Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Forrest Compton, Mike Karr from “The Edge of Night” for 13 Years, Dies at 94 from Coronavirus, Veteran TV Actor

Forrest Compton, who played good guy lawyer Mike Karr on “The Edge of Night” for 13 years, has died at age 94. The cause was coronavirus.

Compton played Mike Karr from 1971 to the show’s conclusion in 1984. In those years, “The Edge of Night” was a top notch soap opera-slash-mystery written by the great Henry Slesar. Lori Loughlin and Frances Fisher were among the actors who launched prime time and movie careers from the show at that time.

I always love Forrest Compton because he was so deadpan as Mike Karr. Crazy story lines were put in front of him and he never blinked. He was a stoic.

Compton was a TV veteran, coming from “Gomer Pyle” on prime time, where he was a regular. His resume is full of appearances on classic TV shows throughout the 50s and 60s.

Forrest Compton was born in Reading, Pennsylvania in September 1925. He went to Yale Drama school, where he met Paul Newman. “He was a great guy, charming, sharp, six months older than me,” Compton once told his local newspaper, the Shelter Island Reporter. “I remember Paul making salad dressing back then,” he said. “Once the agents saw Paul and those blue eyes and his charm, he was on television a month later.”

Condolences to Compton’s family, and to his “Edge of Night” TV wife, Ann Flood Granath.

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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