A Collection of Articles from the past, featuring....
Tristan Rogers...  

 
Demi Moore and Tristan Rogers

Tristan Rogers and Jack Wagner

 
Tristan Rogers and John Reilly

Tristan Rogers and Tony Geary

Tristan Rogers and Kimberly McCullough

SCORPIO RISING

People Magazine

Tristan Rogers

It was a two-day role that lasted 11 years. Tristan Rogers, who played Robert Scorpio on "General Hospital," became so popular that Soap Opera Digest recently listed the actor as irreplaceable if the character were ever to be resurrected. Even Elizabeth Taylor doesn't have that distinction -- her role on "GH," that of Helena Cassadine, is now being played by Constance Towers.

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Rogers, a native of Melbourne, Australia, left the soap opera by choice in 1992. "It was time," the actor-writer, now 52, tells PEOPLE Online. "I didn't see there was anywhere for the character to go. I had been talking about doing it for some time. Probably I would have left a year before if Gloria Monty hadn't returned as producer and said, 'Tristan, I need you.' I instantly regretted my decision."

The actor was part of the most famous story line in soap history -- the adventures of Luke and Laura (Tony Geary and Genie Francis). "That was when it was fun to do," he says. "It was a whole lot looser. The plots were stupid, but we were having an absolute blast doing it, and that's what sold it. It was a rare moment in time, and you'll never see it again -- a producer [Monty] with vision, good directors and writers who could interpret that vision onto paper. Then they handed it to the actors, who said let's change it all now. We were allowed to -- and an entertaining story popped out."

On a set that included Geary, Francis, Finola Hughes and Emma Samms (later of "Dynasty"), improv was a large part of the process, unlike today, Rogers says, where the actors are "reined in." The free-wheeling atmosphere almost caused a problem when Elizabeth Taylor joined the cast briefly in 1981. "I was one of the only people who had a one-on-one scene with her," Rogers recalls. "I was warned, 'Tristan, do not ad lib. Elizabeth has never worked with a five-camera set-up. We got on the set, and she had cue cards. I was warned about that, too -- don't change the lines! I said, OK. I walked into her dressing room and introduced myself.

"As we talked, it became apparent to me that she knew the script probably better than I did. I said, 'Look, I've made a couple of changes here ...' She roared with laughter. She'd been told the whole set was a monster of improvisation. She said, 'Just do what you do,' and we did it." Fans can still remember Scorpio's entrance into Helena's suite. Gazing at Taylor, glamorous in her trademark purple, he says, "I swear you do it with mirrors."

Rogers left Australia in 1979 after working steadily there as an actor through the '70s. He carefully rid himself of his heavy Australian accent, only to find he needed it again in the role of ex-secret agent Scorpio. Today his accent doesn't concern him, as he concentrates on work behind the camera.

"After 'GH,' I started looking for an idea and trying to develop it. I got a show off the ground called 'Fast Track' for Showtime in 1997. We moved to Canada for nine months and produced episodes. I had a part in it as well, that of Harry the bartender. It's all about motor racing, which I still do. The show was my basic concept. I didn't get a producer's credit, but I had a credit as technical consultant. I've now gotten involved more with writing, and I'll have something else going, I think, before Christmas."

Rogers lives in Los Angeles with his second wife, Teresa, and their two children, a girl born in 1992 and a son born in 1996. The couple's daughter was the flower girl at their 1995 wedding. "We did the whole thing backwards," he admits. He was married from 1974 to 1984 to Barbara Meale.

Will Robert Scorpio return to "General Hospital?" He was, after all, blown up on a boat, and his body was never recovered -- a sure sign the producers wanted to leave the door open. The actor doesn't rule it out but says it will never be like the old days. "Tony Geary and I were like perennial clowns," he says. Recalling a shoot in San Antonio: "We couldn't film in a cemetery, so we used the yard of a guy who made headstones. He let us use the house as a dressing room and gave us a bottle of tequila. In the center of the coffee table was a pewter urn which someone said contained the ashes of his wife. So we didn't sit near it.

