Jump to content

Bill Macy: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
 
(48 intermediate revisions by 37 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
⚫
{{Short description|American actor (1922–2019)}}
{{Distinguish|William H. Macy|Bill Marcy}}
{{Distinguish|William H. Macy|Bill Marcy}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}}
⚫
{{Short description|American actor}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| image = Bill Macy (cropped) (2).JPG
| image = Bill Macy (cropped) (2).JPG
Line 15: Line 16:
}}
}}


'''Wolf Martin Garber''' (May 18, 1922 – October 17, 2019), known professionally as '''Bill Macy''', was an American television, film and stage actor, best known for his role in the [[CBS]] television series ''[[Maude (TV series)|Maude]]'' (1972–78).
'''Wolf Martin Garber''' (May 18, 1922 – October 17, 2019), known professionally as '''Bill Macy''', was an American television, film and stage actor known for his role in the [[CBS]] television series ''[[Maude (TV series)|Maude]]'' (1972–1978).


== Early life ==
== Early life ==
Macy was born in May 1922 in Revere, Massachusetts to Michael and Mollie (née Friedopfer) Garber.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/93/Bill-Macy.html |title=Bill Macy Biography (1922-) |website=Film Reference |access-date=25 December 2014}}</ref> He was raised Jewish in [[Brooklyn, New York]]. He worked as a cab driver for a decade before being cast as [[Walter Matthau]]'s understudy in ''Once More, with Feeling'' on Broadway in 1958. He portrayed a cab driver on the soap opera ''[[The Edge of Night]]'' in 1966.
Bill Macy was born Wolf Martin Garber on May 18, 1922, in [[Revere, Massachusetts]], the son of Mollie (née Friedopfer; 1889–1986) and Michael Garber (1884–1974), a manufacturer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/93/Bill-Macy.html |title=Bill Macy Biography (1922-) |website=Film Reference |access-date=December 25, 2014}}</ref>


He was raised Jewish in the [[East Flatbush, Brooklyn|East Flatbush]] section of [[New York, New York]]. After graduating from [[Samuel J. Tilden High School]] he served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946 with the [[594th Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment]], stationed in the Philippines, New Guinea and Japan.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Slotnik |first=Daniel E. |date=2019-10-18 |title=Bill Macy, a Memorable Sitcom Foil on 'Maude,' Dies at 97 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/arts/television/bill-macy-dead.html |access-date=2022-04-10 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
⚫
Macy was an original cast member of the 1969-1972 [[Off-Broadway]] sensation ''[[Oh! Calcutta!]]'',<ref name=":1">{{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2019/10/18/bill-macy-bea-arthurs-maude-co-star-dead-at-97/ |title=Bill Macy, Bea Arthur's 'Maude' co-star, dead at 97 |last=Hegedus |first=Eric |date=October 18, 2019 |newspaper=[[New York Post]] |language=en |access-date=2019-10-19}}</ref> performing in the show from 1969 to 1971.<ref name=":2">{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/bill-macy-long-suffering-husband-on-maude-dies-at-97/2019/10/18/e52e3fba-f1c9-11e9-8693-f487e46784aa_story.html |title=Bill Macy, long-suffering husband on 'Maude,' dies at 97 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |language=en |access-date=2019-10-19}}</ref> He later appeared in the 1972 movie version of the musical.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/maude-co-star-character-actor-bill-macy-dies-97-n1068846|title='Maude' co-star, character actor Bill Macy dies at 97 |work=NBC News |language=en |access-date=2019-10-19}}</ref> Of appearing fully nude with the rest of the cast in the stage show, he said "The nudity didn't bother me. I'm from Brooklyn."<ref name=":1" />

He worked as a cab driver for a decade before being cast as [[Walter Matthau]]'s understudy in ''Once More, with Feeling'' on Broadway in 1958. He portrayed a cab driver on the soap opera ''[[The Edge of Night]]'' in 1966.

