John Mahoney RIP

NollagShona

Just heard he died. Very sad to hear. A frequent visitor to Galway and the blue collar to Frasier and Niles’ starched whites on Frasier.

_Dara_

Oh man.

Pocaide

Sad to hear that rip.

bodhrandude

How come he died, he looked healthy in Frasier.

cloneslad

Goodnight Seattle John, we love you.

BettePorter

First celeb death for a while where I did the audible 'ah nooooo ' upon hearing about. Second only to niles as the best character on the show. Always hoped for a reunion of some sort for frasier. Very sad to hear this news. My desert island box set. Never gets old. Raise a can of ballentines to u tonight marty.

minibear

So sad. I loved him in Frasier, and Primal Fear.

BettePorter

bodhrandude wrote: »

How come he died, he looked healthy in Frasier.

Think you're in the wrong thread fella ....Mrs brown calibre humour is elsewhere. You'd be lost watching frasier.

Rubberchikken

So sad.
Im half way through the frasier box set i got for Christmas. He is fantastic in it. They all are but some of his comments and expressions are hilarious.
Rip.

_Dara_

Have to say though, I was a bit shocked to find out a while back that he was only 53 at the start of Frasier. He looked way older, retirement age at the very least! :eek:

Donald Trump

NollagShona wrote: »

Just heard he died. Very sad to hear. A frequent visitor to Galway and the blue collar to Frasier and Niles’ starched whites on Frasier.

G'way outta that. Sure Galway won two All-Irelands under the fucker. Couldn't do feck all for Mayo though

Bob Harris

_Dara_ wrote: »

Have to say though, I was a bit shocked to find out a while back that he was only 53 at the start of Frasier. He looked way older, retirement age at the very least! :eek:

That's how good he was at getting into character.

Hannibal_Smith

Very sad to hear this. He was hilarious in the role. I always remember the episode when Fraser was stressing about getting older and shouted to Martin about how his life was over, now that he was middle aged. Martin turns around and says,' Well how do you think I feel having a middle aged son?!' :pac:

Ursus Horribilis

My heart sank when I saw this too. Frasier is one of my favourite sitcoms and he was fantastic as Martin Crane. He brought a real warmth dignity and depth to a character who could have been a cheap counterpoint to the two sons. I can't say I'm familiar with of his other work. I saw him in supporting roles in a couple of films but they weren't a patch on his work in Frasier. Maybe it sucks more when a person who has made you laugh dies?

JackTaylorFan

Thanks for the laughs, John

Frasier

My favourite programme of all time (as you can tell from my user name). I must have seen them all at least 10 times. Wasn't gone on Martin for the first few episodes, but he turned out to be my favourite. Sad day (And on my birthday too!) - great memories though

ncmc

Like previous posters, the first celebrity death in a long time that I actually said ‘ah no’ out loud. Absolutely love Frasier, best sit com ever IMHO. Stands up very well to multiple rewatches and has aged very well (hard to believe it started 1/4 of a century ago!) It was a rare comedy in that it combined very smart humour with slapstick comedy and traditional style comedy of errors. A big part of the success of the show for me was the actors. They gave warmth and depth to characters that could very easily have become one dimensional and irritating. By rights we should have hated Frasier and Niles, they were elitist, snobby, priggish and rude at times. Yet it’s testimony to the actors that we came to love them. Likewise with John Mahoney, he took a curmudgeonly old man character and transformed him into a loveable crank with real depth. You were so happy when he remarried at the end, you felt like it was your own family!

I’ll be watching Frasier tonight, hope John Mahoney is relaxing in the big lazyboy in the sky. RIP

optogirl

This has made me so sad. My husband is always slagging me cos when talking about Frasier I always call him 'Dad'. 'Do you mean Martin Optogirl? Oh yeah, I mean Martin....

RocketRaccoon

One of my favourite characters ever, just another reason to go back and rewatch the series for what must be the 15th time at least.

seamus

It's funny what white hair and pretending to walk with a cane, can do to change your perspective on a character/person.

