),โ Valentini’s statement continued. โI would like to extend my deepest sympathies to his family and friends during this difficult time. Tristan was a one-of-a-kind talent and will be greatly missed. May he rest in peace.โ
Rogersโ first appearance as Robert Scorpio came in 1980, and his character remained active on the series until he was killed off in 1992. Per Soap Opera Digest, his character appeared as a ghost in 1995, before he returned alive again in 2006 and continued to star in episodes over the years. His character’s love interest Holly, played by Emma Samms, is one of the longrunning soap operas “supercouples.”
Speaking to Variety in March 2023, Rogers reflected on the early success of the show, noting, โBack in โ81, that was the year I will always remember.โ
โThat was the year that โGeneral Hospitalโ really went supercharged,โ he said. โThere was this hysteria that surrounded anything to do with โGeneral Hospital.โ It was crazy. Nuts. Dangerously crazy, sometimes.โ
He also reflected on playing the same role for many years and his role in developing the character. Rogers recalled a story from his first day on set when he pulled then-executive producer Gloria Monty to the side and said, โโGloria, this script here โ this is not the way an Australian would react under these circumstances.โโ
โAnd she looked at me as if to say, โYou impertinent son of a b—-, how dare you!โโ Rogers added. โBut she said, โAll right, change it.โ And thatโs what started my steamrollering through pretty much any script at the time.โ
Rogers and Samms departed the series together in November 2024. However, the actor made a surprise return in July 2025, per Soap Opera Digest, after news of his cancer diagnosis went public.
Outside of his work on โGeneral Hospital,โ Rogers also appeared on other soap operas, including โThe Young and the Restlessโ and โThe Bold and the Beautiful,โ as well as the short-lived spinoff, โGeneral Hospital: Night Shift.โ
His other projects included a voice acting role in โThe Rescuers Down Underโ and stints on โThe Bayโ and โStudio City.โ At the Daytime Emmy Awards in 2020, Rogers received the award for outstanding performance by a supporting actor in a digital drama series for his role as Doc in โStudio City.โ