⚫
Macy was an original cast member of the 1969–1972 [[Off-Broadway]] sensation ''[[Oh! Calcutta!]]'',<ref name=":1">{{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2019/10/18/bill-macy-bea-arthurs-maude-co-star-dead-at-97/ |title=Bill Macy, Bea Arthur's 'Maude' co-star, dead at 97 |last=Hegedus |first=Eric |date=October 18, 2019 |newspaper=[[New York Post]] |language=en |access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref> performing in the show from 1969 to 1971.<ref name=":2">{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/bill-macy-long-suffering-husband-on-maude-dies-at-97/2019/10/18/e52e3fba-f1c9-11e9-8693-f487e46784aa_story.html |title=Bill Macy, long-suffering husband on 'Maude,' dies at 97 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |language=en |access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref> He later appeared in the 1972 movie version of the musical.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/maude-co-star-character-actor-bill-macy-dies-97-n1068846|title='Maude' co-star, character actor Bill Macy dies at 97 |work=NBC News |language=en |access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref> Of appearing fully nude with the rest of the cast in the stage show, he said, "The nudity didn't bother me. I'm from Brooklyn."<ref name=":1" />


Macy performed on the [[P.D.Q. Bach]] album ''[[The Stoned Guest (album)|The Stoned Guest]]'' (1970).
Macy performed on the [[P.D.Q. Bach]] album ''[[The Stoned Guest (album)|The Stoned Guest]]'' (1970).


== Television ==
== Television ==
Appreciating Macy's comedic skills Off-Broadway, [[Norman Lear]] brought him to Hollywood, where he first got a small part as a police officer in ''[[All in the Family]].'' He was cast in the role of Walter Findlay, the long-suffering husband of the title character on the 1970s television sitcom ''[[Maude (TV series)|Maude]]'', starring [[Bea Arthur]]. The show ran for six seasons from 1972 to 1978.<ref name=":0" />
Appreciating Macy's comedic skills off Broadway, [[Norman Lear]] brought him to Hollywood, where he first got a small part as a police officer in ''[[All in the Family]].'' He was cast in the role of Walter Findlay, the husband of the title character on the 1970s television sitcom ''[[Maude (TV series)|Maude]]'', starring [[Bea Arthur]]. The show ran for six seasons from 1972 to 1978.<ref name=":0" />


{{Quote box
{{Quote box
Line 34: Line 39:
}}
}}


Strangers on the street often called him "Mr. Maude", consoling him for having such a difficult wife. "I used to tell them that people like that really existed," Macy explained.<ref name=":3">{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/10/18/bill-macy-maude-husband-dead-97/4022258002/ |title=Bill Macy, who played Bea Arthur's husband in 'Maude,' dead at 97 |last=Moniuszko |first=Sara M. |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |language=en |access-date=2019-10-19}}</ref>
Strangers on the street often called him "Mr. Maude", consoling him for having such a difficult wife. "I used to tell them that people like that really existed," Macy explained.<ref name=":3">{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/10/18/bill-macy-maude-husband-dead-97/4022258002/ |title=Bill Macy, who played Bea Arthur's husband in 'Maude,' dead at 97 |last=Moniuszko |first=Sara M. |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |language=en |access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref>


In 1977, Macy & Samantha Harper-Macy appeared on the game show ''[[Tattletales]]''.
In 1975, Macy and Samantha Harper Macy appeared on the game show ''[[Tattletales]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tattletales Episode #2.119 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5898338/ |website=IMDb |access-date=15 August 2021}}</ref>


In 1986, Macy was a guest on the fourth episode of ''[[L.A. Law]]'', playing an older man whose young wife wants a music career.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49GqTavWOEQ |title=LA Law Season 01 Episode 04: The House of the Rising Flan |via=YouTube |access-date=October 18, 2019}}</ref> Macy appeared in the television movie ''[[Perry Mason (TV film series)|Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam]]'' (1987) as banker Richard Wilson. He occasionally appeared on ''[[Seinfeld]]'' as one of the residents of the Florida retirement community where [[Jerry Seinfeld (character)|Jerry Seinfeld]]'s parents lived. Macy made a guest appearance as a patient on ''[[Chicago Hope]]'' and as an aging gambler on the series ''[[Las Vegas (TV series)|Las Vegas]]''. Macy's last television role occurred in a 2010 episode of [[Jada Pinkett Smith]]'s series ''[[Hawthorne (TV series)|Hawthorne]]''.<ref name=":1" />
In 1986, Macy was a guest on the fourth episode of ''[[L.A. Law]]'', playing an older man whose young wife wants a music career. Also that year he guest starred in an episode of Highway to Heaven, called Cindy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49GqTavWOEQ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207140522/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49GqTavWOEQ| archive-date=2019-12-07 | url-status=dead|title=LA Law Season 01 Episode 04: The House of the Rising Flan |via=YouTube |access-date=October 18, 2019}}</ref> Macy appeared in the television movie ''[[Perry Mason (TV film series)|Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam]]'' (1987) as banker Richard Wilson. He appeared on ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]'' in a 1988 episode. He occasionally appeared on ''[[Seinfeld]]'' as one of the residents of the Florida retirement community where [[Jerry Seinfeld (character)|Jerry Seinfeld]]'s parents lived. Macy made a guest appearance as a patient on ''[[Chicago Hope]]'' and as an aging gambler on the series ''[[Las Vegas (TV series)|Las Vegas]]''. Macy's last television role occurred in a 2010 episode of [[Jada Pinkett Smith]]'s series ''[[Hawthorne (TV series)|Hawthorne]]''.<ref name=":1" />


