Edge of Night Star Forrest Compton Dead At 94 from COVID-19

The town of Monticello, the locale for the Edge of Night, was always in safe hands with District Attorney Mike Karr. Sadly, Forrest Compton, 94, the actor who played Mike has passed away.

Forrest Compton Passes Away

According to The Shelter Island Reporter, Compton died from complications due to COVID-19 on Saturday, April 4. Compton was 46 years old when he took over the role of Mike on EDGE in 1971, and he played the part until the series went off the air on December 28, 1984.

Born in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1925, Compton served in World War II with the 103rd Infantry Division in France and saw action in Alsace. After the war, he attended both Swarthmore and a three-year program at the Yale Drama School.

He amassed quite a few credits in Los Angeles, including over 40 episodes on Gomer Pyle and roles on Hogan’s Heroes, My Three Sons, The Twilight Zone, and That Girl.

He returned to New York to help with his ailing father in 1971. Back on the east coast, he met the woman who would become his wife, Jeanne Sementini. They wed in 1975. After EDGE ended, Compton continued to work in soaps, sporadically. He played Alfred Cory, Mac’s (Douglass Watson) brother, on Another World. He also appeared on All My Children and Loving.

“‘Woody,’ as [Forrest] was affectionately known to all of us on The Edge of Night, was a master professional, hilarious, smart, kind and gentle,” Sharon Gabet (Raven) posted on Facebook. “I spoke with him a couple years ago on his birthday and he was active and happy in his retirement.

“Rest in peace, Woody, and give hugs and kisses to Larkin [Malloy; Sky], Lois [Kibbee; Geraldine], Dennis [Parker; Derek], Nick [Nicholson; executive producer], Joel [Crothers; Miles], Irving [Allen Lee; Calvin] and all the other EDGE alumni up there,” she wrote.

“Despite what is happening in this country now, people overall are kind, the goodness in most people is there,” Compton said in an interview last year with the Shelter Island Reporter. “There are more good people than ones who are selfish and self-serving. It’s been true in my life, and I think in most people’s lives.”

Soap Hub sends sincere condolences to Compton’s family, friends, and fans at this difficult time.