In the years since the successful "Cheers" spinoff "Frasier" went off the air, some of
its familiar faces have left us.
From one of the show's main characters to a famous American astronaut, here are some
"Frasier" stars we've sadly lost.
For 11 seasons, John Mahoney played Martin Crane on "Frasier," a role that brought him
two Emmy nominations.
"The man can do things with eels that you just wouldn't believe."
"I arrested a guy for that once."
Sadly, Mahoney died in 2018 at age 77, with TMZ later revealing the cause of death to
be lung cancer, brain disease, and seizures.
In an interview with Fox News shortly before his death, Mahoney candidly discussed overcoming
cancer twice previously.
He explained:
"I just absolutely refused to be beaten by it."
Mahoney gravitated toward acting fairly late in life.
After immigrating to the U.S. from his native England at age 19, he spent years working
as an English teacher, and then as associate editor of a medical journal before pursuing
his passion for theater.
He said:
"I just felt I had to try acting one more time.
And if I fail, I fail.
But if I don't, maybe I can find some sort of happiness and fulfillment in life."
Ultimately, Mahoney joined Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Theatre Company, which led to
roles in such films as "Moonstruck," "Say Anything" and "In the Line of Fire," to name
just a few.
Martin Crane's dog, Eddie, became one of television's most popular canine characters.
"You know why you're here, don't you?
Well now, it's for your own good.
Believe me, you'll be much happier afterwards."
Eddie was played by Moose, a Jack Russell terrier who passed away at the old age of
16 in 2006.
In addition to playing Eddie, Moose had also played the titular dog in the movie "My Dog
Skip."
According to the New York Post, Moose retired midway through the course of "Frasier," and
was replaced by his own son, Enzo.
Like his dad, Enzo lived until age 16, dying in 2010.
Funny enough, Moose wasn't particularly fond of his onscreen owner.
Mahoney said of his canine co-star in an interview with Fox News:
"He bit me twice."
However, he conceded that on the whole he and Moose got along in the end.
He joked:
"He was a temperamental actor as far as I'm concerned."
"Frasier" attracted some A-list guest stars during its run.
Among these was Oscar nominee Bob Hoskins, who played Frasier's abusive high school gym
teacher in a series of flashbacks to his school days.
"Come on, Crane!
Nobody is going home until you haul that fat bucket of lard to the top!"
"I can't!"
Just over a decade after he guest starred in that 2003 episode, Hoskins died at age
71.
His wife and children said in a statement:
"Bob died peacefully at hospital last night surrounded by family, following a bout of
pneumonia."
Hoskins' role on "Frasier" was one small piece of an impressive acting career, beginning
on British television in the early 1970s.
Hoskins caught Hollywood's attention thanks to standout performances in the 1978 British
TV miniseries "Pennies From Heaven," which was followed by starring roles in the films
"The Long Good Friday" and "Mona Lisa" — the latter earning Hoskins' his first and only
Oscar nomination.
Hoskins went on to even bigger fame in numerous Hollywood productions, but will always be
best remembered for playing Toontown PI Eddie Valiant in Disney's blend of live action and
animation "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"
Robert Loggia was already an established Hollywood star when he guest starred in a 2000 episode
of "Frasier," playing Stefano, owner of an Italian restaurant whose gruff and terrifying
demeanor once left Niles suffering PTSD as a child.
When Frasier learns he'll be honored by having a caricature of himself hanging on the restaurant's
wall, Niles is still so scarred, decades later, that he refuses to step foot inside the eatery.
"And who is this gentleman?
He looks familiar to me."
"This is my brother, Niles."
"Ah, of course.
You have the family forehead.
Come on."
Loggia died in 2015 at age 85, leaving behind a film and TV legacy that almost any actor
would be envious of.
Loggia was a frequent television guest star throughout the 1960s and 1970s, breaking out
into film with a supporting role in 1982's "An Officer and a Gentleman."
His high-profile turn as the Miami mob boss deposed by Al Pacino's Tony Montana in 1983's
"Scarface" led to further big-screen work, including such films as "Prizzi's Honor,"
"Jagged Edge," and "Big," in which he shone as the toy company owner who hires Tom Hanks'
boy-in-a-man's-body character.
