John Mahoney

Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 – February 4, 2018) was an English-American actor. He first became known for his roles in such films as Moonstruck (1987), Eight Men Out (1988), Say Anything... (1989), Barton Fink (1991), and The Hudsucker Proxy (1994). He was best known for playing Martin Crane in the American sitcom Frasier, which aired on NBC from 1993 to 2004. He also worked as a voice actor, and was passionate about his stage work on Broadway and in Chicago theatre. He won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play in 1986 for his performance in The House of Blue Leaves.

For other people named John Mahoney, see John Mahoney (disambiguation).

John Mahoney
Mahoney in 1994
Born
Charles John Mahoney

(1940-06-20)June 20, 1940
Bispham, England, UK
DiedFebruary 4, 2018(2018-02-04) (aged 77)
Chicago, Illinois, US
OccupationActor
Years active1977–2017

Early life

Charles John Mahoney[1][2] was born in the Bispham area of Blackpool on 20 June 1940, the seventh of eight children. His father, Reg, was a baker[3] who played classical piano, and his mother, Margaret (née Watson), was a housewife who loved reading. His paternal grandfather was Irish.[4][5] The family had been evacuated to Blackpool from their home city of Manchester when it was heavily bombed during the Second World War. Mahoney started school at St Joseph's College. After the war, the family moved back to Manchester, where Mahoney grew up in the suburb of Withington and discovered acting at the Stretford Children's Theatre. His parents' marriage was not happy. They would not speak to each other for long periods of time; when they did, it often led to heated arguments. The family situation, combined with the war, fuelled Mahoney's interest in acting and he vowed to leave Manchester.[6][7]

Mahoney moved to the United States aged 18 in March 1959,[8] when his older sister Vera (a war bride living in rural Illinois) agreed to sponsor him. He studied at Quincy University before joining the United States Army. After graduating from Quincy, he lived in Macomb, Illinois, and earned his Master's degree in English[9] from Western Illinois University, where he went on to teach English in the late 1960s[10] before settling in Forest Park, Illinois, and later in Oak Park, Illinois. He became a U.S. citizen in 1971[11] and served as editor of a medical journal through much of the 1970s.[10]

Career

Early work

Dissatisfied with his career, Mahoney took acting classes at St. Nicholas Theatre, which inspired him to resign from his day job and pursue acting full-time. After a stage production in Chicago in 1977, John Malkovich encouraged him to join the Steppenwolf Theatre.[12][13] He did so and went on to win the Clarence Derwent Award as Most Promising Male Newcomer. Gary Sinise said in an interview for Bomb Magazine that Lyle Kessler's play Orphans "kicked John Mahoney, Kevin Anderson and Terry Kinney off into the movie business"[14] after their Steppenwolf performance of the play for which he won the Derwent Award and the Theatre World Award.[15] Mahoney won Broadway's Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in John Guare's The House of Blue Leaves.[16]

Mahoney's first major film roles were in the 1987 Barry Levinson film Tin Men and Suspect, directed by Peter Yates, which was a courtroom drama/mystery starring Cher, Dennis Quaid, and Liam Neeson. He went on to have prominent roles in a number of acclaimed films throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, including Moonstruck, Eight Men Out, Say Anything..., In the Line of Fire, Reality Bites, and The American President.[16][17][10] He appeared in two Coen brothers films, Barton Fink[18] and The Hudsucker Proxy.[19]

Mahoney also played a pivotal gay role in Greg Berlanti's 2000 GLAAD-Award winning film The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy.

Frasier
Main article: Martin Crane

Mahoney appeared in Frasier from its debut in 1993 until the final episode in 2004; Mahoney received two Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations for the role of Martin Crane, the father of Frasier Crane and Niles Crane. NBC executives held Mahoney in such high esteem that Warren Littlefield declared he was pre-approved when the Frasier creative team suggested casting him as the father.[20] Prior to appearing on the series, Mahoney had appeared in an episode of Cheers – from which Frasier was a spinoff – as Sy Flembeck, an inept jingle writer who has a brief conversation with Frasier. Mahoney also appeared as a priest in Becker, which starred Cheers star Ted Danson.

Voice acting
Mahoney voice acting in 2007

Mahoney's first voice job was in W. B. Yeats's "The Words upon the Window-Pane" for the award-winning National Radio Theater of Chicago. He provided the voices for several characters in Antz (1998), Preston Whitmore in Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Atlantis: Milo's Return, General Rogard in The Iron Giant (1999), and Papi in Kronk's New Groove (but was succeeded by Jeff Bennett in The Emperor's New School for an unknown reason). In 2007, Mahoney provided the voice of Dr. Robert Terwilliger, Sr. (Sideshow Bob's father) in The Simpsons episode "Funeral for a Fiend." This reunited him with his Frasier co-stars Kelsey Grammer (Sideshow Bob) and David Hyde Pierce (Cecil, Sideshow Bob's brother).

