89-year-old actor Nikolas Coster, best known for his role as Lionel Lockridge in the TV series Santa Barbara, has died in a Florida hospital, The Mirror reports quoting his daughter, Dinnin Coster.
“It is with great sadness in my heart tonight, my father, actor Nicholas Coster died in hospital at 9:01 pm in Florida,” wrote on his Facebook page (the owner of Meta was recognized as an extremist and banned in Russia).
He urged the audience to be inspired by his work. “I will always remember you doing your best and being a great dad. Rest in peace,” added the actress’ daughter.
Coster’s “Santa Barbara” colleague Adolfo Martinez (played by Cruz Castillo) wrote, “It was an honor to work with him at the same company, and I will always value his friendship and impeccable qualities as a professional.”
One fan noted on social media that Coster is “one of the best”. “We lost one of the greatest soap opera actors of all time,” another fan wrote.
Nicholas Coster was born on December 3, 1933 in London. His mother was American and his father was a New Zealand theater critic and sailor. The future actor spent his childhood and youth mainly in California.
To study acting, Koster returned to England and entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where he played at London’s Broadway and Victoria Theatre, including Elizabeth Taylor.
Coster’s first television role was in the NBC soap opera Young Doctor Malone (1958-1963). He then appeared in Hidden Storm in 1964 and 1967-1968. Coster also played John Aldrich on the soap opera Our Inner World. His work prior to the “Santa Barbara” “era” includes the TV series “Somerset” (1970-1976), “Another World” (1964-1999), “One Life to Live” (1968-2012).
But Nicholas Coster was famous for his role as Lionel Lockridge in Santa Barbara. He performed in 1984 – 1988 and 1990 – 1993.
The series was one of the first to be shown in the CIS after the collapse of the USSR. This soap opera is considered one of the most popular and longest ever broadcasts in Russia. A total of 2137 episodes were shot.
Koster also starred in All My Children (1970-2011), The Facts of Life (1979-1988), Beverly Hills 90210 (1990-2000), War of the Worlds (1988), Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). ), Murder, Wrote (1984-1996), Law and Order (1990-2010), The Young Pope (2016) and others. One of the last works of the actor was the series Rookie: The Federals (2022).
Although Koster is primarily known as a TV actress, he has been invited to appear in films many times. For example, in the Oscar-winning historical series All the President’s Men and Reds.
The actor was awarded an Emmy in 2017 for his role as Mayor Jack Madison in The Bay.
Koster has been married several times and has three children: two daughters and a son. In 2010, he started a relationship by correspondence with Elena Borodulina, a Muscovite. She said that from the first episode of “Santa Barbara” she fell in love with the heroine Coster and all these years she dreamed of meeting an idol. After two years of relationship, the actor came to her, and then she moved in with him and they legalized the relationship.
Koster was a diving instructor and founded a foundation that organizes boat trips and diving trainings for people with disabilities.