Who can forget the iconic scene when he dances with Hanks on the toy store's giant piano
keys?
Other notable roles include a multi-episode arc on "The Sopranos" in which he plays Feech
La Manna — an old capo who butts heads with Tony one too many times.
In a 1990 interview with The New York Times, Loggia explained his career longevity.
He revealed:
"I'm a character actor in that I play many different roles, and I'm virtually unrecognizable
from one role to another.
So I never wear out my welcome."
René Auberjonois had already developed a well-established career as a character actor
when he guest starred on "Frasier."
First seen in the series' eighth season, Auberjonois portrayed Frasier's Harvard professor, Dr.
William Tewksbury.
When Frasier is set to receive a lifetime achievement award, he takes offense at the
seemingly innocuous note of congratulations sent by his one-time mentor.
This leads Frasier to a confrontation with Tewksbury, which results in a psychiatric
session where Tewksbury helps him face the fact that he's used his career as a way to
distance himself from people.
"And once that's gone, all you'll have left is that frightened eight-year-old boy."
The character makes another appearance later that same season, when Frasier experiences
the surprise of discovering that Tewksbury is dating his producer, Roz.
Appearing on "Frasier" was a brief pit stop for Auberjonois, who died in 2019 at age 79.
For sci-fi fans, the actor will remain best known for playing Odo, the shape-shifting
head of security on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."
Other significant roles include playing Father Mulcahy in director Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H",
and chief of staff Clayton Endicott III on the sitcom "Benson."
Actress Alice Playten was seen in the sixth season of "Frasier," playing the recurring
role of Martin's then-girlfriend, Bonnie.
"Oh yeah, Martin invited me.
He was real cute about it.
He checked with all the waitresses to find out if I was single."
"Oh."
Prior to her 2011 death at age 63, one of Playten's most memorable roles was in an Alka-Seltzer
commercial, playing a newlywed bride whose first home-cooked meal has given her husband
some serious indigestion.
As a stage actor in New York City, one of Playten's earliest roles was as in the off-Broadway
production of "National Lampoon's Lemmings," a nihilistic Woodstock satire in which she
co-starred with future "Saturday Night Live" stars John Belushi and Chevy Chase.
Playten also put her distinctive high voice to good use as a voice actor for cartoons
such as "Doug" and "My Little Pony".
In addition to "Frasier," Playten's many television credits included "The Cosby Mysteries," "Law
& Order," and "Third Watch".
Trained at London's prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, William Morgan Sheppard was
an actor's actor whose career spanned six decades before his 2019 death at age 86.
He made a guest appearance in the episode "The Club," where Niles and Frasier attempt
to sabotage the other's chances of being accepted into Seattle's prestigious Empire Club.
Sheppard played Mr. Drake, the club's president.
"This leather is as soft as a baby's bottom."
"Yes, on family night we bring the baby's in and do a blindfold comparison contest."
It's Sheppard's association with the "Star Trek" franchise, however, for which he's best
remembered.
He played the recurring role of Dr. Ira Graves in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and also
appeared in an episode of "Voyager."
On the big screen, he appeared in "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" and 2009's "Star
Trek" reboot movie.
Of the many, many guest stars to drop by "Frasier" during the course of the show's 11-season
run, arguably one of the most legendary was Donald O'Connor.
A song-and-dance man of the highest order, O'Connor's storied roster of screen credits
include the classic Hollywood musical "Singing in the Rain," and umpteen "Francis the Talking
Mule" movies.
Prior to his 2003 death at age 78, one of O'Connor's final roles was playing wealthy
timber baron Harlow Safford in the "Crane vs. Crane" episode of "Frasier."
"Well, I guess it is sort of fun now, isn't it?"
"Not on you".
Niles is hired as an expert witness by Safford's son in his effort to have his father legally
declared senile; Frasier, however, gets to know the elder Safford and comes to believe
his mental faculties are intact.
As a result, Frasier agrees to testify against his brother in the trial.
