Bill Macy (1922-2019) - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Zoneboy · 10-18-2019, 03:19 AM

From the Larry Storch Facebook page...

https://tinyurl.com/y4wa232g

We are sad to let you know the great Bill Macy passed away earlier tonight. Our condolences to his wife Samantha. “God, finally got you Walter.”

Zoneboy · 10-18-2019, 10:58 AM

Norman Lear saw him choking on a chicken bone and brought him to Hollywood. The actor also appeared in 'My Favorite Year' and 'The Late Show.'

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...husband-922206

Bill Macy, who played the frustrated husband Walter Findlay opposite Bea Arthur on the hit 1970s sitcom Maude, has died. He was 97.

Macy, who also portrayed Sy Benson, the head writer of a 1950s sketch comedy show, in the classic My Favorite Year (1982), died Thursday night in Los Angeles at 7:13 p.m. local time, producer and manager Matt Beckoff told The Hollywood Reporter.

Macy also stood out as the weasly Charlie Hatter, an old pal of Art Carney's aging detective character, in Robert Benton's The Late Show (1977), and his Stan Fox helped Steve Martin's Navin R. Johnson bring the (ultimately flawed) eyeglass invention the Opti-Grab to market in Carl Reiner's The Jerk (1979).

Maude, a spinoff of All in the Family, debuted in September 1972 and ran for six seasons on CBS until April 1978. Both shows, of course, were created by sitcom legend Norman Lear.

Walter was the fourth husband of the strong-willed feminist played by Arthur and the owner of Findlay's Friendly Appliances in Tuckahoe, N.Y. When he managed to get off a good crack against his wife, Maude frequently would say, "God will get you for that, Walter."

"I'm glad the show isn't called Walter because the pressure would be on me," Macy said in a 1973 interview with the Chicago Tribune. "This way I can stay loose and go out and feed her lines."

In one story arc early in the series, Walter had trouble controlling his drinking. He slapped Maude across her face and then, feeling terrible about it, suffered a nervous breakdown.

Born May 18, 1922, in Revere, Mass., Macy was raised in Brooklyn and attended Samuel J. Tilden High School. He drove a taxi for a decade to make ends meet, and in 1958, he landed a role on Broadway as the understudy to Walter Matthau in Once More, With Feeling, also starring Joseph Cotten.

In a 1998 interview with the Archive of American Television, Lear said that he "first saw Bill Macy choking on a chicken bone in an off-Broadway play. … it took seven minutes; it was a tour de force." The producer brought him out to Hollywood, where he got a few lines as a cop on an episode of All in the Family and then the life-changing Maude role.

Macy also appeared on such series as St. Elsewhere, The Facts of Life, NYPD Blue, Seinfeld and My Name Is Earl and in other films including Serial (1980), Movers & Shakers (1985) — that one with Matthau — Analyze This (1999) and Surviving Christmas (2004).

My Favorite Year was executive produced by Mel Brooks, who based the film on his experiences as a writer on Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows. Several characters in the movie were modeled after real people, so a case could be made that Macy played a version of head writer Mel Tolkin.

Survivors include his wife since 1975, actress Samantha Harper, a regular on another Lear show, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. They met in the late '60s when both were in the original Broadway production of the zesty Oh! Calcutta!

Johnny be good! · 10-18-2019, 12:43 PM

He was a great man and a very talented actor.

Skywalker · 10-18-2019, 01:38 PM

R.I.P. Bill

AB · 10-18-2019, 06:14 PM

Rest in peace.

Pebbly Poo · 10-18-2019, 07:56 PM

RIP Bill Macy.

I believe Antenna TV will have a tribute to him will a run of Maude shows this weekend.

Mr. Television · 10-18-2019, 08:26 PM

Such a great actor.

OH Nuts! · 10-18-2019, 09:24 PM

He was a wonderful actor and great in Maude. May he R.I.P.

stevea · 10-19-2019, 01:02 PM

Maude marathon today on Antenna, 1-10.

Retro Vic · 10-19-2019, 02:32 PM

Watching now. Bill Macy R.I.P.

MrCleveland · 10-20-2019, 01:45 PM

It looks like most of the cast of Maude is gone.

stevea · 10-20-2019, 02:11 PM

Right--the only adult left is Adrienne Barbeau, I think.

RIP Bill Macy.

BigManMike · 10-20-2019, 02:30 PM

Marlene Warfield that played the housekeeper Victoria Butterfield in the last season is also still living.

jbjr56 · 10-22-2019, 04:18 AM

My daughter and I have been talking about Maude all week including Bill Macy before this news.

RIP Bill Macy.

MichaelKeith · 10-28-2019, 11:45 AM

I wish the producers of The Golden Girls had had Bill Macy on as a guest star once or twice on this show. It would have been fun to see Bea and Bill act together again. He could have been one of her dates or maybe on the last show of the series, rather than Dorothy marry Leslie Nielsen, she could have married her old husband Bill!!

10-18-2019, 03:19 AM	#1
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,338	Bill Macy (1922-2019) From the Larry Storch Facebook page... https://tinyurl.com/y4wa232g We are sad to let you know the great Bill Macy passed away earlier tonight. Our condolences to his wife Samantha. “God, finally got you Walter.”

