# John McMartin

John Francis McMartin (August 21, 1929 – July 6, 2016) was an American actor of stage, film and television.

## Life and career

McMartin was born in Warsaw, Indiana, on August 21, 1929, and raised in St. Cloud, Minnesota. After graduating from high school, he joined the United States Army and became a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division. He attended Columbia College Chicago, but did not graduate and later attended college in New York. He made his off-Broadway debut in Little Mary Sunshine in 1959, opposite Eileen Brennan and Elmarie Wendel. He won a Theatre World Award for his role as Corporal Billy Jester, and married one of the show's producers, Cynthia Baer, in 1960; they divorced in 1971.
McMartin's first Broadway appearance was as Forrest Noble in The Conquering Hero in 1961, which was followed by Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole. He created the role of Oscar in Sweet Charity in 1966, opposite Gwen Verdon, garnering a Tony nomination, and played the role again in the 1969 film opposite Shirley MacLaine. He was reportedly cast in Stephen Sondheim's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in 1962, but his role was cut before the show opened.
McMartin later starred in the original Broadway production of Sondheim's Follies opposite Alexis Smith in 1971 as Benjamin Stone, introducing the ballad "The Road You Didn't Take". His association with Sondheim continued, as he appeared in A Little Night Music as Frederick at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, in 1991. The reviewer for the Orange County Register wrote that McMartin was "aggressively deadpan as her rediscovered old flame".
He appeared in the first Broadway revival of Into the Woods in 2002, in the dual role of the Narrator and the Mysterious Man.
Other Broadway roles include the Narrator in Happy New Year, Ben in A Little Family Business (adapted by Jay Presson Allen, 1982), Donner in Tom Stoppard's Artist Descending a Staircase, Cap'n Andy in Kern and Hammerstein's Show Boat (1994), and Uncle Willie in Cole Porter's High Society (1998). He also had a role as the American Revolutionary naval hero John Paul Jones in the unsuccessful Loesser/Spewack musical Pleasures and Palaces, which closed in Detroit. In regional theater, he originated the role of Benteen in the Folger Theater Group's 1979 production of Custer at the Kennedy Center.
McMartin was a leading member of the New Phoenix Repertory Company during its three Broadway seasons in the early 1970s, appearing onstage in Eugene O'Neill's The Great God Brown (opposite Katherine Helmond), Molière's Dom Juan, and Luigi Pirandello's The Rules of the Game.
McMartin played Anton Schell opposite Chita Rivera in Kander and Ebb's musical The Visit at the Goodman Theatre. He created the roles of J.V. "Major" Bouvier and Norman Vincent Peale in Grey Gardens, opposite Mary Louise Wilson and Christine Ebersole. He played Thomas Jefferson in the original cast of John Guare's A Free Man of Color at Lincoln Center (2010–11), and Elisha Whitney in the 2011 Broadway revival of Anything Goes, opposite Jessica Walter.
On television, McMartin appeared on the soap opera As the World Turns as Ed Rice. He was later in the CBS drama East Side West Side and the first two seasons of Beauty and the Beast (1987) as Charles Chandler, father of Catherine (Linda Hamilton). He also appeared in The Golden Girls (Season 2) as Frank Leahy who, unbeknownst to Dorothy (Bea Arthur) who is romantically attracted to him, is a priest. He appeared as the Rev. Dr. Dan Bradford on The Bob Newhart Show in "Somebody Down Here Likes Me". He appeared on Cheers in "The Visiting Lecher". He appeared as radio personality Fletcher Grey on Frasier. He appeared in four episodes of Murder, She Wrote. He also appeared as Shirley Jones's love interest in The Partridge Family episode "When Mother Gets Married".
McMartin's film roles include the foreign editor in All the President's Men (1976), a senator in Brubaker (1980), a political advisor in Blow Out (1981), and millionaire Mr. Forrester in Legal Eagles (1986).

