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 RIP John Mahoney 
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Post RIP John Mahoney
John Mahoney has died at aged 77. The veteran actor had many notable roles in his career, but the one that will stick with me and so many others is as Martin Crane on the long-running spinoff, Frasier. Frasier is my absolute favorite sitcom of all time. Almost equally, I love the other highly successful 90s NBC comedies, Seinfeld and Friends, but it's Frasier that resonates with me most.

Frasier had three main dynamics at play: the sibling relationship between Frasier and Niles, the romantic longing Niles had for Daphne, and most importantly, the father-son relationship between Martin and his two sons. There is no denying the exceptional talents of Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce playing two of the best characters of the 90s (and of all time, for me), but without John grounding the show in reality, it would just be about two pretentious snobs, floating between wine tastings and opera outings, shoving their intellect in the face of their fellow characters and the audience as well.

But Martin kept the show human. He was a hard-working, blue-collar man who was retired by a gunshot to the hip while working as a cop. After struggling to live on his own, Frasier, newly returned to Seattle to host a daily radio show, takes his father into his home, as well as hires a physical therapist (Enter Daphne, the object of Niles' desire) to look after his father. Over the course of the next eleven seasons, these characters would grow and evolve, and as with any aging show, the greatest days were disappearing by Year 9 or 10, but at the heart of the show, it was two brothers constantly at odds and a father who would keep them in check.

Kelsey and David won four Emmys each over 11 seasons for playing Frasier and Niles, but John was held at just two total nominations. There was a flashier aspect to the performances of Kelsey and David, as if they put in a little extra effort, but John was the unsung hero of the show. His was an honest portrayal of the average, working-class person. Dealing with his two sons, or combating with his physical therapist, or reliving his glory days, or just sitting comfortably in his signature chair, John gave a lot of life to Martin Crane. Without John, the show wouldn't work as well. He was the heart and soul of the show. He made it all work, and he did it flawlessly.

People have their favorite TV dads, that list invariably pops up every June for Father's Day, and more often than not, the lists rarely feature Martin Crane in a top 10. But for my money, Martin is my favorite TV dad. For as often as Frasier and Niles spin wildly into the ludicrous, Martin loves his two sons with all he has. He fights with them, he chastises them, he teaches them, he learns from them, he believes in them, and most of all, he loves them. Again, this dynamic doesn't exist without John Mahoney playing Martin Crane. He gave many scenes little more than a flash of his kind smile, but he was always a humanizing center to the show, even literally when he sat in the middle of a scene in that ugly, green monstrosity of a chair.

RIP John Mahoney

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Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:44 am
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Post Re: RIP John Mahoney
Besides Frasier, his only other role that I saw was in the Bruce Willis cop thriller, Striking Distance. It's a good film, and what a great 90s cast! Bruce, Mahoney, Tom Sizemore, Brion James, Robert Pastorelli, Dennis Farina, and Sarah Jessica Parker.

I liked Frasier, but never loved Frasier. I always thought it was a bit smug. I grew to like it more since it was always on before Friends at some point. I'd go in spells of liking it a lot or either not caring for it much. I never really liked the dad. I preferred Frasier and Niles.


Last edited by Algren on Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.



Tue Feb 06, 2018 9:57 am
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Post Re: RIP John Mahoney
Translation: I didn't like him, so obviously he sucked.

Fuck off, you troll.

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Tue Feb 06, 2018 10:34 am
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Post Re: RIP John Mahoney
Aww, poor you. Can't you cope reading things you disagree with?

You fuck off. Sensitive little wimp.


Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:12 am
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Post Re: RIP John Mahoney
Dude, I'm not the one who took time out of my day to not only disagree about an actor, but to then ridicule someone for thinking said actor was more valuable to the show's success than he's given credit for. Is your life that boring and sad that you have to shit on someone for how they feel? Please, I hope you don't let your poisonous cynicism infect anyone close to you.

Your life's purpose is to hold the contrarian opinion. You constantly try to buck some sort of establishment by having the dissenting thoughts on any and every topic. It doesn't work if you hold that viewpoint on everything. Then you just come across as a prick with no beliefs of their own. Think for yourself instead of saying "Oh this is something the majority does, let me go against that".

I was fine with everything you said, including saying you didn't think he was that good on the show, but then you escalate, to piss on what I said. There are plenty of actors I respect that pass away, and I just add a little sentence or two reply to the corresponding threads. But obviously I felt differently about John Mahoney to actually write something thoughtful. You can disagree all you want, I can handle an opposing view, but don't try and tell me how I should and shouldn't feel. There's having an opinion, and there's having an opinion and saying someone is wrong for having a different opinion. We're all allowed to have opinions. If I hold an opinion that's held by a majority, that doesn't make me part of some hivemind.

There's a reason people have left because of you. It's not that they had their feelings hurt because someone had a different opinion than them. It's because you're a boorish dick.

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Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:25 am
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Post Re: RIP John Mahoney
Jesus. If I could remove my post, I would. Didn't realise you were such a fragile little pansy.

You have derailed your own thread. Saying nothing, letting others have an opinion without being attacked, that would have probably been the right form of action to take.

Mister Ecks wrote:
If I hold an opinion that's held by a majority, that doesn't make me part of some hivemind.


But if someone does the opposite, they're a contrarian troll. Gotcha! :thumbsup:


Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:35 am
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Post Re: RIP John Mahoney
Don't twist words. It doesn't validate you.

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Tue Feb 06, 2018 11:51 am
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Post Re: RIP John Mahoney
I edited my post. Does that make you feel better?


Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:33 pm
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Post Re: RIP John Mahoney
...anyways, I agree with that whole first part ;) Frasier has always been one of my favorites (my dogs Frasier and Daphne would agree) and that was a nice little eulogy. I've enjoyed the various others I've read, as well, in addition to the many favorite clips/lines/etc of John Mahoney people are posting all over.

One of my favorite scenes from the series was the very end of S6--it's just Frasier, Niles, and Martin discussing their failures in love over drinks before singing a few lines of piano accompanied Goldfinger.


Tue Feb 06, 2018 8:45 pm
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Post Re: RIP John Mahoney
Algren wrote:
I edited my post. Does that make you feel better?


I'm going to give you complete credit for that. Thank you.

I can definitely understand liking Frasier and Niles more. I don't agree with it, but I can respect that opinion. Kelsey and David brought a ton to those roles. They did the heavy lifting every week.

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Wed Feb 07, 2018 7:35 am
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Post Re: RIP John Mahoney
Malcolm wrote:
...anyways, I agree with that whole first part ;) Frasier has always been one of my favorites (my dogs Frasier and Daphne would agree) and that was a nice little eulogy. I've enjoyed the various others I've read, as well, in addition to the many favorite clips/lines/etc of John Mahoney people are posting all over.

One of my favorite scenes from the series was the very end of S6--it's just Frasier, Niles, and Martin discussing their failures in love over drinks before singing a few lines of piano accompanied Goldfinger.


The show was so often able to mix in a serious tone with the comedy. I can't think of any current traditional sitcoms that do it so well. And it didn't feel forced, it felt completely natural. Brought more dimension to the characters.

Awesome dog names btw!

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