BELOVED General Hospital star Tristan Rogers has died aged 79 after a lung cancer battle.
The star’s manager Meryl Soodak, confirmed the sad news to ABC 7 Eyewitness News today.
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“He loved being Scorpio and he created that role from nothing,” Soodak said.
“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.”
The tragedy comes after Rogers revealed in July he had been diagnosed with cancer.
Rogers was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1946 and left school in 1964 to start a rock band.
He later kick started his modeling career, and appeared commercials which lead him to the acting industry.
“As far as I was concerned, it was a way to make a bit of money. That’s all,” he told Soap.com in 2022.
He gained credits on several Aussie soaps including Bellbird, Number 96 and The Box.
Rogers also appeared in a few British films, including 1972’s Four Dimensions of Greta.
The actor relocated to the States in 1980 where he found his big break – as Robert Scorpio on General Hospital.
He told Soap Opera Digest: “I didn’t know at the time the importance of General Hospital; it was just one more job for me.
“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 on General Hospital? That’s the hottest thing in the country! You’re working with Luke and Laura? Oh, my God!’. . . . I got caught up in the General Hospital tidal wave and just got swept away by it.”
Rogers became cemented as a fan favourite on the show, however he was killed off in the early 90s – before making a miraculous return in 2006.
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The star would continue to appear in episodes and landed a reoccurring role in 2019.
He previously joked the character would “follow me to my grave”.
But Rogers has a long list of credits to his name, including The Young and the Restless, Fast Track and Babylon 5.
He also won a Daytime Emmy for his performance in the Prime Video series Studio City.
Rogers leaves behind his wife, Teresa Parkerson, and children, Sara and Cale.
The actor tied the knot with his first wife Barbra Meale in 1974, and they divorced in 1984.
He then dated his General Hospital costar but Emma Samms, but they split in 1985.
Roger married Teresa Parkerson a decade later and the couple welcomed two children, Sara and Cale.