Post-Frasier

Mahoney co-starred as the Old Man in the Broadway revival of Prelude to a Kiss at the American Airlines Theater in a limited-run engagement running from previews on February 17, 2007, through to April 29, 2007.[21][22] He appeared as an elderly drag queen in the ER season 13 episode "Somebody to Love," and co-starred with Steve Carell (himself a veteran of Chicago theatre) as the father of Carell's character in Dan in Real Life. In March 2008, he opened in the world premiere of Better Late at the Northlight Theatre.[23] He was also the narrator for Midwest Airlines commercials. Mahoney also made two appearances on USA's Burn Notice in the second (2009) and third (2010) season finales. His character, referred to only as "Management," is a senior intelligence agency official who is the apparent main mover of the conspiracy which blacklisted Michael Westen.[24][25]

Mahoney joined the cast of In Treatment for the series' second season (2009) as a frenetic CEO who is overwhelmed by his personal and professional responsibilities and experiences chronic physical anxiety attacks. In 2010, he made a guest appearance on $#@! My Dad Says as homophobic retired naval officer Lt. Commander Wally Durham.

Beginning in April 2011, Mahoney began rehearsing The Outgoing Tide, a new play by Bruce Graham at Northlight Theatre in Skokie, Illinois (suburban Chicago). The play also stars fellow Chicago actors Rondi Reed and Thom Cox. In 2011, he had two guest appearances on Hot in Cleveland as Roy, a waiter and a love interest for Betty White's character Elka.[26] This reunited him with his Frasier co-star Jane Leeves, as well as Wendie Malick whose character he eventually married in Frasier and his co-star in the movie The American President. Mahoney was a featured ensemble cast member in The Birthday Party, playing in Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre from January 24 to April 28, 2013.[27] Mahoney portrayed his last role in the play The Rembrandt, from September to November 2017.[28][29]

Despite the numerous successes throughout his career, Mahoney has maintained that his early work in Lyle Kessler's play Orphans has "affected people more than any other play I've ever done. I still get mail from it, I still get people stopping me on the street, and it's 20 years later."[30]

Personal life

Along with David Hyde Pierce, Mahoney was godfather to Frasier co-star Jane Leeves' son Finn.[31] Mahoney rarely spoke publicly about his private life,[6] but in a 2002 article he revealed he had been in several relationships, although he had never married, citing his parents' unhappy marriage as something he feared he would repeat.[7] He suffered from colon cancer in the mid-1980s.[32]

Mahoney lived in Oak Park, Illinois.[7]

Death

Mahoney died in a Chicago hospice on February 4, 2018, of complications from throat cancer, originally diagnosed in 2014. He was 77 years old. According to his friend Anna Shapiro, "He was fragile and he was supposed to be having a routine procedure. But having just beat Stage 3 throat cancer, I think he was just too weak... by the time he did The Rembrandt [a play at Steppenwolf Theatre] he was clean of cancer... but other health issues came up and he was just too fragile."[33]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1981 Hudson Taylor
1982 Mission Hill Michael Doyle
1984 The Killing Floor factory representative
1985 Code of Silence Prowler Representative
1986 The Manhattan Project Lt. Col. Conroy
1986 The Christmas Gift The Town Mayor
1986 Streets of Gold Linnehan
1987 Tin Men Moe Adams [16]
1987 Suspect Judge Matthew Bishop Helms
1987 Moonstruck Perry
1988 Frantic Williams, U.S. Embassy Official
1988 Betrayed Shorty
1988 Eight Men Out William "Kid" Gleason [16]
1989 Say Anything... James Court [17]
1990 Love Hurts Boomer
1990 The Russia House Brady
1991 Barton Fink W. P. Mayhew [18]
1992 Article 99 Dr. Henry Dreyfoos
1993 In the Line of Fire Sam Campagna [17]
1993 Striking Distance Capt. Vince Hardy
1994 The Hudsucker Proxy Chief [19]
1994 Reality Bites Grant Gubler [17]
1995 An Affectionate Look at Fatherhood Bob
1995 The American President Leo Solomon [16]
1996 Primal Fear Shaughnessy [17]
1996 She's the One Mr. Fitzpatrick
1996 Mariette in Ecstasy Dr. Claude Baptiste
1998 Antz Grebs the Drunken Scout (voice) [17]
1999 The Iron Giant General Shannon Rogard (voice)
2000 The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy Jack
2001 Almost Salinas Max Harris
2001 Atlantis: The Lost Empire Preston B. Whitmore (voice) [17]
2003 Atlantis: Milo's Return Preston B. Whitmore (voice)
2005 Kronk's New Groove Papi (voice)
2007 Dan in Real Life Poppy [16]
2010 Flipped Chet Duncan
2019 Mariette in Ecstasy Dr. Claude Baptiste Posthumous release