Mahoney was only 54 when he started on Frasier, just 16 years older than Grammer, yet you'd be forgiven for thinking he was a retired man in his late 60's.

Ditch the cane and lightly dye his hair a bit darker and it could easily have been a sitcom about 3 40-something single men trying to make it in life; a male Golden Girls.

jimgoose

RIP.

Mutant z

So sad he was excellent as Frasiers dad Marty Crane i still enjoy watching Frasier today an absolute classic.

He had such as lovely quality about him in Frasier. The combination of a twinkle and an impish grin, and you have one of the most likable people on tv. I love that show, I could watch it any number of times and still not get fed up with it, and Martin was my favorite character (apart from Eddy).

A great show and a great actor in a great part. I'll have a twinge in my heart when I see him on screen next. R.I.P.

Franz Von Peppercorn

_Dara_ wrote: »

Have to say though, I was a bit shocked to find out a while back that he was only 53 at the start of Frasier. He looked way older, retirement age at the very least! :eek:

Well he was playing a decade, at least, older than his real age. In reality he was middle aged when the kids were.

Sad news. He always looked very healthy last time I saw him interviewed.

Franz Von Peppercorn

Here’s a great piece from the New Stateman about how the theme of the show was really the relationship between Martin and Frasier, which was pretty hostile to begin with. And what is gained or lost by moving social classes. The famous chair stands at the centre of their relationship. Worth a read.

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/tv-radio/2017/08/martin-cranes-hideous-chair-was-true-star-frasier?amp

silverharp

just noticed Eddie passed away in 2006

castletownman

That episode where Frasier hosted a "heroes" themed fancy-dress party and Niles arrived dressed up as Martin was equally hilarious and touching.

The best sitcom of all-time in my view, and John was an integral part of it. His simple life of a few cans of Ballantine, or a few pints down at Dukes, with Eddie as his best friend, was far removed from the opera/sherry/fine-dining lifestyle of the two lads

I shall definitely binge-watch a few episodes when I have time. RIP

Agricola

He was the heart of the show and a huge part of why it was so loved. RIP

razorblunt

Eddie and Martin, what a double act.

briany

I....am....wounded!

Great Frasier line, and sums up how I feel about this sad news. I didn't know too much else of Mahoney's work, but played a fantastic role in one of my all-time favourite sitcoms.

Hannibal_Smith

briany wrote: »

I....am....wounded!

I actually heard that in my head

I remember looking at a bloopers real before and pretty sure that one took a few takes because they all laughed so much

_Dara_

seamus wrote: »

It's funny what white hair and pretending to walk with a cane, can do to change your perspective on a character/person.

Mahoney was only 54 when he started on Frasier, just 16 years older than Grammer, yet you'd be forgiven for thinking he was a retired man in his late 60's.

Ditch the cane and lightly dye his hair a bit darker and it could easily have been a sitcom about 3 40-something single men trying to make it in life; a male Golden Girls.

I dunno. He was 48/49 in Say Anything and playing about the same age because he's the father of someone who is 17/18. His hair is darker. But he still looked way older than 49. He just had an old head, nothing wrong with it.

bnt

Writer Ken Levine, who wrote many episodes of Cheers and Frasier (among others), tells an interesting story about John Mahoney here. John was in one episode of Cheers, cast at the last minute to replace another actor who apparently suffered a major episode of stagefright and just bolted from the set after rehearsals. They re-cast the role with John and shot those scenes the following week. That role was where he impressed the producers and writers who went on to produce Frasier.

