‘Frasier’ Star John Mahoney Dies at 77

John Mahoney, who is remembered as family patriarch Martin Crane on NBC 1993 to 2004 sitcom “Frasier,” died Sunday in Chicago after a brief hospitalization. He was 77 years old and the cause of his death was not immediately provided.

Mahoney, a British native who made Chicago his hometown, was a two-time Emmy nominee for “Frasier,” he won a 1986 Tony Award for “The House of Blue Leaves,” and he worked steadily in movies.

Born on June 20, 1940, in Blackpool, England, where his family had been evacuated following a Nazi bombing of Manchester, Mahoney developed an early interest in acting, joining the Stretford Youth Theatre. He studied at Quincy University, Illinois, before joining the United States Army to speed up his U.S. citizenship process.

Mahoney’s first major film role was in the 1987 Barry Levinson film “Tin Men.” Other film roles included “Eight Men Out.” “Say Anything,” “In the Line of Fire,” “Reality Bites” and “The American President.” He also appeared in two Coen brothers films, “Barton Fink” and The “Hudsucker Proxy.” More recently, Mahoney had recurring roles in HBO drama “In Treatment” in 2009 and TV Land sitcom “Hot in Cleveland” from 2011 to 2014.