Nicolas Coster, the actor known for his roles on “Santa Barbara,” “The Bay” and “All the President’s Men,” has died. He was 89.
Coster died on June 26 in a hospital in Florida, according to his daughter Dinneen Coster.
Dinneen shared the news of her father’s death on Facebook. “Please remember him as a great artist. He was an actor’s actor!” she wrote. “I will always be inspired by him and know how lucky I am to have such a great father!!”
From 1984 to 1993, Coster starred on NBC’s soap opera “Santa Barbara” as Lionel Lockridge. He appeared in just under 600 episodes of the series before it ended. His “Santa Barbara” co-star A Martinez, who played Cruz Castillo in the series, responded on Tuesday to the news of Coster’s death, writing on Facebook, “It was an honor to work in a company with him, and I’ll always hold his friendship and his sterling strengths as a professional close to heart.”
He continued, “Unsolicited one day, he gave me this profoundly useful advice: ‘What you choose to do with a scene doesn’t have to be the probable thing. You can choose any course imaginable –– no matter how unlikely –– as long as it’s possible.’”
In addition to his role on “Santa Barbara,” the British-born actor appeared in several other television series, including “The Secret Storm,” “Another World,” “All My Children,” “Our Private World” and “As the World Turns.” In 1976, Coster starred in Alan J. Pakula’s “All the President’s Men” as attorney Markham. His other films included the 1953 “Titanic,” “Reds” alongside Diane Keaton and Warren Beatty, “MacArthur” and “Stir Crazy.”
More recently, Coster appeared in television series “The Bay” as Mayor Jack Madison, for which he received his first Daytime Emmy. In 2020, he starred as Finley in “The Deep Ones.”
Coster is survived by his wife Beth Pantel and his daughters, Dinneen and Candice Jr.
