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Warren Frost: ‘Twin Peaks’ & ‘Seinfeld’ Actor Passes

By Tito Ojo-Medubi
Published on: 21:26 PST, Feb 17, 2017

Seinfeld and Twin Peaks actor Warren Frost has passed.

According to Variety, the much-loved actor died after a protracted illness Friday. He was 91-years-old. Warren Frost is famously known for the character Dr. Will Hayward on the 1990-1991 cult drama Twin Peaks.

Frost had recently being prodded out of retirement to reprise his role in the ABC hit series, which is meant to debut on Showtime in May. The dependable town physician, Will “Doc” Hayward, was the one who discovered the dead body of homecoming queen Laura Palmer, played by Sheryl Lee. The actor appeared on 30 episodes of the surreal series.

His son, Mark Frost, a co-creator for the rebooted mystery-fantasy franchise alongside filmmaker David Lynch, took to Twitter to announce the heartbreaking news.

“We’re saddened today to announce the passing of our dear old dad, Warren Frost. From the Normandy shores on D-Day to his 50-year career on stage and screen, he remained the humble guy from Vermont who taught us that a life devoted to telling the right kind of truths can make a real difference in the lives of others. We’re grateful to have shared him with the world as long as we did.”

Mark Frost is a triple-time Emmy-nominated screenwriter who worked on Hill Street Blues. He also co-wrote and directed Storyville, starring James Spader. He is author of the critically-acclaimed book, The Greatest Game Ever Played. The 2002 book revolves around the birth of golf in the United States.

Warren Frost had appeared in several TV shows, like Perry Mason and Make Room for Daddy in the late 1950s, but his acting career only blossomed after his son, Mark, gave him a role on Twin Peaks.

Frost who was married for 68 years to his wife Virginia before he passed also enjoyed noteworthy runs on Seinfeld and Matlock, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Frost, who first worked in the drapery department at CBS, played Mr. Ross, the father of George Costanza’s fiancée Susan Ross on NBC’s Seinfeld. His daughter in the series died from licking glue off cheap wedding invitation envelopes.

The actor was in five episodes of Seinfeld, including the series finale in 1998 during a six-year span. In addition, Frost who retired from acting in 2000, played Andy Griffith’s buddy Billy Lewis in the NBC-ABC legal drama, Matlock. Warren was dad to private investigator Cliff Lewis, played by Daniel Roebuck.

Born in Massachusetts in 1925, Frost served in the Navy at age 17 as a First Class Petty Officer in World War II. He spent three years in the Navy and took part in the D-Day invasion at Normandy when his ship served as a minesweeper for the incoming Allied armada.

After the war, Frost settled in New York City and worked behind the scenes as stage manager and floor director for the critically-acclaimed weekly live drama, Philico Playhouse. The young man worked alongside acting greats like George Roy Hill, Sidney Lumet, and John Frankenheimer.

He would later star in The Mating Game with Debbie Reynolds and It Started With a Kiss with Tony Randall. In 1988, he was a fixture on the CBS daytime drama As the World Turns. The following year, he bagged a prominent role on Twin Peaks as a doctor in the small town of very strange occurrences.

Warren Frost is survived by another son, Scott, who is a novelist and photographer. Scott Frost has written for shows like Babylon 5. Frost’s daughter, Lindsay Frost, is an actress. Her credits include horror flick The Ring and TV’s Crossing Jordan.

Warren Frost left behind three grandsons.

One of them is Lucas Giolito, a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox. The No 16 overall pick of in the 2012 MLB Draft of the Washington Nationals uses the Seinfeld theme song to get ready for every game.

[Featured Image by Cebas/Shutterstock]

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