## Death

McMartin died of cancer in Manhattan on July 6, 2016, aged 86. He was survived by his two daughters from his marriage, and his longtime partner, actress Charlotte Moore, artistic director of the Irish Repertory Theatre.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1965 | A Thousand Clowns | The Man in the Office |
| 1968 | What's So Bad About Feeling Good? | The Mayor |
| 1969 | Sweet Charity | Oscar |
| 1976 | All the President's Men | Foreign Editor |
| 1977 | Thieves | Gordon |
| 1980 | Brubaker | Senator Charles Hite |
| 1981 | Blow Out | Lawrence Henry |
| 1981 | Pennies From Heaven | Mr. Warner |
| 1986 | Dream Lover | Martin |
| 1986 | Legal Eagles | Robert Forrester |
| 1986 | Native Son | Mr. Dalton |
| 1987 | Who's That Girl | Simon Worthington |
| 1989 | Little Sweetheart | Uncle David |
| 1990 | A Shock to the System | George Brewster |
| 1998 | Three Businessmen | Liverpool Businessman |
| 2000 | The Dish | U.S. Ambassador Howard |
| 2004 | Kinsey | Huntington Hartford |
| 2007 | No Reservations | Mr. Peterson |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1956 | As the World Turns | Ed Rice | |
| 1958 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | Performer | Episode: "The Invisible Mark" |
| 1961 | Frontiers of Faith | Man | Episode: "Let Us Build a Tower" |
| 1963 | The DuPont Show of the Week | Bill Wilks | Episode: "Ride with Terror" |
| 1963 | Ride with Terror | Bill Wilks | Television movie |
| 1964 | East Side West Side | Mike Miller | 3 episodes |
| 1964 | The Doctors and the Nurses | William Devon | Episode: "A Postcard from Yucatan" |
| 1964 | Mr. Broadway | Robertson | Episode: "Try to Find a Spy" |
| 1965 | Profiles in Courage | Tumulty | Episode: "Woodrow Wilson" |
| 1965 | A Flame in the Wind | Ted | 2 episodes |
| 1968 | Premiere | John Higher / Professor Josh Enders | 2 episodes |
| 1969 | Judd, for the Defense | Don Townsend | Episode: "Visitation" |
| 1969 | Medical Center | Dan Caldwell | Episode: "A Life Is Waiting" |
| 1970 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | John Ambrose | Episode: "Fun and Games and John Ambrose" |
| 1970 | Ritual of Evil | Edward Bolander | Television movie |
| 1970 | The Partridge Family | Larry Metcalfe | Episode: "When Mother Gets Married" |
| 1970 | Insight | Chipper | Episode: "Chipper" |
| 1971 | Hawaii Five-O | Ron Nicholson | 2 episodes |
| 1971 | Love, American Style | Peter Ferguson | Episode: "Love and the Duel/Love and the Note/Love and the Young Unmarrieds" |
| 1971 | God Bless Mr. Ferguson | Performer | Television movie |
| 1973 | The Bob Newhart Show | Reverend Daniel Bradford | Episode: "Somebody Down Here Likes Me" |
| 1974 | Harry O | Jordan Briggs | Episode: "The Admiral's Lady" |
| 1975 | Cannon | Senator Arlen Andrews | Episode: "Nightmare" |
| 1975 | Fear on Trial | Tom Murray | Television movie |
| 1975–76 | Phyllis | Jerome Patterson | 2 episodes |
| 1975–81 | Great Performances | Leone Gala / Teddy Wharton | 2 episodes |
| 1976 | Fay | Dr. Walter | Episode: "Fay and the Doctor" |
| 1976 | The Rockford Files | Timson Farrell | Episode: "The Fourth Man" |
| 1976 | The Fatal Weakness | Paul Espenshade | Television movie |
| 1976 | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Barry Munroe | Episode: "Mary Gets a Lawyer" |
| 1978 | The Defection of Simas Kudirka | Phillip Chadway | Television movie |
| 1979 | Dear Detective | Performer | Episode #1.4 |
| 1980 | The Greatest Man in the World | Ames Herbert | Television movie |
| 1981 | Hart to Hart | Cole Morefeld | Episode: "Murder Wrap" |
| 1982–84 | American Playhouse | Paul Melton / William Marbury | 2 episodes |
| 1983 | The Last Ninja | Mr. Cosmo | Television movie |
| 1984–86 | Magnum, P.I. | Jason Bryan / Bill Campbell | 2 episodes |
| 1985–86 | Falcon Crest | Julian J. Roberts | 8 episodes |
| 1985–91 | Murder, She Wrote | Various roles | 4 episodes |
| 1986 | Murrow | Frank Stanton | Television movie |
| 1986 | Kay O'Brien | Jack O'Brien | Episode: "Don't Bother Kayo It's Chinatown" |
| 1987 | The Golden Girls | Father Frank Leahy | Episode: "Forgive Me, Father" |
| 1987–89 | Beauty and the Beast | Charles Chandler | 4 episodes |
| 1988 | Lincoln | Salmon P. Chase | 2 episodes |
| 1988 | Roots: The Gift | Edmund Parker Sr. | Television movie |
| 1989 | Tattingers | Frederick Lund | Episode: "Broken Windows" |
| 1989 | Day One | Dr. Arthur Compton | Television movie |
| 1989 | Cheers | Dr. Lawrence Crandell | Episode: "The Visiting Lecher" |
| 1990–92 | Coach | Judge Watkins | 2 episodes |
| 1991 | Separate but Equal | Governor James F. Byrnes | Television miniseries |
| 1992 | Empty Nest | Reverend Chambers | Episode: "The Son of a Preacherman" |
| 1992 | Citizen Cohn | Older Doctor | Television movie |
| 1992 | Sisters | J.D. Fitzway | Episode: "Portrait of the Artists" |
| 1992–2009 | Law & Order | Various roles | 5 episodes |
| 1993 | Ghostwriter | Alan Charles | Episode: "Who's Who – Part 3" |
| 1993 | Bob | Dr. O'Reilly | Episode: "Better to How Loved and Flossed" |
| 1994 | Frasier | Fletcher Grey | Episode: "And the Whimper Is..." |
| 1997–98 | Touched by an Angel | Earl Gray / Ed Greeley | 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Spin City | Senator Joseph Grady | Episode: "The Thanksgiving Show" |
| 2000 | Oz | Lars Nathan | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Further Tales of the City | Royal Reichenbach | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | Grant | Episode: "Kimmy Goes on a Date!" |

