(RNN) – Character actor John Mahoney, who played the cantankerous dad on the television show “Frasier,” died Sunday in Chicago at the age of 77.
Mahoney played Martin Crane for 11 seasons, father and foil to Niles and Frasier, played by David Hyde Pierce and Kelsey Grammer respectively. Although Mahoney earned two Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations, he never won an award.
The Associated Press reports Mahoney's longtime manager, Paul Martino, said Monday that Mahoney died after a brief hospitalization. The cause of death was not immediately announced.
He recently had a recurring role on “Hot in Cleveland” as Betty White’s love interest.
Born in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, on June 20, 1940, Mahoney moved to the U.S. after visiting his sister who married a U.S. serviceman during World War II.
Mahoney became a citizen by serving in the U.S. Army. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Quincy College and a master’s in English from Western Illinois University.
He was working as a medical journalist when he quit his job and enrolled in acting classes at the St. Nicholas Theater at age 37.
At an acting class, Mahoney met John Malkovich, who encouraged him to join the Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago.
In 1986, Mahoney won a Tony Award for Best Actor in “The House of Blue Leaves.”
He also had roles in “Say Anything,” “Reality Bites,” “Barton Fink,” “Moonstruck,” “Tin Men” and “Eight Men Out.”
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