== Film ==
== Film ==
Macy appeared as the jury foreman in ''[[The Producers (1967 film)|The Producers]]'' in 1967, with the memorable sole line "We find the defendants INCREDIBLY guilty". Other memorable roles include the co-inventor of the Opti-grab in the 1979 [[Steve Martin]] comedy ''[[The Jerk]]'' and as the head television writer in ''[[My Favorite Year]]'' (1982).
Macy appeared as the jury foreman in ''[[The Producers (1967 film)|The Producers]]'' in 1967, with the memorable sole line "We find the defendants incredibly guilty". Other memorable roles include the co-inventor of the "Opti-Grab" in the 1979 [[Steve Martin]] comedy ''[[The Jerk]]'' and as the head television writer in ''[[My Favourite Year]]'' (1982).


Other film credits included roles in ''[[Death at Love House]]'' (1976), ''[[The Late Show (film)|The Late Show]]'' (1977), ''[[Serial (1980 film)|Serial]]'' (1980), ''[[Movers & Shakers]]'' (1985), ''[[Bad Medicine (film)|Bad Medicine]]'' (1985), ''[[Tales from the Darkside]]'' (1986), ''[[Sibling Rivalry (film)|Sibling Rivalry]]'' (1990), ''[[The Doctor (1991 film)|The Doctor]]'' (1991), ''[[Me Myself & I (film)|Me Myself & I]]'' (1992), ''[[Analyze This]]'' (1999), ''[[Surviving Christmas]]'' (2004), ''[[The Holiday]]'' (2006), and ''[[Mr. Woodcock]]'' (2007).<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment-and-culture/2019/10/18/20921583/bill-macy-maude-dies-at-97 |title=Actor Bill Macy, co-starred on 'Maude,' dies at 97 |last=Elber |first=Lynn |date=October 18, 2019 |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |language=en |access-date=2019-10-19}}</ref>
Other film credits included roles in ''[[Death at Love House]]'' (1976), ''[[The Late Show (film)|The Late Show]]'' (1977), ''[[Serial (1980 film)|Serial]]'' (1980), ''[[Movers & Shakers (film)|Movers & Shakers]]'' (1985), ''[[Bad Medicine (film)|Bad Medicine]]'' (1985), ''[[Tales from the Darkside]]'' (1985 - "Lifebomb" episode), ''[[Sibling Rivalry (film)|Sibling Rivalry]]'' (1990), ''[[The Doctor (1991 film)|The Doctor]]'' (1991), ''[[Me Myself & I (film)|Me Myself & I]]'' (1992), ''[[Analyze This]]'' (1999), ''[[Surviving Christmas]]'' (2004), ''[[The Holiday]]'' (2006), and ''[[Mr. Woodcock]]'' (2007).<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment-and-culture/2019/10/18/20921583/bill-macy-maude-dies-at-97 |title=Actor Bill Macy, co-starred on 'Maude,' dies at 97 |last=Elber |first=Lynn |date=October 18, 2019 |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |language=en |access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref>


== Personal life ==
== Personal life ==
Macy met his future wife, Samantha Harper, on the set of ''Oh! Calcutta!'' in 1969.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/bill-macy-dead-dies-maude-1203375266/ |title='Maude' Star Bill Macy Dies at 97 |last=Nichols |first=Mackenzie |date=October 18, 2019 |newspaper=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |language=en|access-date=2019-10-19}}</ref> They married in 1975.<ref name=":2" />
Macy met his future wife, Samantha Harper, on the set of ''Oh! Calcutta!'' in 1969.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/bill-macy-dead-dies-maude-1203375266/ |title='Maude' Star Bill Macy Dies at 97 |last=Nichols |first=Mackenzie |date=October 18, 2019 |newspaper=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |language=en|access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref> They married in 1975.<ref name=":2" />