## Stage
### Broadway

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 1961 | The Conquering Hero | Forrest Noble | ANTA Washington Square Theatre |
| 1961 | Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole | Captain Mal Malcolm | Ambassador Theatre |
| 1963 | Children From Their Games | Sidney Balzer | Morosco Theatre |
| 1963 | A Rainy Day in Newark | Edward L. Voorhees | Belasco Theater |
| 1966 | Sweet Charity | Oscar | Palace Theatre |
| 1971–72 | Follies | Benjamin Stone | Winter Garden Theatre |
| 1972–73 | The Great God Brown | Dion Anthony | Lyceum Theatre |
| 1972–73 | Don Juan | Sganarelle | Lyceum Theatre |
| 1973 | Sondheim: A Musical Tribute | Performer | Benefit Concert, Shubert Theatre |
| 1973–74 | The Visit | Anton Schill | Ethel Barrymore Theatre |
| 1973–74 | Chemin de Fer | Fedot | Ethel Barrymore Theatre |
| 1974 | Love for Love | Foresight | Helen Hayes Theatre |
| 1974 | The Rules of the Game | Leone Gala | Helen Hayes Theatre |
| 1980 | Happy New Year | Narrator | Morosco Theater |
| 1982 | Solomon's Child | Allan | Little Theatre |
| 1982 | A Little Family Business | Ben | Martin Beck Theatre |
| 1989 | Artist Descending a Staircase | Donner | Helen Hayes Theatre |
| 1994–97 | Show Boat | Cap'n Andy | Gershwin Theatre |
| 1998 | High Society | Uncle Willie | St. James Theatre |
| 2002 | Into the Woods | The Mysterious Man / The Narrator | Broadhurst Theatre |
| 2004 | Passion | Doctor Tambourri | Special benefit concert |
| 2006 | Grey Gardens | J.V. "Major" Bouvier Norman Vincent Peale | Walter Kerr Theatre |
| 2007 | Is He Dead? | Papa Leroux | Lyceum Theatre |
| 2009 | Chance & Chemistry | Performer | Minskoff Theatre |
| 2010 | Sondheim! The Birthday Concert | Performer | New York Philharmonic |
| 2010 | A Free Man of Color | Thomas Jefferson | Vivian Beaumont Theatre |
| 2011 | Anything Goes | Elisha Whitney | Stephen Sondheim Theatre |
| 2014 | All the Way | Richard Russell, Jr. | Neil Simon Theatre |

### Off-Broadway

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 1959 | Little Mary Sunshine | Cpl."Billy" Jester | Cherry Lane Theatre |
| 1964 | Too Much Johnson | Mr. Billings | Phoenix Theatre |
| 1977 | The Misanthrope | Alceste | The Public Theatre |
| 1988 | Julius Caesar | Julius Caesar | The Public Theatre |
| 2005 | Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story | Parole Board (voiceover) | York Theatre |
| 2006 | Grey Gardens | Major Bouvier Norman Vincent Peale | Playwrights Horizons |
| 2006 | Indian Blood | Eddie's Grandfather | Primary Stages Theatre |
| 2008 | Saturn Returns | Performer | Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre |
| 2013 | The Explorers Club | Professor Sloane | Manhattan Theatre Club |

### Other theatre credits

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 1977 | Follies | Benjamin Stone | National Tour |
| 1991 | A Little Night Music | Frederick Egerman | Berkshire Theatre Festival Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles |
| 1996–98 | Show Boat | Cap'n Andy | National Tour |
| 2001 | The Visit | Anton | Goodman Theatre, Chicago |
| 2002 | Into the Woods | The Mysterious Man / The Narrator | Ahmanson Theatre |
| 2010 | Paradise Found | Shah | West End |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result |
| 1960 | Theatre World Award | — | Little Mary Sunshine | Won |
| 1966 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actor – Musical | Sweet Charity | Nominated |
| 1973 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actor in a Play | Don Juan | Nominated |
| 1973 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Performance | Don Juan | Won |
| 1973 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Performance | The Great God Brown | Won |
| 1995 | Tony Award | Best Actor in a Musical | Show Boat | Nominated |
| 1998 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actor in a Musical | High Society | Nominated |
| 1998 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | High Society | Nominated |
| 1998 | Outer Critics Circle Award | Best Featured Actor in a Musical | High Society | Nominated |
| 2002 | Tony Award | Best Actor in a Musical | Into the Woods | Nominated |
| 2006 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Grey Gardens | Nominated |
| 2011 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical | Anything Goes | Nominated |
| 2014 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | All the Way | Nominated |
Honor
* 2009 Inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.