Tristan Rogers, who played legacy character Robert Scorpio on ABC’s “General Hospital,” died Friday, less than one month after he made a special appearance on the soap opera. He was 79.

Soap star Tristan Rogers, who has played Robert Scorpio since 1980, died from lung cancer, his longtime manager told multiple news outlets.

Tristan Rogers, a longtime star of ABC’s daytime soap General Hospital, has died. He was 79. Rogers died early Friday after a battle with lung cancer, though he had never been a smoker. He played Robert Scorpio on General Hospital over several stints for some 45 years and also had a run on CBS’ The Young and the Restless .