Macy died on October 17, 2019, at the age of 97; no cause was given.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bill-macy-dead-maude-husband-922206 |title=Bill Macy, Bea Arthur's Husband on 'Maude,' Dies at 97 |newspaper=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |last=Barnes |first=Mike |date=October 18, 2019 |access-date=2019-12-18}}</ref> He is survived by his wife Samantha Harper Macy.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" />
Macy died on October 17, 2019, at the age of 97; no cause was given.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bill-macy-dead-maude-husband-922206 |title=Bill Macy, Bea Arthur's Husband on 'Maude,' Dies at 97 |newspaper=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |last=Barnes |first=Mike |date=October 18, 2019 |access-date=December 18, 2019}}</ref>


== Filmography ==
== Filmography ==
Line 60: Line 65:
| 1967|| ''[[The Producers (1967 film)|The Producers]]'' || Jury Foreman || Uncredited
| 1967|| ''[[The Producers (1967 film)|The Producers]]'' || Jury Foreman || Uncredited
|-
|-
| 1972|| ''Oh! Calcutta!'' || Monte / Mute Physician ||
| 1972|| ''[[Oh! Calcutta!]]'' || Monte / Mute Physician ||
|-
|-
| 1977|| ''[[The Late Show (film)|The Late Show]]'' || Charlie Hatter ||
| 1977|| ''[[The Late Show (film)|The Late Show]]'' || Charlie Hatter ||
Line 70: Line 75:
| 1982|| ''[[My Favorite Year]]'' || Sy Benson ||
| 1982|| ''[[My Favorite Year]]'' || Sy Benson ||
|-
|-
| 1984|| ''The 1st TV Academy Hall of Fame'' || Himself&nbsp;— Audience || Uncredited
| 1985|| ''[[Movers & Shakers (film)|Movers & Shakers]]'' || Sid Spokane ||
⚫
|-
| 1985|| ''[[Movers & Shakers]]'' || Sid Spokane ||
|-
|-
| 1985|| ''[[Bad Medicine (film)|Bad Medicine]]'' || Dr. Gerald Marx ||
| 1985|| ''[[Bad Medicine (film)|Bad Medicine]]'' || Dr. Gerald Marx ||
⚫
|-
| 1988|| ''[[The Law & Harry McGraw]]'' || Marvin Gershowitz || Episode: "Waiting Game"
|-
|-
| 1990|| ''[[Sibling Rivalry (film)|Sibling Rivalry]]'' || Pat ||
| 1990|| ''[[Sibling Rivalry (film)|Sibling Rivalry]]'' || Pat ||
Line 115: Line 120:
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century American male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century American male actors]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]

Latest revision as of 18:17, 4 July 2024

Not to be confused with William H. Macy or Bill Marcy.

Bill Macy
Macy in Maude (1973)
Born
Wolf Martin Garber

(1922-05-18)May 18, 1922
Revere, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedOctober 17, 2019(2019-10-17) (aged 97)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1958–2011
Spouse
Samantha Harper
​
(m. 1975)​

Wolf Martin Garber (May 18, 1922 – October 17, 2019), known professionally as Bill Macy, was an American television, film and stage actor known for his role in the CBS television series Maude (1972–1978).

Early life

[edit]

Bill Macy was born Wolf Martin Garber on May 18, 1922, in Revere, Massachusetts, the son of Mollie (née Friedopfer; 1889–1986) and Michael Garber (1884–1974), a manufacturer.[1]

He was raised Jewish in the East Flatbush section of New York, New York. After graduating from Samuel J. Tilden High School he served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946 with the 594th Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment, stationed in the Philippines, New Guinea and Japan.[2]

He worked as a cab driver for a decade before being cast as Walter Matthau's understudy in Once More, with Feeling on Broadway in 1958. He portrayed a cab driver on the soap opera The Edge of Night in 1966.

Macy was an original cast member of the 1969–1972 Off-Broadway sensation Oh! Calcutta!,[3] performing in the show from 1969 to 1971.[4] He later appeared in the 1972 movie version of the musical.[5] Of appearing fully nude with the rest of the cast in the stage show, he said, "The nudity didn't bother me. I'm from Brooklyn."[3]

Macy performed on the P.D.Q. Bach album The Stoned Guest (1970).

