John McMartin

John Francis McMartin (August 21, 1929[1] – July 6, 2016) was an American actor of stage, film and television.

John McMartin
McMartin in July 2011
Born	John Francis McMartin August 21, 1929 Warsaw, Indiana, U.S.
Died	July 6, 2016 (aged 86) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1956–2015
Spouse(s)	Cynthia Baer ​ ​ (m. 1960; div. 1971)​
Partner(s)	Charlotte Moore
Children	2

John McMartin and Shirley MacLaine in Sweet Charity (1969)

Life and career

McMartin was born in Warsaw, Indiana on August 21, 1929[2] and raised in Minnesota. After graduating from high school, McMartin joined the United States Army and became a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division. He attended Columbia College Chicago, but did not graduate and he later attended college in New York.[3] 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.

His 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,[4] garnering a Tony nomination, and played the role again in the 1969 film opposite Shirley MacLaine.[5] 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.

He 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".[6] His association with Sondheim has continued, appearing in A Little Night Music as Frederick at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, in 1991.[7][8] The reviewer for the Orange County Register (California) wrote that the actor was "aggressively deadpan as her rediscovered old flame ..."[9] He appeared in the Broadway revival of Into the Woods in 2002, in the dual role of the Narrator/Mysterious Man.[10][11][12]

Other Broadway roles include the Narrator in Happy New Year, Ben in A Little Family Business (adapted by Jay Presson Allen, 1982),[13] Donner in Tom Stoppard's Artist Descending a Staircase, Cap'n Andy in Kern and Hammerstein's Show Boat (1994),[14] and Uncle Willie in Cole Porter's High Society (1998).[15] 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.[16] In regional theater, he originated the role of Benteen in the Folger Theater Group's 1979 production of Custer at the Kennedy Center.[17]

McMartin was a leading member of the New Phoenix Repertory Company during their three Broadway seasons in the early 1970s, appearing onstage in, among other productions, Eugene O'Neill's The Great God Brown (opposite Katherine Helmond), Molière's Dom Juan, and Luigi Pirandello's The Rules of the Game.

He played "Anton Schell" opposite Chita Rivera in Kander and Ebb's musical The Visit (based on the play by Friedrich Dürrenmatt) 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 (2010–2011), and next played "Elisha Whitney" in the 2011 Broadway revival of Anything Goes, opposite Jessica Walter.[18]

On television, he appeared on the soap opera As the World Turns as John Rice, whose mother's death had been blamed on Dr. Doug Cassen. He later was on the CBS drama Eastside/Westside and in 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 on The Bob Newhart Show (Season 2) as the Rev. Dr. Dan Bradford in "Somebody Down Here Likes Me.". He appeared on Cheers (Season 7) in "The Visiting Lecher". He appeared as radio personality Fletcher Grey on Frasier (Season 1). He also appeared in four episodes of Murder, She Wrote. He also appeared as Shirley Jones' love interest in The Partridge Family episode titled "When Mother Gets Married".[19]

On film his roles included the foreign editor in All the President's Men (1976), a Senator in Brubaker (1980), a political advisor in Blow Out (1981) and a significant part in Legal Eagles (1986) as millionaire Mr. Forrester.[19]

Death

McMartin died of cancer in Manhattan on July 6, 2016, aged 86.[1][20] He is survived by his two daughters from his marriage, and his long-time partner, actress Charlotte Moore, the artistic director of the Irish Repertory Theatre.[3]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
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	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	Performer	Episode: Ride with Terror
1963	Ride with Terror	Performer	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/Prof. 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	Season 2 Episode 23
1971	God Bless Mr. Ferguson	Performer	Television Movie
1973	The Bob Newhart Show	Rev. Daniel Bradford	Episode: Somebody Down Here Likes Me
1974	Harry O	Jordan Briggs	Episode: The Admiral's Lady
1975	Cannon	Sen. Arlen Andrews	Episode: Nightmare
1975	Fear on Trial	Tom Murray	Television Movie
1975-76	Phyllis	Jerome Patterson	2 episodes
1976	Fay	Performer	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
1975-81	Great Performances	Performer	2 episodes
1983	The Last Ninja	Mr. Cosmo	Television Movie
1982-84	American Playhouse	Performer	2 episodes
1984-86	Magnum, P.I.	Jason Bryan/Bill Campbell	2 episodes
1985-86	Falcon Crest	Julian J. Roberts	8 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
1991	Separate But Equal	Gov. James F. Byrnes	Television Miniseries
1985-91	Murder, She Wrote	Various Roles	4 episodes
1992	Empty Nest	Rev. Chambers	Episode: The Son of a Preacherman
1992	Citizen Cohn	Older Doctor	Television Movie
1992	Sisters	J.D. Fitzway	Episode: Portrait of the Artists
1990-92	Coach	Judge Watkins	2 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	Sen. Joseph Grady	Episode: The Thanksgiving Show
2000	Oz	Lars Nathan	2 episodes
2001	Further Tales of the City	Royal Reichenbach	3 episodes
1992-09	Law & Order	Various Roles	5 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	Performer	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
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
1974	Love for Love	Foresight	Helen Hayes Theatre
1974	The Rules of the Game	Leone Gala
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	Mysterious Man/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
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 Explorer's Club	Performer	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
2002	The Visit	Anton	Goodman Theatre, Chicago,
2010	Paradise Found	Shah	West End

