Barney Martin Died (aka Jerry's Dad)

[bschmale1113]

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Barney Martin, who played Jerry Seinfeld's father Morty on more than 20 episodes of "Seinfeld," died on Monday (March 21) at the age of 82.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Martin suffered from cancer.

An Air Force pilot in World War II, Martin served as a New York policeman before beginning a Broadway career that included such classics as "South Pacific" and the original production of "Chicago." Among Martin's film credits are a memorable part in "The Producers" and the role of Liza Minnelli's father in "Arthur" and its sequel.


Although Phil Bruns originated the part of Morty Seinfeld, Martin took over the character in the show's second season in the episode titled "The Pony Remark" and made regular appearances until the show's 1998 finale.
A regular television guest star throughout the '70s and '80s, Martin cameoed on some of the decades' best, such as "The Odd Couple," "Hill Street Blues," "St. Elsewhere," "Murphy Brown" and "The Wonder Years."

[Pus$y Galore]

Ahhhh bummer.

May he rest in peace. :(

[Skywalker]

This is awful. :( I thought he was great on Seinfeld. R.I.P. Barney.

[dandelion wine]

Wow, I never knew he was sick. He was a great actor and so funny as Jerry's father. That is really sad news. :(

[HuntingtonM15]

:( This is really really sad news. I had the chance to meet him 2 years ago, and he was such a nice person. You could tell that he really cared about his fans, taking time to chat with everyone.

RIP Barney :(

[Seinatra]

:( This is awful news - was not expecting to see anything like this checking in on the SeinBoard.

He will always be the #1 Dad in my book!

(Thanks to this site for the pic: http://autos21.tripod.com/id17.html)

[HuntingtonM15]

:( This is awful news - was not expecting to see anything like this checking in on the SeinBoard.

He will always be the #1 Dad in my book!

(Thanks to this site for the pic: http://autos21.tripod.com/id17.html)

That was the pic from when I met him. It was so awesome that he dressed up like his character. He was there with Liz Sheridan. They seemed like such great friends.

[Brian Damage]

I am in shock! I didn't see that coming. To quote a funny line from Kramer when a 100 year old person died, "It makes you think."

[Pus$y Galore]

He really was hilarious - and I can picture him being a really nice, down to earth guy.

[Brian Damage]

He was also great in an old episode of The Odd Couple.

[bschmale1113]

Rest in R.I.P Number One Dad

[Seinatra]

I also remember him as the 'cheeseman' in the Golden Girls, trying to put a hit on someone's boyfriend.

[HuntingtonM15]

I also remember him as the 'cheeseman' in the Golden Girls, trying to put a hit on someone's boyfriend.

Oh yeah, it was Rose's boyfriend, Miles. I mentioned that when I met him. He still seemed to be good friends with Betty White.

[Brian Damage]

I can't seem to find anything on the net about him.

[Dutabi84]

Oh man..this comes as a big shock. Rest in peace. :(

[Seinatra]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=496&e=2&u=/ap/20050324/ap_on_en_tv/obit_martin

LOS ANGELES - Barney Martin, a former New York City detective who went into show business and became best known for playing Jerry Seinfeld's father Morty on the comedian's hit television series, has died. He was 82.

Martin died of cancer Monday at his Studio City home, according to his publicist, Jennifer Glassman.

Born March 3, 1923, in the New York City borough of Queens, Martin served as a navigator in the Air Force during World War II before starting a 20-year career as a New York City police detective.

Martin showed a talent for making deputy police commissioners laugh during presentations. In the 1950s, he began writing on the side for comedy shows such as "Name That Tune" and "The Steve Allen Show."

Martin got his start in film when Mel Brooks (news) featured him in "The Producers" in 1968. That role launched Martin into Broadway theater, where he appeared in several musicals, including "South Pacific," "The Fantasticks," All American" and "How Now Dow Jones."

He is credited with creating the role of Roxy's unappreciated husband, Amos Hart, in the musical "Chicago."

Martin also appeared in several television series in the 1990s, including "The Tony Randall Show," "US," "Sydney" and "Zorro and Son."

In "Seinfeld," Martin was the third actor to play the part of Seinfeld's father and became the one most identified with the role of the Florida retiree.

He said at the show's wrap party in 1998: "Playing Jerry's dad was like having whipped cream on top of a mountain of ice cream."

He is survived by his wife and son. A daughter died in 2002 of cancer


On Edit - The thrid actor to play Jerry's father??

[barwars]

Woah. Totally unexpected. RIP.

[rusyd]

I heard about the news on the radio today. How sad. # Dad signing off- Rest in Peace.

[Chain Gang Member]

Eventhough Frank Costanza was funnier,Morty Seinfeld was entertaining too

[musicradio77]

From the Daily News:

Seinfeld's dad on TV Dies at 82

BY TRACY CONNOR
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

New York cop-turned-actor Barney Martin, who played Jerry Seinfeld's penny-pinching father, Morty, on television, has died of cancer. He was 82. To TV audiences, the Queens native was best known as a Florida condo owner, king of the early-bird special, and inventor of a beltless trenchcoat.

But long before Martin appeared in the hit comedy series "Seinfeld," he was a war veteran, a police detective and a Broadway song-and-dance man.

Born March 3, 1923, he served as an Army Air Corps navigator during World War II, then joined the NYPD, rising to the rank of detective.

During his 20 years in blue, he realized he had a knack for making people laugh - the brass used to ask him to punch up their speeches - and he began moonlighting as a comedy writer.

He broke into the movies with a part in Mel Brooks' "The Producers," then hit the boards on the Great White Way, where he appeared in musicals such as "South Pacific" and "Chicago." In 1981, he played Liza Minnelli's pop in "Arthur."

When the producers of "Seinfeld" started looking for someone to play Jerry's dad on the show, the Irish-Catholic ex-cop wasn't considered a shoo-in.

"They really didn't want to audition me," he said in 1998. "They just let me read a couple of lines."

But he got the job and was part of some of the show's most memorable episodes. His favorite was the one where he and Kramer plan to go into business together hawking "The Executive," a raincoat without a belt.

In fact, he wore the garment to the show's wrap party in 1998, where he told reporters: "Playing Jerry's dad was like having whipped cream on top of a mountain of ice cream."

Martin, who is survived by his wife and son, died at home in Studio City, Calif.

[IGNTBone]

That totally sucks... Even without Seinfeld, I always thought he was a great character actor. RIP.

[slackermonkey]

RIP Morty. :(

[Maestro]

Thanks for the laughs.
RIP (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=118861)

[T-Greg]

RIP. One of his best lines was "They think we're in kahoots!" from "The Cadillac" episode. That always cracks me up. :)

[Schmoopie]

I feel like a complete idiot responding to this but I swear that this is the first I am reading about Barney's death! Wow, I can't believe it's been three years and I had no idea that this had happened! How very sad! I loved him as Morty!

Andrea

[catlover79]

He also did an awesome guest appearance on Barney Miller in 1982. He was a very cool guy. :rip:

[tv star collector]

A great character actor with a very likable personality. I remember him from
the guest appearance on Barney Miller, his recurring role on Valerie
Bertinelli's short-lived sitcom Sydney, and his role as Michael Landon's
father in the TV pilot "Us" (which was never picked up as a series because
Michael died of pancreatic cancer). I probably saw him on some other shows,
but those are the ones I remember.