John Mahoney

A versatile and prolific character actor of stage, film and television, John Mahoney made a living playing gruff, hardscrabble, blue collar characters before making himself a household name as Marty Crane on the hit sitcom "Frasier" (NBC, 1993-2004). Prior to his Emmy-nominated success on the show, Mahoney had a late and rather unorthodox entry into professional acting after going through an early midlife crisis in his 30s. He dropped his job as a magazine editor and began taking acting classes in Chicago, which quickly led to making his professional debut in David Mamet's "The Water Engine" (1977). Mahoney rapidly developed as a strong and highly-sought character performer who specialized in cranky authority figures. Eventually, he triumphed on stages in New York, which led to prominent feature roles in "Say Anything" (1989) and "Barton Fink" (1991). But a fortuitous guest shot on "Cheers" (NBC, 1982-1993) led to a friendship with Kelsey Grammer and the role on "Frasier" that turned him into star, giving Mahoney ample opportunity to display his talents in a wide variety of film and television projects for the rest of his career. Mahoney's death from throat cancer on February 4, 2018 at the age of 77 was greeted with sadness from friends, fellow actors and fans around the world.