Forrest Compton (September 15, 1925 – April 4, 2020) was an American actor, primarily known for playing Mike Karr on the daytime soap opera The Edge of Night, as well as Colonel Gray on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

When the war ended, Compton attended Swarthmore College, where he initially studied pre-law and political science but later switched to English.

After graduating from Swarthmore, Compton earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama, where he befriended Paul Newman.

[2] Compton was best known for portraying attorney Mike Karr, the central character on the long-running soap opera The Edge of Night, on which he appeared from 1970 to 1984.

[3][4] He also played stern but fair battalion commander Lieutenant Colonel Edward Gray on the 1960s sitcom Gomer Pyle, USMC.