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.
