John Mahoney

He joined the ensemble at Steppenwolf Theatre in 1979 and has appeared in over 20 productions there, including "The Dresser," "I Never Sang For My Father," "The Drawer Boy," "Balm in Gilead," "Orphans," "Of Mice and Men," "Born Yesterday," "The Song of Jacob Zulu," "Death and the Maiden." "Supple in Combat," and "The Man Who Came to Dinner". He made his Steppenwolf directing debut in 1994 with "Talking Heads".

Mahoney made his feature film debut in 1980, but he was best known for playing the role of the father of the eponymous character Frasier (1993) from 1993 until 2004.

Has appeared in episodes of three different series with Ted Danson: Cheers (1982), Frasier (1993) and Becker (1998).

He was nominated for a 1984 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role in a Play for "The Hothouse" at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.

John Mahoney was an award-winning American actor. He was born in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, the seventh of eight children of Margaret and Reg, a baker. His family was evacuated to the sea-side resort to avoid the Nazi bombing of their native Manchester. The Mancunian Mahoneys eventually returned to Manchester during the war. Visiting the States to see his older sister, a "war bride" who had married an American, the young Mahoney decided to emigrate and was sponsored by his sister. John eventually won his citizenship by serving in the U. S. Army. Long interested in acting, Mahoney didn't make the transition to his craft until he was almost forty years old. Mahoney took acting classes at the St. Nicholas Theater and finally built up the courage to quit his day job and pursue acting full time. John Malkovich, one of the founders of the Second City's distinguished Steppenwolf Theatre, encouraged Mahoney to join Steppenwolf, and in 1986, Mahoney won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in John Guare's American Playhouse: The House of Blue Leaves (1987).

In 1987, he appeared in two films with Cher: Moonstruck (1987) and Suspect (1987).

He was nominated for a 1989 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role for "After the Fall" at the National Jewish Theater in Chicago, Illinois.

Although he later played Frasier's father Martin Crane on Frasier (1993), John Mahoney appeared on a 1992 episode of Cheers (1982) as a pianist who was hired to write a jingle for the bar.

He was nominated for a 2004 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role in a Play for "I Never Sang for My Father" at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois.

He later concentrated on stage work back in Chicago, and appeared on Broadway in 2007 in a revival of Prelude to a Kiss (1992).

He was nominated for the 2011 Equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Actor in a Principal Role in a Play for "The Outgoing Tide" at the Northlight Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.