The actor John Mahoney, a longtime Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member and a performer known to millions for his work on the NBC sitcom «Frasier,» died Sunday at the age of 77.
The actor John Mahoney, a longtime Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member and a performer known to millions for his work on the NBC sitcom «Frasier,» died Sunday at the age of 77. Mahoney had been suffering from cancer.
Mahoney’s death was confirmed Monday by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, which canceled its scheduled Monday night opening of “You Got Older” in Mahoney’s honor.
Mahoney, who long has lived in Oak Park, was born to British parents and grew up in Manchester, England. He first came to Illinois in the 1950s at 11 years old, to visit his sister, a war-bride. That visit made such an impression, Mahoney found his way back eight years later, under the sponsorship of his sister.
Unusually, Mahoney became a professional actor only in his 40s, after John Malkovich and Gary Sinise invited him to join their nascent Steppenwolf —at the time, the early ensemble members were allowed to sponsor the entrance of others. Steppenwolf then was populated mainly by people 15 or 20 years younger than Mahoney. But Steppenwolf needed someone who could play older roles.
«By the time I started my career, most people had given up and started selling insurance,» he told the Tribune in 2004, «I didn’t have so much competition.»
The Steppenwolf production of the play «Orphans» was Mahoney’s big theatrical break in 1985, although it was the role of Martin Crane on «Fraiser” that changed his life.
Mahoney adored his hometown. «The city is almost like a person to me,» Mahoney said, also in 2004. «I can’t tell you why my heart is so full of Chicago, but it’s where I want to be. When I’m not here, I’m not as happy.»
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