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1982 Chicago Story Lt. Roselli Main role, 13 episodes
1985 Lady Blue Capt. Flynn Television film
1986 Trapped in Silence Doctor Winslow Television film
1987 Saturday Night Live Fast Eddie Felson / Paul Newman Episode: "Charlton Heston/Wynton Marsalis"
1987 The House of Blue Leaves Artie Shaughnessy Television film
1988 Favorite Son Lou Brenner Episode: "Part One"
1989 Dinner at Eight Oliver Jordan Television film
1990 The Image Irv Mickelson Television film
1990 H.E.L.P. Chief Patrick Meacham Main role
1991 The 10 Million Dollar Getaway Jimmy Burke Television film
1992 The Human Factor Dr. Alec McMurtry Main role, 8 episodes
1992 The Water Engine Mason Gross Television film
1992 Screenplay Walter Partin Episode: "Buying a Landslide"
1992 Cheers Sy Flembeck Episode: "Do Not Forsake Me, O' My Postman"
1992 Unnatural Pursuits Paddy Quinn Episode: "I Don't Do Cuddles"
1993–2004 Frasier Martin Crane Main role, 263 episodes
1995 Biography Narrator Voice, Episode: "Al Capone: Scarface"
1996 3rd Rock from the Sun Dr. Leonard Hamlin Episode: "Body & Soul & Dick"
1997 Tracey Takes On... Jeffrey Ayliss Episode: "Childhood"
1998 Nothing Sacred Vince Reyneaux Episode: "The Coldest Night of the Year"
2000 Becker Father Joe D'Andrea Episode: "Crosstalk"
2000 Teacher's Pet Narrator / Tim Tim Tim Voice role; episode: #1.12
2000 Nature Narrator Episode: "Intimate Enemies: Lions and Buffalo"
2003 Gary the Rat Steele Voice role; episode: "Strange Bedfellows"
2005 Fathers and Sons Gene Television film
2006 ER Bennett Cray Episode: "Somebody to Love"
2007 Mobsters Narrator Episode: "Al Capone"
2007 The Simpsons Dr. Robert Terwilliger, Sr. Voice role; episode: "Funeral for a Fiend"
2009 In Treatment Walter Barnett Recurring role (season 2), 7 episodes
2009–2010 Burn Notice Management Episodes: "Lesser Evil", "Devil You Know"
2010 $#*! My Dad Says Lt. Col. Wally Durham Episode: "The Manly Thing to Do"
2011–2014 Hot in Cleveland Roy Recurring role (seasons 2–3, 5), 6 episodes
2015 Foyle's War Andrew Del Mar Episode: "High Castle"

Accolades
Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
1986 Tony Award Featured Actor in a Play The House of Blue Leaves Won [34]
1999 Primetime Emmy Award Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Frasier Nominated [35]
2003 Nominated
1994 Golden Globe Award Supporting Actor – Television Nominated [36]
2001 Nominated
1995 Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series Nominated [36]
1996 Nominated
1997 Nominated
1998 Nominated
1999 Nominated
2000 Won
2001 Nominated
2002 Nominated
2003 Nominated
2004 Nominated
2007 Prism Award Performance - Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline In Treatment Nominated

Notes
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    References
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    2. "John Mahoney obituary". The Guardian. February 6, 2018. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
    3. "John Mahoney (Martin Crane)". Personal.umich.edu. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
    4. Dobson, Charlotte (February 6, 2018). "Frasier actor John Mahoney's early life in Greater Manchester". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
    5. Gorman, Sophie (June 29, 2014). "Sitcom star John Mahoney all set for festival return". The Irish Independent. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
    6. Kogan, Rick (May 17, 1996). "The Curse of John Mahoney". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
    7. Lane, Harriet (August 4, 2002). "Take a chance on me". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.
    8. Illinois, Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991 for Charles John Mahoney, Petition Number: 479030
    9. Hayward, Anthony (February 6, 2018). "John Mahoney obituary". the Guardian. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
    10. Matthew Dessem (2018) "Actor John Mahoney Has Died at 77" Archived February 6, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, Slate, February 6, 2018; accessed February 7, 2018.
    11. Northern District, Illinois, Naturalization Index, 1926-1979. Name: Charles John Mahoney Age: 31 Birth Year: 1940 Naturalization Year: 1971 Naturalization Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA
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    13. Julie Miller (2018) "John Mahoney, Beloved Frasier Father, Dies at 77", Vanity Fair, February 5, 2018. Accessed February 6, 2018.
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    15. "In 1986". Steppenwolf.org. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
    16. Associated Press (2018) "John Mahoney, Who Played Cranky Dad on 'Frasier,' Dies at 77" Archived February 6, 2018, at the Wayback Machine The New York Times, February 6, 2018. Accessed February 6, 2018.
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