{"id":151420,"date":"2018-02-06T02:43:38","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T07:43:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=151420"},"modified":"2018-02-06T02:43:38","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T07:43:38","slug":"john-mahoney-who-played-cranky-dad-on-frasier-dies-at-77","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/02\/06\/john-mahoney-who-played-cranky-dad-on-frasier-dies-at-77\/","title":{"rendered":"John Mahoney, who played cranky dad on ‘Frasier,’ dies at 77"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"John<\/a>
John Mahoney, who as the cranky, blue-collar dad in \u201cFrasier\u201d played counterpoint to pompous sons Frasier and Niles, has died. Mahoney was 77. (Photo<\/a> by Ed\/Flickr<\/a>, CC BY 2.0<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 John Mahoney, who as the cranky, blue-collar dad in \u201cFrasier\u201d played counterpoint to pompous sons Frasier and Niles, has died. Mahoney was 77.<\/p>\n

The actor died Sunday in Chicago after a brief hospitalization, Paul Martino, his manager for more than 30 years, said Monday. The cause of death was not immediately provided.<\/p>\n

In \u201cFrasier,\u201d the hit \u201cCheers\u201d spinoff that aired from 1993 to 2004, Mahoney played Martin Crane, a disabled ex-policeman who parked himself in a battered old armchair in Frasier’s chic Seattle living room.<\/p>\n

Kelsey Grammer’s Frasier and David Hyde Pierce’s Niles, both psychiatrists with lofty views of their own intellect, squabbled constantly with their dad but, when needed, the family closed ranks.<\/p>\n

Martin’s beloved dog, Eddie, also took up residence to annoy the fussy Frasier.<\/p>\n

Mahoney, a British native who made Chicago his home town, was a two-time Emmy nominee for \u201cFrasier,\u201d won a 1986 Tony Award for \u201cThe House of Blue Leaves,\u201d and worked steadily in movies.<\/p>\n

John Cusack, who appeared with Mahoney is the 1989 film \u201cSay Anything,\u201d tweeted that he was a great actor and a \u201clovely kind human \u2014 any time you saw him you left feeling better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mahoney’s recent TV credits included a recurring role as Betty White’s love interest on \u201cHot in Cleveland\u201d and a 2015 guest appearance on \u201cFoyle’s War.\u201d On the big screen, he was in \u201cThe American President,\u201d \u201cEight Men Out\u201d and \u201cTin Men,\u201d with 2007’s \u201cDan in Real Life\u201d starring Steve Carell among his last movie credits.<\/p>\n

The actor was born in 1940 in Blackpool, England, during World War II. That’s where his pregnant mother had been evacuated for safety from Nazi attacks, but the family soon returned to its home in Manchester.<\/p>\n

In a 2015 interview with The Associated Press, Mahoney recounted memories of huddling in an air raid shelter and playing among bombed-out houses. The accounts his four older sisters shared with him, he said, included tucking him into a baby carriage outfitted with a shield against feared gas attacks.<\/p>\n

One sister, who moved to the Midwest after marrying a U.S. sailor, was responsible for Mahoney’s decision to make his life in America. He visited Chicago as a college student and fell in love with it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lake, the skyline, the museums, the symphony, the lyric opera,\u201d he said in extolling the city in 2015. Add in reliably friendly Midwesterners, Mahoney said, and it’s \u201cmy favourite place in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI give up nothing (professionally) by being in Chicago,\u201d said Mahoney, who at the time was preparing to begin rehearsal on a Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of \u201cThe Herd.\u201d<\/p>\n

The theatrecancelled Monday’s scheduled performance in honour of Mahoney, according to an outgoing phone message that said he had been an ensemble member since 1979.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn’s impact on this institution, on Chicago theatre and the world of arts and\u00a0entertainment\u00a0are great and will endure,\u201d the theatre said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 John Mahoney, who as the cranky, blue-collar dad in \u201cFrasier\u201d played counterpoint to pompous sons Frasier and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":151422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106],"tags":[45991],"class_list":["post-151420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","tag-john-mahoney","mauthors-lynn-elber","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151422"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}