"Then someone came in from outside and said, 'That urn on the table -- unscrew the top and invert it and it becomes a flower vase.' It didn't have ashes in it at all. When Tony came in, I poured a shotglass of tequila into it. He started screaming at me, 'You sacriligeous bastard, it's his wife's ashes.' Everyone else was in on the joke and laughing so hard we had tears running down our faces. I forgot I was still miked, so everyone on the street heard the whole thing. There was a scene being filmed elsewhere, and the sound guys laughed so hard they wrecked the scene."

Coming back to "GH," claims Rogers, is not up to him but up to the "corporate world of the network." But if he does ever return, it will just be a job. "Daytime TV is all about entertainment. We seem to have gotten away from that in the last five or six years. We were about adventure and romance. Now it's all about -- I don't know what it's all about. Social issues, I guess. I don't watch it."

Tristan Rogers is back and Scorpio is
On the Loose and Looking for Love
Daytime TV 1987

50 Fabulous Facts about Tristan Rogers
Here's everything you ever wanted to know about that sexy Australian sleuth... and more!
by Alice Koenigsberg, Daytime TV, December 1987

  "In 1980 Tristan Rogers joined General Hospital as WSB agent Robert Scorpio. He quickly became one of daytime's hottest leading men, thanks to his Australian accent, good looks and natural charm. Despite his success, Tristan has grown restless over the last few years and has taken a couple of long holidays from the show. But now that he's back on GH (at least until the end of the year) we persuaded him to share 50 fascinating facts about his life.

1. His full name is really Tristan Rogers. With a perfect moniker like that, who needs a middle name?

2. Tristan was born in Melbourne, Australia on June 3, 1946.

3. He is an only child, who was doted on by his mother. ('My mother really spoiled me. I still don't pick my own clothes. You can always tell where I've been.')

4. As a student, Tristan left something to be desired. ('I was more interested in cars and music.')

5. Tristan described his decision to become an actor as 'a huge accident born out of laziness. Back in '64 I started a rock group with some friends. It only lasted three years, but I learned to love the good life so much that I knew a 9-5 job wasn't for me.'

6. His parents were vehemently opposed to his show business amibitions. 'They considered me a black sheep,' he says. 'My mother wanted me to be a doctor or lawyer. My father didn't speak to me when I decided to leave Australia for London to pursue acting.'

7. Tristan held several odd jobs before clicking as an actor. In London he was a deejay at Europe's largest disco, and in Los Angeles he was a bouncer at a nightclub.

8. His first show business break happened in Australia in 1966. 'Australian TV was only 10 years old then, and there was only one production office in town,' he recalls. 'I went into the filthy place and said, "I'd like a part." I was given two scripts to learn, and told to come back. The next day they sent me to the casting office, which was in the bowels of the earth. Then they sent me to wardrobe, and then I was given a contract and told to be on the set the next day at ten.'

9. The character of Robert Scorpio was created when former GH producer Gloria Monty was in Hawaii and met a self-made Australian millionaire. 'She loved his cavalier, soldier-of-fortune attitude and his sense of humor, so she filed it away,' says Tristan. 'When I tested for Scorpio, who was only supposed to be around for a week, she liked my interpretation and had a storyline written for me.'

10. Tristan is the first foreigner to make it big on a U.S. soap using his own accent. ('My accent suffered the abuses of local language. An Australian might accuse me of sounding decidely American.')

11. His pet peeve on the set is unprofession behavior. ('I'm professional, and I expect the same thing back. If someone is unprofessional in my scenes, I look for an opportune moment to embarrass them, hopefully, before the entire cast and crew.')

12. Since achieving stardom, Tristan has bemoaned his lack of privacy. He misses free time to tinker with cars, sail, surf, fish and play the drums and guitar.

13. The first luxury item Tristan bought after GH fattened his bank account was a top-of-the-line stereo system.

14. His favorite GH scene was the death of O'Reilly, who was played by Billie Hayes. ('We did our best work together that day.')