10-18-2019, 12:43 PM	#3
Johnny be good! Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 18, 2007 Location: Westland, Michigan Posts: 1,629	He was a great man and a very talented actor.
	__________________ Alex Bogue

10-18-2019, 07:56 PM	#6
Pebbly Poo Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Oct 18, 2019 Posts: 15	RIP Bill Macy. I believe Antenna TV will have a tribute to him will a run of Maude shows this weekend.
	__________________ "Open your heart and let the sunshine in"

10-18-2019, 08:26 PM	#7
Mr. Television 22 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,125	Such a great actor.
	__________________ Sonny

10-19-2019, 02:32 PM	#10
Retro Vic >-\|-< \ /ANTENNA TV\ / >-\|-< Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 13, 2011 Location: Missouri Posts: 369	Watching now. Bill Macy R.I.P.
	__________________ Joy for what was....... Sadness for what is.

10-18-2019, 10:58 AM	#2
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,338	Norman Lear saw him choking on a chicken bone and brought him to Hollywood. The actor also appeared in 'My Favorite Year' and 'The Late Show.' https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/ne...husband-922206 Bill Macy, who played the frustrated husband Walter Findlay opposite Bea Arthur on the hit 1970s sitcom Maude, has died. He was 97. Macy, who also portrayed Sy Benson, the head writer of a 1950s sketch comedy show, in the classic My Favorite Year (1982), died Thursday night in Los Angeles at 7:13 p.m. local time, producer and manager Matt Beckoff told The Hollywood Reporter. Macy also stood out as the weasly Charlie Hatter, an old pal of Art Carney's aging detective character, in Robert Benton's The Late Show (1977), and his Stan Fox helped Steve Martin's Navin R. Johnson bring the (ultimately flawed) eyeglass invention the Opti-Grab to market in Carl Reiner's The Jerk (1979). Maude, a spinoff of All in the Family, debuted in September 1972 and ran for six seasons on CBS until April 1978. Both shows, of course, were created by sitcom legend Norman Lear. Walter was the fourth husband of the strong-willed feminist played by Arthur and the owner of Findlay's Friendly Appliances in Tuckahoe, N.Y. When he managed to get off a good crack against his wife, Maude frequently would say, "God will get you for that, Walter." "I'm glad the show isn't called Walter because the pressure would be on me," Macy said in a 1973 interview with the Chicago Tribune. "This way I can stay loose and go out and feed her lines." In one story arc early in the series, Walter had trouble controlling his drinking. He slapped Maude across her face and then, feeling terrible about it, suffered a nervous breakdown. Born May 18, 1922, in Revere, Mass., Macy was raised in Brooklyn and attended Samuel J. Tilden High School. He drove a taxi for a decade to make ends meet, and in 1958, he landed a role on Broadway as the understudy to Walter Matthau in Once More, With Feeling, also starring Joseph Cotten. In a 1998 interview with the Archive of American Television, Lear said that he "first saw Bill Macy choking on a chicken bone in an off-Broadway play. … it took seven minutes; it was a tour de force." The producer brought him out to Hollywood, where he got a few lines as a cop on an episode of All in the Family and then the life-changing Maude role. Macy also appeared on such series as St. Elsewhere, The Facts of Life, NYPD Blue, Seinfeld and My Name Is Earl and in other films including Serial (1980), Movers & Shakers (1985) — that one with Matthau — Analyze This (1999) and Surviving Christmas (2004). My Favorite Year was executive produced by Mel Brooks, who based the film on his experiences as a writer on Sid Caesar's Your Show of Shows. Several characters in the movie were modeled after real people, so a case could be made that Macy played a version of head writer Mel Tolkin. Survivors include his wife since 1975, actress Samantha Harper, a regular on another Lear show, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. They met in the late '60s when both were in the original Broadway production of the zesty Oh! Calcutta!

10-18-2019, 01:38 PM	#4
Skywalker Member Forum Fanatic Join Date: Apr 04, 2003 Posts: 14,205	R.I.P. Bill

10-18-2019, 06:14 PM	#5
AB Member Eternal Member Forum Icon Join Date: Dec 26, 2006 Location: The South Posts: 59,426	Rest in peace.

10-18-2019, 09:24 PM	#8
OH Nuts! Member Forum King Join Date: Feb 15, 2005 Posts: 133,383	He was a wonderful actor and great in Maude. May he R.I.P.

10-19-2019, 01:02 PM	#9
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,170	Maude marathon today on Antenna, 1-10.

10-20-2019, 01:45 PM	#11
MrCleveland Drew Carey from Hell Forum Star Join Date: Nov 10, 2007 Location: The City of Cleveland, in The State of Cleveland, in The United States of Cleveland Posts: 14,222	It looks like most of the cast of Maude is gone.
	__________________ Thank God for kids that love Obscure Things. Lee Hazlewood (1929-2007) You ARE Special to God! Rev. Ernest Angely (August 1921-May 2021)

10-20-2019, 02:11 PM	#12
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,170	Right--the only adult left is Adrienne Barbeau, I think. RIP Bill Macy.

10-20-2019, 02:30 PM	#13
BigManMike Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: May 25, 2006 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 3,021	Marlene Warfield that played the housekeeper Victoria Butterfield in the last season is also still living.

10-22-2019, 04:18 AM	#14
jbjr56 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Nov 27, 2018 Location: South Dakota Posts: 283	My daughter and I have been talking about Maude all week including Bill Macy before this news. RIP Bill Macy.

10-28-2019, 11:45 AM	#15
MichaelKeith Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 01, 2007 Posts: 1,139	I wish the producers of The Golden Girls had had Bill Macy on as a guest star once or twice on this show. It would have been fun to see Bea and Bill act together again. He could have been one of her dates or maybe on the last show of the series, rather than Dorothy marry Leslie Nielsen, she could have married her old husband Bill!!