Actor Edward 'Ward' Costello dies

Worked on stage, film, TV shows since '40s

By VARIETY STAFF

Edward "Ward" Costello, who had recurring roles on TV series including "The Streets of San Francisco" and "General Hospital," died June 4 in Redlands, Calif. due to complications from a stroke. He was 89.

Costello worked on the stage, on film and in numerous TV shows from the 1940s through the late 1980s.

His first major role was starring in August Strindberg's long-running "The Father" Off Broadway. In the 1950s, Costello began working in live television while continuing to work on the stage in New York. 

He starred in soap operas including "Secret Storm" and "The Edge of Night." Other TV appearances included He also "Barnaby Jones," "Little House on the Prairie," "Star "Trek: The Next Generation," "Roe vs. Wade" and "Newhart." 

He also worked as a composer and lyricist, including the theme for "The Gallant Hours." Costello's feature film appearances included cult sci-fi pic "Terror from the Year 5000," "The Gallant Hours," and "MacArthur."

Born in Boston, he served in the British Royal Air Force and the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII, where he was awarded five medals.

After his tour of duty, Ward worked as a foreign news editor for CBS, wrote for newspapers and magazines and studied at the Yale School of Drama. He also studied at the Old Vic and U. of Birmingham in England.

He is survived by his wife, Gerarda; three sons; a daughter; two brothers and a sister.