Tristan Rogers, the actor whose career spanned decades and was marked by his well-known portrayal of Robert Scorpio on ABC’s daytime television soap opera “General Hospital,” has died. He was 79.

Rogers’ death was confirmed by his longtime manager, Meryl Soodak, who said the actor passed away Friday morning after a battle with lung cancer. Soodak noted that Rogers had never been a smoker.

The actor’s role on “General Hospital” “meant everything to him,” his manager said. “He loved being Scorpio and he created that role from nothing. 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.”

Rogers portrayed Scorpio on the soap opera intermittently over the course of 45 years.

He is survived by his wife, two children and a grandchild.

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