Awards and Nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result
1960	Theatre World Award	N/A	Little Mary Sunshine	Won
1966	Tony Award	Best Featured Actor - Musical	Sweet Charity	Nominated
1973		Best Featured Actor in a Play	Don Juan	Nominated
1973	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Performance		Won
1973		Outstanding Performance	The Great God Brown	Won
1995	Tony Award	Best Actor in a Musical	Show Boat	Nominated
1998		Best Featured Actor in a Musical	High Society	Nominated
1998	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical		Nominated
1998	Outer Critics Circle Award	Best Featured Actor in a Musical		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		Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play	All the Way	Nominated

Honor

• 2009 Inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.[21]

References

1. Simonson, Robert (July 7, 2016). "John McMartin, Seasoned Stage Actor, Dies at 86". Playbill. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
2. Some sources inaccurately cite the date as November 18, 1929.
3. Grimes, William (2016-07-12). "John McMartin, 86, versatile and prolific actor of stage, screen". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
4. Kaufmann, Stanley. "Theater: Show That Wants to Be Loved; 'Sweet Charity' Opens at Refurbished Palace" The New York Times (abstract), January 31, 1966, p. 22
5. Canby, Vincent. The New York Times movie review, Sweet Charity, April 2, 1969
6. "'Follies' listing, Broadway 1971", sondheimguide.com; accessed August 26, 2012
7. "1990-91 SEASON; A Little Night Music, April 18-June 30, 1991" centertheatregroup.org (webcache.googleusercontent.com), accessed August 26, 2012
8. Willis, John. "Ahmanson Theatre" Theatre World 1990-1991, Vol. 47 (books.google.com), Hal Leonard Corporation, 1992, ISBN 1557831254, p. 121
9. O'Connor, Thomas. "REVIEW;'Night Music' makes its way to Doolittle", Orange County Register (California), April 19, 1991, SHOW; p. 18.
10. Gans, Andrew. "Fifth Time the Charm for John McMartin?: 'Into the Woods' Star Talks Sondheim", Playbill, May 23, 2002
11. "'Into the Woods', 2002 Broadway Revival Production", sondheimguide.com, accessed August 26, 2012
12. Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review; Sondheim Reprise Puts Music Ahead of the Journey", The New York Times (abstract), May 1, 2002 (Late Edition), Section E; Column 2; Arts/Cultural Desk; p. 1
13. Rich, Frank (December 16, 1982). "'Family Business', with Angela Lansbury". The New York Times. p. C15.
14. Lefkowitz, David. "John McMartin Returning to 'Show Boat' Nov. 5" Archived February 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine Playbill, October 28, 1996
15. Haun, Harry. "Uncle Of The Bride: John McMartin in 'High Society'" Archived 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine Playbill, May 21, 1998
16. Suskin, Steven (March 9, 2010). "Frank Loesser". Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway's Major Composers. Oxford University Press. p. 242. ISBN 978-0-1998-8615-9.
17. Lardner, James (October 10, 1979). "Taking Another Stand on 'Custer'". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
18. Jones, Kenneth."Bow Voyage Extended: 'Anything Goes' Will Steam Into April 2012, With Sutton Foster on the Bow", Playbill, September 19, 2011.
19. John McMartin at IMDb
20. "John McMartin Obituary". The New York Times. July 6, 2016.
21. Gans, Andrew. "Redgrave, Schwartz, Lloyd Webber and More Inducted Into Theater Hall of Fame Jan. 25". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved August 25, 2019.

External links

• John McMartin at IMDb
• John McMartin at the Internet Broadway Database
• John McMartin at the Internet Off-Broadway Database