In December 1980, General Hospital made a pivotal casting move with the addition of Tristan Rogers as superspy Robert Scorpio.

His arrival was perfectly timed — Scorpio was immediately thrust into the heart of one of the soap’s most iconic storylines: Luke Spencer’s (Anthony Geary) legendary quest for the Ice Princess. The chemistry between the characters ignited a dynamic on-screen partnership, and behind the scenes, a lasting friendship between the actors was born.

As Luke and Robert, Geary and Rogers shared countless adventures — both scripted and real. Following Rogers’ passing from cancer on August 15, Geary, now living abroad, reflects on their enduring bond on and off screen.

“I was depressed at the news of Tristan passing away,” begins Geary. “I have great memories of him and always will have. I’ve always thought Tristan was a good actor, a very giving actor, and fun to work with.

“Tristan was an enigma — comfortable enough to create a man of mystery,” Geary continues. “Working with him was an experience that I could always rely on to be funny, exciting, challenging, and infuriating — a perfect day’s work. The fun thing about working with Tristan is that he was unpredictable, always good for throwing in a surprise or taking a scene in his own direction. I always liked that.”

Geary recalls how effortlessly they clicked as colleagues on set. “Tristan is one of the few acting partners I’ve had that we didn’t discuss the script much,” relays the eight-time Daytime Emmy winner. “Because whatever was in the script, no matter what we were given, we were going to do it — not word for word, for sure, but we didn’t challenge the Luke and Robert relationship. For us, it was like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but Tristan and I took turns being The Kid. It was a classic relationship with a couple ne’er-do-wells, who knew the worst about each other, but for the most part, remained friends anyway.”

In the end, it’s the memories that Geary holds most dear. “It’s been a long while since Tristan and I worked together, but then again, it seems like just yesterday,” Geary notes. “Tristan was a character. And he’ll remain a character to me. Not just Robert Scorpio, but Tristan himself — he was the bigger of the two characters. That’s a good memory.”