Anthony Geary Honors Tristan Rogers’ Legacy After General Hospital Star’s Death
In December 1980, General Hospital scored a game-changing casting win when Tristan Rogers stepped into the flashy shoes of Robert Scorpio, the show’s superspy. His debut couldn’t have come at a better moment. Right away, Scorpio dove into the sizzling Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) storyline that had the audience hooked: the wild chase for the Ice Princess. Viewers buzzed over the spark between the two men, and the off-screen buddy bond that Rogers and Geary built was just as electric.
Between the studio and the real world, Luke and Robert lived a string of escapades that were as thrilling as any scripted scenes. Rogers died of cancer on August 15, and today Geary, now settled overseas, pauses to remember.
“I sank into a funk when I heard Tristan was gone. I’ll always carry the memories of our time together,” Geary tells TV Insider, his voice steady but soft. “He was a terrific actor, always shared the limelight, and we had a blast in every take.”
“Tristan was an enigma—comfortable enough to make being a mystery feel like a superpower,” Geary says with a grin. “Every day on set with him gave me a cocktail of funny, exciting, challenging, and downright infuriating—exactly the combo you hope for when you roll out of bed. The best part was that he never played the same hand twice. He’d flip a line, twist a beat, or steer the moment somewhere completely fresh. I always loved that about him.”
Geary shakes his head in disbelief, still tasting the rush of the old days. “Tristan and I just clicked. I swear, we barely kicked the script around at all. We’d glance at the pages, then look at each other and go. That kind of trust rarely shows up in a career, and that’s how you end up with fireworks.”
“Eight Daytime Emmys and I still count him as one of the rare ones,” Geary laughs.
“Let me tell you, no matter what we got handed in the script, we were all-in—maybe not line-for-line, but we never pushed back on Luke and Robert. According to Yahoo, To us, it was the same energy as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, only Tristan and I swapped who was Butch and who was the Kid. Straight-up buddy-outlaw business; they knew the dirt on each other but still stayed pals. That was us.”
What really sticks with Geary are the moments. “It’s been ages since Tristan and I were in a scene together, but the stretch feels smaller than it sounds,” Geary says with a smile. “Tristan was a force. Not just the Robert you all know, but Tristan himself—way bigger than the role. That’s the memory I hold on to. Simple and solid.”
