Actress Mariclare Costello has died aged 90, her family confirmed. She was known for playing the schoolteacher Rosemary Hunter on The Waltons, a hippie-turned-vampire in horror film Let's Scare Jessica To Death, and appeared in nine Broadway shows during the '60s. She was also married to M*A*S*H actor Allan Arbus until his death in 2013.
She had a long and dedicated career after making her Broadway debut in 1964 in Arthur Miller's After the Fall, while also appearing in But For Whom Charlie, and The Changeling, to name a few. Outside of this, she also appeared on multiple TV series including 1969's N.Y.P.D, Little House on the Prairie, and Murder She Wrote. She is most famously remembered for her time on CBS' hit family drama The Waltons, who as Miss Rosemary Hunter, encouraged John-Boy Walton to become a writer.
She met her husband Arbus in an acting class taught by Mira Rostova and they caught one another's eyes while in rehearsal for Dorothy Parker's play Here We Are. They eventually moved to Los Angeles in the late 1960s and married at home after 12 years together. She was with her husband when he died of congestive heart failure in April 2013.
The pair had one daughter together, Arin Arbus, who became a theatre director. The actress is survived by Arin and her partner Ethan, granddaughter Bird, stepdaughters Amy and Doon, and her six neices and one nephew.
Following her death, her family shared sweet memories of her as they explained that her basement was filled "floor to ceiling with costumes and props, and her productions were works of extraordinary care and beauty".
They said: "She was also, in every dimension of her life, someone who paid attention. She could talk to anyone, was interested in everything and was a relentless asker of questions.
"She refinished countless floors and collected objects, letters, photographs, even used coffee cups, much to her husband and daughter’s dismay. She made every space she inhabited more beautiful. Warm, curious, generous and tough, she had the constitution of an ox, was never sick and was always up for an adventure, especially if she could show up a few minutes late, as was her general inclination." A funeral service will be held for her in New York.
