WASHINGTON — Actor Tristan Rogers, best known for playing Robert Scorpio on the ABC soap opera "General Hospital," died nearly a month after being diagnosed with cancer . He was 79.

Meryl Soodak, the longtime manager for the Australian actor, told outlets the news of his death Friday. She noted he was never a smoker, but did tell ABC7 he had lung cancer, something that wasn't included in the announcement of his cancer diagnosis in July.

"He loved being Scorpio and he created that role from nothing," she told Deadline and other outlets. "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, 79, has portrayed Scorpio on "General Hospital" on and off since 1980 and in its spinof

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