Maude's Bill Macy Dies at 97 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

MikeLutton · 10-18-2019, 11:02 AM

https://thelifeandtimesofhollywood.c...urs-husband-on

Bill Macy, Bea Arthur’s Husband on ‘Maude,’ Dies at 97; films, stage and television
OCT 18tramscorp@aol.com

We last heard Bill on the terrific podcast Gilbert Gottfried‘s Amazing Colossal Podcast with Frank Santopadre. Bill was sharp and hysterical

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.’

By Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter

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 Familyand then the life-changing Maude role

Macy also appeared on such series as St. Elsewhere, The Facts of Life, NYPD Blue, Seinfeldand 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!

stevea · 10-19-2019, 01:01 PM

Just noticed Antenna is doing a Maude marathon today, 1-10.

king of comedy · 10-19-2019, 01:18 PM

R.I.P. Bill Macy

dee2364 · 10-27-2019, 01:42 PM

The funniest thing about Macy's appearance on the Gilbert Gottfried podcast is that he was making all these jokes about how he wasn't long for this world but then lived, like, another two years. Which is impressive because every time GG and his co-host have a guest on, they will literally die within a few months, which is why they do the show in the first place--to catch these legendary artists before they go.

MichaelKeith · 10-27-2019, 02:05 PM

I just wish that the show "The Golden Girls" would have had Bill Macy on as a guest once or twice. It would have been fun to see him and Bea work together again.

JMFabiano524 · 11-06-2019, 05:53 PM

Leaving Adrienne Barbeau as the sole survivor of the regulars.

10-18-2019, 11:02 AM	#1
MikeLutton Mike Lutton DVD Legend! Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 05, 2005 Location: usa pennsyvania Posts: 6,883	Maude's Bill Macy Dies at 97 https://thelifeandtimesofhollywood.c...urs-husband-on Bill Macy, Bea Arthur’s Husband on ‘Maude,’ Dies at 97; films, stage and television OCT 18tramscorp@aol.com We last heard Bill on the terrific podcast Gilbert Gottfried‘s Amazing Colossal Podcast with Frank Santopadre. Bill was sharp and hysterical 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.’ By Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter 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 Familyand then the life-changing Maude role Macy also appeared on such series as St. Elsewhere, The Facts of Life, NYPD Blue, Seinfeldand 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!
	__________________ Tv And DVD Addict got over a hundred dvds in my collection more than anyone in the neighborhood. also huge Animal lover family man

10-19-2019, 01:01 PM	#2
stevea 22 Years On Sitcoms Moderator Forum Legend Join Date: Aug 13, 2003 Location: Indy Posts: 44,532	Just noticed Antenna is doing a Maude marathon today, 1-10.

10-19-2019, 01:18 PM	#3
king of comedy Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Aug 31, 2012 Location: New Jersey Posts: 5,140	R.I.P. Bill Macy

10-27-2019, 01:42 PM	#4
dee2364 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Feb 20, 2019 Posts: 643	The funniest thing about Macy's appearance on the Gilbert Gottfried podcast is that he was making all these jokes about how he wasn't long for this world but then lived, like, another two years. Which is impressive because every time GG and his co-host have a guest on, they will literally die within a few months, which is why they do the show in the first place--to catch these legendary artists before they go.

10-27-2019, 02:05 PM	#5
MichaelKeith Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 01, 2007 Posts: 1,139	I just wish that the show "The Golden Girls" would have had Bill Macy on as a guest once or twice. It would have been fun to see him and Bea work together again.

11-06-2019, 05:53 PM	#6
JMFabiano524 Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 04, 2002 Posts: 525	Leaving Adrienne Barbeau as the sole survivor of the regulars.