Television

[edit]

Appreciating Macy's comedic skills off Broadway, Norman Lear brought him to Hollywood, where he first got a small part as a police officer in All in the Family. He was cast in the role of Walter Findlay, the husband of the title character on the 1970s television sitcom Maude, starring Bea Arthur. The show ran for six seasons from 1972 to 1978.[6]

"He was a rare and great comic actor. There was only one Bill Macy."

— Norman Lear

Strangers on the street often called him "Mr. Maude", consoling him for having such a difficult wife. "I used to tell them that people like that really existed," Macy explained.[7]

In 1975, Macy and Samantha Harper Macy appeared on the game show Tattletales.[8]

In 1986, Macy was a guest on the fourth episode of L.A. Law, playing an older man whose young wife wants a music career. Also that year he guest starred in an episode of Highway to Heaven, called Cindy.[9] Macy appeared in the television movie Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam (1987) as banker Richard Wilson. He appeared on The Facts of Life in a 1988 episode. He occasionally appeared on Seinfeld as one of the residents of the Florida retirement community where Jerry Seinfeld's parents lived. Macy made a guest appearance as a patient on Chicago Hope and as an aging gambler on the series Las Vegas. Macy's last television role occurred in a 2010 episode of Jada Pinkett Smith's series Hawthorne.[3]

Film

[edit]

Macy appeared as the jury foreman in The Producers in 1967, with the memorable sole line "We find the defendants incredibly guilty". Other memorable roles include the co-inventor of the "Opti-Grab" in the 1979 Steve Martin comedy The Jerk and as the head television writer in My Favourite Year (1982).

Other film credits included roles in Death at Love House (1976), The Late Show (1977), Serial (1980), Movers & Shakers (1985), Bad Medicine (1985), Tales from the Darkside (1985 - "Lifebomb" episode), Sibling Rivalry (1990), The Doctor (1991), Me Myself & I (1992), Analyze This (1999), Surviving Christmas (2004), The Holiday (2006), and Mr. Woodcock (2007).[3][10]

Personal life

[edit]

Macy met his future wife, Samantha Harper, on the set of Oh! Calcutta! in 1969.[6] They married in 1975.[4]

Macy died on October 17, 2019, at the age of 97; no cause was given.[11]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1967 The Producers Jury Foreman Uncredited
1972 Oh! Calcutta! Monte / Mute Physician
1977 The Late Show Charlie Hatter
1979 The Jerk Stan Fox
1980 Serial Sam
1982 My Favorite Year Sy Benson
1985 Movers & Shakers Sid Spokane
1985 Bad Medicine Dr. Gerald Marx
1988 The Law & Harry McGraw Marvin Gershowitz Episode: "Waiting Game"
1990 Sibling Rivalry Pat
1991 The Doctor Al Cade
1992 Me Myself & I Sydney
1999 Analyze This Dr. Isaac Sobel
2004 Surviving Christmas Doo-Dah
2006 The Holiday Ernie
2007 Mr. Woodcock Mr. Woodcock's Dad

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Bill Macy Biography (1922-)". Film Reference. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  2. ^ Slotnik, Daniel E. (October 18, 2019). "Bill Macy, a Memorable Sitcom Foil on 'Maude,' Dies at 97". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Hegedus, Eric (October 18, 2019). "Bill Macy, Bea Arthur's 'Maude' co-star, dead at 97". New York Post. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Bill Macy, long-suffering husband on 'Maude,' dies at 97". The Washington Post. Associated Press. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  5. ^ "'Maude' co-star, character actor Bill Macy dies at 97". NBC News. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Nichols, Mackenzie (October 18, 2019). "'Maude' Star Bill Macy Dies at 97". Variety. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  7. ^ Moniuszko, Sara M. "Bill Macy, who played Bea Arthur's husband in 'Maude,' dead at 97". USA Today. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  8. ^ "Tattletales Episode #2.119". IMDb. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  9. ^ "LA Law Season 01 Episode 04: The House of the Rising Flan". Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ Elber, Lynn (October 18, 2019). "Actor Bill Macy, co-starred on 'Maude,' dies at 97". Chicago Sun-Times. Associated Press. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
  11. ^ Barnes, Mike (October 18, 2019). "Bill Macy, Bea Arthur's Husband on 'Maude,' Dies at 97". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bill_Macy&oldid=1232623000"