John Mahoney, one of TV’s favorite dads, died Sunday.
He was 77.
The British-born actor starred in “Frasier” for 11 seasons as Martin Crane, father of Frasier (Kelsey Grammer) and Niles (David Hyde Pierce).
That role earned Mahoney two Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations, although he never took home a trophy.
Mahoney moved to Illinois and attended college before joining the Army. When he returned, he taught English at Western Illinois University before serving as the editor of a medical journal for most of the 1970s.
Eventually, the Englishman took to the stage, and joined Steppenwolf Theatre in 1977 at the suggestion of John Malkovich.
After winning several awards for his early work, Mahoney moved to Broadway, where he won a Tony Award for best featured actor in a play for his role in John Guare’s “The House of Blue Leaves.”
He also had roles in “Tin Men,” “Eight Men Out,” “Say Anything” and “Barton Fink,” among others.
After “Frasier” ended in 2004, Mahoney returned to the stage for the Broadway revival of “Prelude to a Kiss.”
One of his most recent TV roles was as Betty White’s love interest in “Hot in Cleveland.”
“I’ve not known a kinder man nor more brilliant actor,” casting director Jeff Greenberg tweeted. “We were all blessed to have spent 11 glorious years together.”