On another page, Frasier creator Peter Casey tells how he pictured John for the role of Martin Crane from the vrey start:

When we pitched the character of Martin, we said to picture John Mahoney. Warren [Littlefield, NBC President] said if we could get John, he was also pre-approved.
...
About halfway through writing the pilot script, Kerry McCluggage, the new President of Paramount Television, told us that he had spoken with John Mahoney regarding playing Frasier’s father. Kerry had a relationship with John dating back to Kerry’s days at Universal Studios where John had done a dramatic series called “The Human Factor.” John said he would like to meet with us and discuss FRASIER. We said that was great and could Kerry set up a meeting. He told us he had, but there was a catch. John wasn’t coming to meet us. We were going to meet John and that meant the three of us were flying to Chicago because that’s where John lived. The plan was we’d fly in the morning, arrive in the afternoon, have dinner with John, then return to LA the next morning. We were on a roll with the script so we weren’t thrilled about having to break our momentum. On the other hand, dinner in Chicago with John Mahoney sounded pretty cool so we went. It was late January or early February, cold, with snow on the ground, but what did we care? Paramount put us up at The Four Seasons and had provided us with a car and driver. We met John and Kerry at a restaurant called Shaw’s Crab House. Being a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, John was quite a local celebrity, so restaurant patrons were constantly stopping by the table or waving across the room. John was absolutely charming with everyone. Over dinner we pitched John the series concept, went into the character of Martin and his relationship with Frasier, and outlined the plot of the pilot episode. John was definitely interested, but he wouldn’t commit until he had read the pilot. Fair enough. We returned to LA the next morning and resumed writing with renewed enthusiasm picturing John Mahoney as Martin Crane.


It took us another week to finish the script, so two weeks total. I have to say it was one of the easiest scripts I’ve ever written. Everything seemed to flow naturally. This gave us a very good feeling about the project, but of course you never know how others are going to react to it. We sent it over to the Paramount executive offices and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Kerry McCluggage immediately FedEx’d it to John Mahoney. The next day we received an enthusiastic “yes” from John. Months later in LA, John told me he’d read through a two foot stack of pilots before the FRASIER script arrived and our script was so superior that it was the only project he wanted to do.

Water John

Am I right in thinking he was from, The Chicago School of Acting? Heard and interview with him on radio some years ago, very interesting guy. Think he did a play at the Abbey, at the time. RIP.
In Faiser, good writing, makes good acting easier, and they were all good actors, and the rest takes care of itself.

bnt

Water John wrote: »

Am I right in thinking he was from, The Chicago School of Acting? Heard and interview with him on radio some years ago, very interesting guy. Think he did a play at the Abbey, at the time. RIP.
In Frasier, good writing, makes good acting easier, and they were all good actors, and the rest takes care of itself.

I just added more to my post above. He was in the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Wise Old Elf

Saw him in a play in the Abbey ages ago called "The drawer boy". Always loved him in Frasier too, he had a great way of mixing comedy with pathos.
RIP

nuac

Sad news. Great character in a great series. Enjoyed one of his Galway appearances

_Dara_

I found John's own life story very interesting when I read about it in an article a while back. Born in the UK to an English mother and Irish father who did not get on, he jumped at the chance to be sponsored to move to America by his sister who had moved over there as a war bride. He went to university there and enlisted in the US Army to speed up the citizenship process. He worked hard on acquiring an American accent. He became an English professor and edited a medical journal. He became dissatisfied with his career in his 30s and decided to try acting.

Beanntraigheach

I was just watching him in "The Hudsucker Proxy" a few days ago:

RIP

Roanmore

Even though he didn't have a huge role in Dan in Real Life, I thought he was great in it. Played a great father figure, himself and Diane Weist worked well together. RIP

ncmc

One of my favourite ‘Martin’ episodes in Frasier was the one where he pretended to be gay so that Frasier could spend more time with a woman he liked. It was hilarious of course, but had that lovely heart warming core where Martin was willing to do something he was so uncomfortable with just to try and help his son.

_Dara_

A favourite Frasier and Martin moment:

*Martin is exasperated, looking for the remote*

Frasier: What was it like in the old days when you actually had to get up to change the channel?

Martin: It was HELL.

Something about Mahoney’s delivery of the line is hilarious. I think it also underlines why he was such a resonant character. He’s the one most people could identify with and was crucial to deflating the pomposity of Niles and Frasier. (while often being every bit as smart as them)

That quote is from one of the best episodes, Look Before You Leap.

