Nicolas Coster, a versatile and respected actor known for his work in soap operas and various film and television projects, sadly passed away at the age of 89.
He appeared in “All the President’s Men,” “Reds” and “The Facts of Life” on Broadway with Laurence Olivier and Liz Taylor.
Nicolas Coster, a reliable soap opera actor who played roles in All the President’s Men, Reds, Stir Crazy, Another World, Santa Barbara, and All My Children, has died. He was 89.
On Monday, Coster died suddenly at a Florida hospital, according to a Facebook post by his daughter, Dinneen Coster.
Please remember him as a great artist, she said. He was a fantastic actor! He has always served as a source of inspiration and I am truly grateful to have him as a dad.
Coster is a well-known character actor who usually plays tough roles. He portrayed the head of detective J.E. Carson in The Adventures of Sheriff Lobo before briefly appearing as Blair Warner’s millionaire father in The Facts of Life, an episode of another 1980s NBC sitcom.
He appeared regularly on Broadway and made his Broadway debut in 1961 as an understudy for Lawrence Olivier in Becket as Henry II. Twenty years later, he appeared alongside Elizabeth Taylor in Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes.
In Alan J. Pakula’s 1976 novel All the President’s Men, Coster portrayed Markham, a defense attorney for the Watergate suspects. Along with these roles, he appeared in Sidney Poitier’s Stir Crazy (1980), Warren Beatty’s Reds (1981), and Joseph Sargent’s MacArthur (1977) as dentist Paul Trullinger.
From 1984 to 1988, Coster played the self-destructive Lionel Lockridge, husband of Louise Sorel’s Augusta Lockridge, on NBC’s Santa Barbara. He left the show in 1988 after protesting a plot in which his character faked his own death to collect insurance money. However, he returned in 1990 and remained until the program was canceled in January 1993.
Additionally, Coster portrayed Delaney Brands CEO-turned-architect Robert Delaney on NBC’s Somerset/Another World from 1970, 1972 to 1979, 1980, and 1989. He also portrayed deranged kidnapper Steve Andrews on NBC’s All My Children ABC. from 1988 to 1989. He previously called Andrews “Susan Lucci’s terrorist lover.”
For his performance as Lionel, he received Daytime Emmy nominations in 1986, 1988, 1991, and 1992. He finally won the award in 2017 for his portrayal of Mayor Jack Madison in the Amazon digital soap opera The Bay.
His series work dates back to the 1960s and includes appearances on the ABC drama One Life to Live, as well as the CBS dramas Young Doctor Malone, Secret Storm, As the World Turns, and its prime-time spinoff, Our private world.
Coster was ranked 44th on We Love Soap’s list of the 50 Greatest Soap Actors of All Time that year. One panelist said that Nicolas Coster “was the rare soap that wasn’t taken with him either”, adding that he was “smart, charming, and very funny”. He said: “He’s always on point as a grifter/con/bad boy who’s so cool he wouldn’t melt ice in his mouth.”
Nicolas Dwynn Coster was born in London on December 3, 1933. While his father wrote film and theater reviews, his mother created shop windows. He and Taylor, who attended the same prep school (Byron House), returned to their old stomping grounds while the Little Foxes were in London.
After spending time in Canada and Los Angeles, where he attended Canoga Park High School, Coster moved back to the UK at the age of 16. Where he studied acting, he received a degree in 1951.
Two years after appearing in the films Titanic, and Desert Rats, he traveled to the United States to train with Lee Strasberg in New York and perform at Arena Stage in Washington and at the Guthrie Theater (where he was a founding member). Sea of ​​Lost Ships.
In an interview with the Orange County Register in 2006, Coster talked about working with the legendary Olivier on Becket. He remembered that Larry was still quite athletic at 54 years old. “He sprained his knee badly one night during the first act. I watched from the wings as Olivier limped off the stage and said, ‘Not today, Nicolas.’
In 1964, after being hired for the project, Coster joined Jada Rowland on the set of The Secret Storm. He said they “played the first professor and student who get mad at each other” on daytime television. Before we had an affair and got married, the US Senate used us as an example of immorality on daytime television.
He appeared opposite Tony Award winner Sada Thompson in Twigs on Broadway in the 1970s. He also appeared with Michele Lee in Seesaw and Tom Courtenay in Otherwise Engaged.
His filmography also included director William Conrad’s 1965 film My Blood Runs Cold, Larry Peerce’s The Sporting Club, Sydney Pollack’s The Electric Horseman, Little Darlings, and Alan Alda’s 1990 drama Betsy’s Wedding.
The Green Hornet, Charlie’s Angels, One Day, L.A. Law, Who’s the Boss?, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Cold Case are just a few of the TV shows and movies in which Coster has appeared.
He was able to continue teaching acting at the University of Georgia, despite a near-fatal car accident in November 1987 that left him in a coma and momentarily amnesiac.
A dedicated scuba diver, Coster founded the Challenges Foundation in 1998 to provide underprivileged and underprivileged children the opportunity to have fun in the ocean. He also started a sailing program for American veterans returning from war.
In March 2021, he released his autobiography Another Whole Afternoon.
His survivors include his daughters, Candice Jr. and Dinneen, born during his first marriage to dancer and actress Candace Hilligoss. He married the Carnival of Souls actress in 1960 and they were together until they divorced in 1981.
His son Ian died in 2016.
Nicolas Coster’s departure marks the end of an era in the entertainment industry. His talent, versatility, and unforgettable performances will be remembered and honored by fans and colleagues alike. His contributions to the soap opera genre as well as to the world of film and television have left an indelible mark on the industry, making him a respected figure in the acting community.