John Mahoney, an appreciation: The Frasier star connected with viewers with the twinkle in his eye

Vulture

Mahoney’s role as Martin Crane, “the salt-of-the-Earth father” of Frasier and Niles, is always misperceived, says Jen Chaney of the actor, who died Sunday at age 77. “When people describe that character, they tend to use words like ‘cantankerous’ or ‘crusty,’ which are not inaccurate,” says Chaney. “Martin Crane was emotionally closed off, sometimes grumpy, a man’s man, and a father who often had trouble understanding how his genes could possibly be linked to the ones inside his pretentious-sophisticate offspring, whom he loved even if he couldn’t bring himself to say it. But when I think about Martin Crane and what Mahoney brought to the part — what he brought to so many of the roles he played — I immediately think about the twinkle in his eye. It was that twinkle that allowed audiences to feel connected to him, to look past the flaws of the men he portrayed and connect with the joy, childlike mischief, and affection he felt for the people — or, in the case of Martin’s beloved dog, Eddie, the animals — in his characters’ lives.”

ALSO:

• Martin Crane provided the soul of Frasier
• Former NBC boss Warren Littefield on Mahoney: “You just wanted to be near him. There was something emanating from his body that was so warm and wonderful”
• Frasier co-star Peri Gilpin recalls Mahoney singing at her wedding
• Greg Berlanti, Josh Charles and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel pay their respects
• Watch Mahoney win the Tony Award in 1986