John Mahoney, best known for playing Martin Crane on 11 seasons of “Frasier,” died in Chicago on Sunday while in hospice care, his manager, Paul Martino, confirmed. He was 77.
Mahoney played the father of Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce’s characters during the show’s run on NBC from 1993 to 2004. He won a SAG Award and received two Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations for his work on “Frasier.” He was also a mainstay of Chicago’s theater community and a Tony winner in 1986 for his work on Broadway in John Guare’s “The House of Blue Leaves.”
From 2011 to 2014, Mahoney had a recurring role on “Hot in Cleveland” as Roy, the love interest of Betty White’s character, Elka. He was much praised for his performance as an anguished CEO in psychological counseling on Season 2 of HBO’s “In Treatment” in 2009.
Producer Greg Berlanti credited Mahoney with allowing him to secure a greenlight for his first feature, the 2000 romantic comedy “The Broken Hearts Club.”
“He never wavered in his belief in me — a first time director,” Berlanti said via Twitter. “And he was even more kind than he was brilliant.”
Mahoney worked in film for more than 35 years, appearing in classics like “The American President,” “Moonstruck,” “In the Line of Fire,” and “Say Anything,” along with voicing animated characters in the “Antz” and “Atlantis” films. He also had guest spots in a number of TV shows including “Cheers,” the forerunner of “Frasier” (although he played a different character), and “3rd Rock from the Sun.”
Born in Blackpool, England, the actor started his career in theater and continued to return to the stage, appearing in “Prelude to a Kiss” on Broadway and “The Outgoing Tide” and “The Birthday Party” in Chicago after “Frasier” ended.
He came to the U.S. at age 19 and taught English at Western Illinois University; Mahoney was already in his late thirties when he began working with Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble, which needed an actor who could play older roles.
Mahoney never married and had no children.
Television John Mahoney, who played Frasier's Martin Crane, dies aged 77 British actor famously played the father of Kelsey Grammer’s Frasier and David Hyde Pierce’s Niles on the hit 1990s show after finding success late in life John Mahoney, who has died in Chicago, was born in Blackpool, England. Photograph: Matt Sayles/AP
John Mahoney, the actor best known for playing cranky father Martin (Marty) Crane on the US sitcom Frasier, has died at the age of 77.
Mahoney’s manager, Paul Martino, said Mahoney died on Sunday in Chicago after a brief hospitalisation. The cause of death was not immediately announced.
John Mahoney: Frasier's 'cranky' dad was the stove at the heart of the show Read more
Mahoney played the father of Kelsey Grammer’s Frasier and David Hyde Pierce’s Niles. The series, a spinoff of Cheers, ran for 11 seasons on NBC from 1993 to 2004. Mahoney’s portrayal of Marty earned him two Emmy nominations, two Golden Globe nominations and a Screen Actors Guild award, while the show won five best comedy series Emmy in a row.
The actor was born in Blackpool, but made Chicago his adopted hometown. Beginning his acting career in theatre in the 1970s, he joined Steppenwolf Theatre on the suggestion of actor John Malkovich, and worked with them for 39 years, eventually winning a Tony Award for his performance in John Guare’s The House of Blue Leaves in 1986.
Mahoney originally moved to America to be near his sister who had married an American GI and relocated. He joined the army himself shortly after arriving in the country, but struggled to adjust. “I joined the army almost immediately because I wanted to get citizenship faster, but I was so homesick,” he told the Times in 2005. “It’s the worst feeling I’ve ever been through in my life. I felt like killing myself.”
He did, however, decide to settle in the states, where he tried to assimilate. “I knew I was going to live the rest of my life in the US and I didn’t want to be on the outside looking in. They make such a big deal about it: anyone from the United Kingdom is automatically regarded as brilliant beyond belief. I didn’t want to live with that. I’m not a nonconformist. I wanted to be like everybody else.”
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kelsey Grammer and John Mahoney in Frasier Photograph: Allstar/PARAMOUNT
The actor only got into the profession in his late 30s after he returned to Manchester and saw Albert Finney and Leo McKern in Uncle Vanya. When he came back to Chicago he took an acting class which was run by David Mamet. The playwright and John Malkovich eventually convinced Mahoney to join the Steppenwolf group alongside the likes of Laurie Metcalf, Joan Allen and Gary Sinise.