The same year he appeared on "Frasier," O'Connor also appeared in a guest spot on "The Nanny."
O'Connor's final screen role was in the 1997 cruise ship comedy "Out to Sea," which re-teamed
"The Odd Couple" stars Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.
Character actor Robert Prosky landed his big break when he was cast alongside James Caan
in the atmospheric 1981 thriller "Thief."
That ultimately led to a role in an iconic TV hit when he joined "Hill Street Blues"
as Sgt.
Stan Jablonski, who took over for veteran cop Sgt.
Phil Esterhaus after the actor who portrayed him, Michael Conrad, died of cancer in 1983.
Prosky, who died in 2008 at age 77, made a memorable appearance on "Frasier."
In his guest spot, Prosky played famously reclusive author T.H.
Houghton — loosely based on "A Catcher in the Rye" writer J.D. Salinger.
He befriends Martin at a sports bar and winds up scrapping his latest manuscript due to
a critique from Niles and Frasier.
"You're absolutely right.
This whole book is crap."
Other Prosky credits of note include big-screen roles in "Last Action Hero", "The Natural,"
"Broadcast News," "Gremlins 2," and "Mrs. Doubtfire".
David Ogden Stiers was a familiar face to television viewers of the 1970s and 1980s
for his portrayal of snobbish Major Charles Emerson Winchester III on "M*A*S*H".
More than a decade after that series wrapped, Stiers made a guest-starring appearance on
"Frasier."
In Stiers' 2003 episode, titled "Fathers and Sons," he plays Leland Barton, the former
research assistant to Hester Crane, later mother of Niles and Frasier.
After spending some time with Leland, Martin notices some marked similarities between Leland's
characteristics and those of her sons, leading him to question whether Leland is their real
father, and not him.
"Mmmmm."
Prior to Stiers' 2018 death from bladder cancer at age 75, he had amassed a staggering array
of screen credits.
In addition to his "M*A*S*H" role, these included voice roles in several of Disney's animated
films, appearing in "Beauty and the Beast," "Pocahontas," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame,"
and "Lilo & Stitch."
Stiers also had recurring roles in "Stargate Atlantis," and the sitcom "Two Guys, a Girl
and a Pizza Place."
John Glenn was the third American in history to venture off the planet into outer space,
and the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth.
Later serving for four terms as United States Senator, Glenn was also a "Frasier" guest
star.
The NASA icon played himself in the 2001 episode "DocuDrama," which featured Roz getting the
go-ahead from management to produce a radio documentary about space travel.
The initial plan is for Frasier to narrate, until he exits the project when Roz discards
all the ideas he shoots at her while staying firm with her vision of the project.
"You know, I thought we might intercut between the Russian and American programs and build
up the tension of the space race."
"I don't think so."
She ultimately brings Glenn onboard as a replacement narrator, which irks Frasier to no end.
"Some people ask, you know, 'Were you alone out there?'"
"Frasier" isn't just Glenn's most memorable TV guest starring role — it's his only one.
His only other screen credits were providing his voice to the 2003 TV documentary "Kitty
Hawk: The Wright Brothers' Journey of Invention," and voicing former U.S. President Rutherford
B. Hayes in the 2003 documentary "The American President."
Occasionally, viewers met Martin Crane's former colleagues from his years as a Seattle police
officer.
Bill Gratton played one such pal, Leo, who initially appeared in the second season, featured
in the episode "Duke's, We Hardly Knew Ye."
Gratton returned as Leo later that season in the episode "Retirement Is Murder," then
again in the fifth season's "Where Every Bloke Knows Your Name."
It wouldn't be surprising if Gratton's face seems familiar to anyone who watched a lot
of television in the 1980s and '90s.
Among his many screen credits are such TV series as "Seinfeld," and "ER".
Interestingly enough, prior to "Frasier," Gratton also appeared in a 1991 episode of
"Cheers," from which "Frasier" spun off, playing a justice of the peace.
Sadly, Gratton died in 2011 at age 71, with his obituary noting that he'd be remembered
for, quote, "his sense of humor, both whimsical and pointed, his love of military history,
and his life-long dedication to the art and craft of acting."
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