15. For a time, Tristan was romantically involved off-screen with Emma Samms, who played his TV wife, Holly. ('Now we're just friends.')

16. Kimberly McCullough, who plays his daughter, Robin, is his best friend on the show. ('Since I don't have any kids, Kimberly is my substitute little girl.')

17. Although he loves playing Scorpio, Tristan's dream role was played by Steve Railsback in The Stunt Man.

18. Tristan thinks Scorpio's best quality is his loyalty. ('He's also very reasonable unless pushed too far.')

19. Scorpio's worst quality is 'making awful coffee.'

20. Tristan admits to being a 'lazy actor. I've got to have someone pointing a gun at my head to really get the best from me.'

21. His favorite actor is James Garner.

22. Tristan's #1 actress is Jacqueline Bisset. ('I've always had a thing for her.')

23. When asked about his favorite film, Tristan quickly says, 'Any of the Star Wars movies. I love sure-fire, easy entertainment.'

24. Tristan's favorite rock group is still the Beatles. ('I'll never forget seeing them live and in person in Australia.')

25. Lots of Eric Clapton and blues are featured in Tristan's private record collection.

26. He gets around Hollywood in a 1970 black Mustang. ('I rebuilt it myself.')

27. There are no pets at Tristan's condominium. ('I love animals, but I don't have time to take care of them.')

28. When he does have some spare time, Tristan reads. He rarely watches TV.

29. The sport Tristan can't get enough of is race car driving.

30. What is Tristan's best virtue? 'My wit and comedic personality,' he claims.

31. His worse vice is pigging out on 'a really good hamburger. Food doesn't rate high on my list of priorities, but I do enjoy Cornish hens and garbage food.'

32. When Tristan pigs out, you can bet it's also with high quality ice cream. ('I can eat quarts of chocolate ice cream at one sitting.')

33. Tristan's most prized gift is a four-foot-high stuffed kangaroo, complete with pouch. He also loves the numerous toy koala bears his fans have sent him over the years.

34. How does he go incognito? 'When I don't want to be recognized, I put on sunglasses, but it never works.'

35. Tristan spends his time away from the studio relaxing, working out, doing public appearances, and serving as vice president of the American Cinema Awards. 'We organize fundraisers for the scholarships we give to aspiring young actors,' he says.

36. His favorite vacation spot is Hawaii. ('I love the sun and surf.')

37. Tristan's numero uno color is red.

38. He loves casual clothes, like warm-ups and jeans. He hates suits and ties, because he values comfort first. ('When I moved here from Australia in '78, I brought only one tie.')

39. At some point in the future, he'd like to star in his own primetime series, playing a Magnum P.I. or MacGyver type.

40. Although he is not a U.S. citizen, Tristan is 'thinking about it. You have to be here seven years from the day you get your green card, and I've got a few more months to go.'

41. Because of his difficult first marriage, Tristan has no plans to marry a second time: 'Marriage is not even in my vocabulary. I did it and screwed up. Why spoil a good relationship by getting married?'

42. Tristan, who recently broke up with a teacher, is currently playing the field.

43. Fatherhood may not be high on Tristan's list of priorities, but he does love children. ('If I visit a friend who had kids, you'll find me in the corner with them and their toys. I'm a child at heart.')

44. His pet peeve is lights burning in an empty room. ('I even walk around the studio turning off the lights.')

45. 'Few people know I have a quick temper,' he says. 'But as soon as it's over, it's gone- unless someone really screws me about. Then, I don't forget.'

46. Tristan is a list maker. 'I've come to realize the limits of my brain, so I'm learning to live with an I.Q. of 15,' he laughs.

47. Most of Tristan's friends are not in show business. ('I hate industry talk and gossip.')

48. How does he stay in shape? 'I go to the gym at least twice a week,' he explains. 'My weight has never been a problem. I weight about 160 and I'm 6'1".'

49. Tristan is handy around the house. ('I've always been good with my hands. I've done most of the remodeling on my condo.')

50. He lists the major benefit of his success as 'the appreciation I get from my fans.'"

On toThe Rape