“Believe me, I’m an aberration,” he told the Observer. “With me, it was all the stars aligning at exactly the right time. There was so much luck involved.”
Mahoney made his feature film debut in Tin Men in 1987, later appearing in films including In the Line of Fire, Reality Bites, Say Anything, The American President and Primal Fear. He also played the role of WP Mayhew in the Coen brother’s Barton Fink and had guest appearances in Foyle’s War and ER, but it was the misanthropic Martin (Marty) Crane, which made him a star.
The show, which ran for 11 years, and was a hugely successful spin-off from Cheers – where Frasier was originally supposed to only appear in a few episodes but became an integral part of the cast – was one of the 90s most successful shows. “I’m immensely proud of being on a show that has been so honoured,” Mahoney said in 2002. “If the show shot in Chicago, I’d shoot it for 20 years. But I just miss home so much. And I miss stage work.” But Mahoney thought the programme did start to repeat itself and should have ended earlier.
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“We had taken the show as far as it could go,” he said in an interview in 2005. “We did 260 episodes in 11 years. I was afraid we were beginning to repeat ourselves and vulgarise ourselves a bit in looking for things that we hadn’t done.
“I think it lost something when (Niles and Daphne) got married. He stopped being so tense and fussy. She stopped being so weird. I think people wanted them to get together, but didn’t realise the consequences.”
Mahoney was also a frequent voice actor, including voicing characters in the 1998 animated film Antz, Atlantis: The Lost Empire and an episode of the Simpsons. Mahoney’s recent work included guest appearances on Hot in Cleveland and a 2015 episode of Foyle’s War.
Colleagues and fans paid tribute to him on social media.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption John Mahoney, who played Marty Crane in Frasier, has died at the age of 77.
The British-born actor John Mahoney, who played Martin Crane in the US sitcom Frasier, has died aged 77.
He died on Sunday while in hospice care in Chicago.
Mahoney enjoyed a distinguished career in theatre, winning a Tony award, and had a long list of film and TV credits.
But he will be best remembered for playing the unpretentious, blunt father of Frasier and Niles Crane in the hit comedy, which ran for 11 seasons from 1993-2004.
Mahoney won a SAG award in 2000 for the role, and was also nominated for two Emmys and two Golden Globes.
Much of the comic spark in Frasier came from the relationship between the down-to-earth retired police officer Martin Crane and his pompous sons Frasier and Niles, played by Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mahoney (pictured second from right) with his co-stars in Frasier
Mahoney was born in Blackpool, where his pregnant mother had been evacuated to escape Nazi bombing raids.
He moved to the US as a young man, serving in the US army for three years, which he credits with eradicating his native British accent.
It was only in his 40s that he became a professional actor, after actors John Malkovich and Gary Sinise invited him to join the new Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
He was a member of Steppenwolf for 39 years - and became a well-known part of the Chicago theatre scene.
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The company announced on social media that Mahoney had passed away "due to complications from cancer".
"John was a beloved member of our Steppenwolf family who was known for his extraordinary kindness, generosity of spirit and quick smile," it said in a statement.
In a 2004 interview with the Chicago Tribune, he said he preferred his theatre work to the high-profile national television scene, saying: "I don't care if I never go in front of a camera again."
He also lent his voice to a number of animated projects, including Atlantis: The Lost Empire, The Iron Giant, and Antz.
'Remember him well'
Tributes to the actor have been pouring in. Actor Gary Sinise, who co-founded Steppenwolf, said: he remembered "so many wonderful plays together over the years. A wonderful actor, I'll never forget his 1985 performance in Orphans."
Jeff Greenberg, the casting director for Frasier, called him a "brilliant actor".
Skip Twitter post by @JeffGreenbergCD The great John Mahoney passed away today at age 77. I've not known a kinder man nor more brilliant actor. We were all blessed to have spent 11 glorious years together. pic.twitter.com/hn3SZwuEy4 — Jeff Greenberg (@JeffGreenbergCD) February 5, 2018 Report
Director Greg Berlanti tweeted that Mahoney had been "so kind and supportive of me early in my career", helping to get the film The Broken Hearts Club made.
"He never wavered in his belief in me - a first time director," Berlanti wrote. "And he was even more kind than he was brilliant."
Peri Gilpin, who played Roz Doyle in Frasier, tweeted a photo of Mahoney singing at her wedding.
