"Oh, Jeez."


I was sad to hear news of the death of the actor John Mahoney last night.

It goes without saying - though I’ll say it anyway - what a wonderful characterization he brought to Martin Crane in the pitch-perfect sitcom Frasier. While each script is packed with gags, it’s the relationship between the show's central characters - and their individual traits - that make it work so well, and the role of Frasier’s dad is perfectly drawn by Mahoney. He brings a gentleness to the character that may have been missed by a lesser actor; the elder Crane may be brash and cantankerous, and prefer watching a gator devour a raw chicken to going to the opera, but there’s a soft, wise kindness behind his eyes too that’s thanks wholly to Mahoney’s performance.

A pleasant byproduct of Frasier being aired on UK TV almost daily is it freezes the characters (and consequently the actors) in time so they never age, so you’d be forgiven for thinking Mahoney couldn’t possibly be 77; but that’s still no age to go. At least his memory will be kept alive by the show being so ever-present; he’ll continue to inspire laughter for years to come, which is a fitting tribute.

One point that kept being mentioned in the various articles and tweets about Mahoney yesterday was the fact he didn’t start acting until he was 37; what a fantastic career he managed to forge from such late beginnings. On that basis, I needn't do anything for another three months; I can’t work out if that puts me at an advantage or a disadvantage.

Popular posts from this blog

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Image
Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera...
Read more

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce...
Read more

Comedy That's Worth a Letch.

Today, I nipped to Letchworth to meet with illustrator (and one-time - two-time - comedy poet) Mushybees, to discuss an event Mostly Comedy will act as surrogate parents to as part of Letchworth’s Arts Takeover in a couple of weeks. Months ago he got into contact to see if we’d be up for co-organising a comedy stage as part of Letchworth’s weekend of arts-based attractions in July; something I’d provisionally said yes to, before things got hectic in the lead-up to Edinburgh and we didn’t take it any further. Despite not getting down to the nitty-gritty straight away, we managed to pull a line-up together in a back-and-forth of emails yesterday, leading to me getting Glyn’s blessing and us deciding we’d officially go ahead with it (whatever ‘officially’ means in this context). In reality, it’s not complicated: from 12pm until 6pm-ish on the 22 nd July, Glyn, Mushybees and I will host four Edinburgh previews from four acts (including me), before Nor...
Read more