Coster was born in
London on December 3, 1933, to an American mother and a New Zealand father who was a London theatre critic and marine commander. Coster returned to England to study acting at the
Royal Academy of the Dramatic Art. and
The Little Foxes with
Elizabeth Taylor, which was staged on Broadway and the Victoria Theatre in London. Coster appeared in the NBC soap opera
Young Doctor Malone. He created the role of Professor Paul Britton on
The Secret Storm, a role he played in 1964 and from 1967 to 1968. He played John Eldridge in the prime time serialized drama
Our Private World and on
As the World Turns. His first appearance on television was an episode of
The U.S. Steel Hour in 1959. Coster appeared more than 80 times on 36 television shows, notably in the role of David Warner, the father of character
Blair Warner, on the sitcom
The Facts of Life. Coster created the role of Robert Delaney on
Somerset in March 1970 and later moved to
Another World playing the same character. He played gangster-turned-informant Anthony Makana on
One Life to Live, but left that series to create the role of
Lionel Lockridge on
Santa Barbara. He played kidnapper Steve Andrews on the ABC soap opera
All My Children and returned to
Another World for its 25th anniversary in 1989. He returned to his role on
Santa Barbara in 1990 until the show was canceled in January 1993. He had portrayed the character of Lionel Lockridge in a total of 599 episodes. He appeared on
As the World Turns from 1993 to 1995.
Personal life Coster was a
scuba diving instructor and maintained a foundation that organizes sailing trips and teaches scuba diving for people who are disabled, holding a captain's license. He married actress
Candace Hilligoss (divorced 1981), with whom he had two children. ==Selected film and television roles==