‘The Waltons’ Actress Dead at 90: RIP to Mariclare Costello

Actress Mariclare Costello, best known for her role as schoolteacher Rosemary Hunter on The Waltons, has died. She was 90.

Costello’s family announced that she had died on April 17 in Brooklyn, remembering her as “warm, curious, generous and tough,” someone who “made every space she inhabited more beautiful” and “was always up for an adventure, especially if she could show up a few minutes late, as was her general inclination.”

Costello was a standout on The Waltons, appearing in 15 episodes over the first five seasons of the CBS show from 1972 to 1977. Rosemary’s wedding to Rev. Matthew Fordwick (John Ritter) even served as the show’s fourth season premiere when it aired in in September 1975.

Costello’s daughter Arin, whom she welcomed with actor husband Allan Arbus following their 1977 nuptials, also appeared on The Waltons as Rosemary’s daughter, Mary Margaret, in Season 5.

Costello exited The Waltons after Season 5 to star on the CBS drama The Fitzpatricks, but the drama about a family living in Flint, Mich., only lasted 13 episodes, airing from 1977 to 1978.

On the big screen, Costello made an impression in the 1971 John D. Hancock film Let’s Scare Jessica to Death as Emily Bishop, a vampire ghost who terrorizes her friend Jessica (Zohra Lampert).

In 1974, Costello also played the wife of Martin Sheen’s titular character in the Emmy-winning ABC television movie, The Execution of Private Slovik.

Costello’s original love of performance stemmed from the theater, however. As an original member of Illinois’ Lincoln Center Repertory Company, the actress appeared four times on Broadway, starring alongside Jimmy Stewart and Helen Hayes in a 1970 revival of Harvey.

Born in 1936 in Peoria, Ill., as the youngest of three sisters, Costello attended St. Mark School and the Academy of Our Lady before attending Clarke College and going on to receive her master’s in theater and education from Catholic University.

After graduate school, Costello moved to New York City to pursue theater, working at Sheridan Square Theater, The Public Theater, and on Broadway, originating the role of Louise in Arthur Miller’s After the Fall opposite Jason Robards. She was also a lifetime member of The Actors Studio.

Following the birth of her daughter, Costello continued to act, direct and teach, leading the drama program at St. Paul the Apostle Elementary School in Westwood and directing at Loyola High School and Loyola Marymount University, where she also taught acting for many years.

She is survived by daughter Arin and her partner, Ethan; granddaughter, Bird; step-daughters, Amy and Doon; nieces, Moira, Elizabeth, Molly, Sarah, Kate and Julia; and nephew, Jim; and their families. She was preceded in death by her husband, Arbus; her sisters, Marjorie Klise and Joan McQuillen; and nephews, Matthew and Michael.

A funeral service will be held in New York City, with burial and remembrance in Peoria.