Metric Tensor

ncmc wrote: »

One of my favourite ‘Martin’ episodes in Frasier was the one where he pretended to be gay so that Frasier could spend more time with a woman he liked. It was hilarious of course, but had that lovely heart warming core where Martin was willing to do something he was so uncomfortable with just to try and help his son.

What straight man remembers Renata Tibaldi!

MilesMorales1

Metric Tensor wrote: »

What straight man remembers Renata Tibaldi!

I have news for you, you're on a date!


I love Frasier, and I'm very sad to see Mahoney passed on. Rest in peace.

briany

Funny thing is that outside of the show it was really Mahoney who enjoyed going to the Opera. He used to school Grammer and Hyde-Pierce about it.

Liam28

Franz Von Peppercorn wrote: »

Here’s a great piece from the New Stateman about how the theme of the show was really the relationship between Martin and Frasier, which was pretty hostile to begin with. And what is gained or lost by moving social classes. The famous chair stands at the centre of their relationship. Worth a read.

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/tv-radio/2017/08/martin-cranes-hideous-chair-was-true-star-frasier?amp

From this article:

Martin: Okay, I'll tell you what chair I want. I want the chair I was sitting in when I watched Neil Armstrong take his first step on the moon. And when the US hockey team beat the Russians in the '80 Olympics. I want the chair I was sitting in the night you called me to tell me I had a grandson. I want the chair I was in all those nights, when your mother used to wake me up with a kiss after I'd fallen asleep in front of the television. You know, I still fall asleep in it. And every once in a while, when I wake up, I still expect your mother to be there, ready to lead me off to bed... Oh, never mind. It's only a chair. Come on, Eddie.

Just got something in my eye now....

Mushy

My favourite sitcom, very sad to hear this last night. Spent a lot of time in work remembering the scenes. Such a great character, written well but portrayed brilliantly by John Mahoney. Will raise a beer to him watching it this week!

jmayo

silverharp wrote: »

just noticed Eddie passed away in 2006

Actually there were a couple of Eddies if I remember correctly hearing John Mahoney in an interview talk about them.

Eddie (Moose) son Enzo started doubling for him doing stunts as he was getting older.

razorblunt wrote: »

Eddie and Martin, what a double act.

Actually I am not sure if he always got on with Eddie.
I think I recall him saying that Eddie (or son of eddie) blew hot and cold, he was different when the cameras rolled.

They used to dab pate or sardine oil on them so that the dog would lick them.


Anyway another great memorial actor departs the scene.
By all accounts he was a nice guy to boot.

BettePorter

One of many favourite lines.....when he's reading the obituary of another Martin crane....."survived by his 2 sons ....Joe a marine Corp colonel and mickey a professional baseball player". ....(puts paper down )...'nuttin like startin the day off jealous of a dead guy'

Or

When frasier suspecta maris having an affair and Martin trying to convince him there are any amount of German fencing students in seattle.
Frasier :yes but are they wealthy students ?
Martin: no!!! they're inner city kids trying to fight their way out of the ghetto with nothing but a foil and a dream!!!

His delivery /timing/ tone was always perfect.

razorblunt

jmayo wrote: »

Actually there were a couple of Eddies if I remember correctly hearing John Mahoney in an interview talk about them.

Eddie (Moose) son Enzo started doubling for him doing stunts as he was getting older.



Actually I am not sure if he always got on with Eddie.
I think I recall him saying that Eddie (or son of eddie) blew hot and cold, he was different when the cameras rolled.

They used to dab pate or sardine oil on them so that the dog would lick them.


Anyway another great memorial actor departs the scene.
By all accounts he was a nice guy to boot.

Eddie and Martin are characters though!
You can add John and Moose to the list of actors (pushing it for a the dog) that didn't get on!

Moose was the dog in My Dog Skip. Don't watch it, it's a lovely movie, but don't watch it!

Gwynplaine

Was discussing this last night with a friend. He had never seen Frasier. Serious facepalm. I couldn't believe it.
I watched a few episodes over Christmas, hadn't seen for a long time. Might dust off the boxset at the weekend and go from the beginning.
RIP Marty.