Summary
John Mahoney was famous for his role as Martin Crane onFrasierand his passing was a real loss for his castmates and crew, particularly Kelsey Grammer.Frasier, a spin-off series from the hit sitcomCheers, was itself a massive cultural touchstone. Over 11 seasons from 1993 to 2004, viewers got to know the uptight Dr. Frasier Crane (Grammer) and his friends and family in Seattle, Washington. His father, Martin (Mahoney), is a retired police detective and an outspoken thorn in his son’s side, though the two deeply love one another.
In 2023,the first season of theFrasierrevival premiered, introducing new characters and returning some beloved old ones. Sadly, one character who did not return was Martin.John Mahoney passed away on July 08, 2025, at the age of 77. The Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated actor died due to complications resulting from throat cancer (viaVanity Fair). His passing left a hole in the revival and it also rocked many of the actors he had worked with over the years. Grammar, in particular, has been open about how Mahoney’s passing has affected him.
John Mahoney’s Favorite Episode Of Frasier
John Mahoney played Frasier’s father Martin Crane in the classic sitcom, and his personal favorite episode of Frasier comes from the first season.
Kelsey Grammer Has Been Tearfully Candid About The Loss Of John Mahoney
Kelsey Thought Of His Television Father As His Real Father
In December 2023, Grammer appeared in an interview withThe Projectwhere he candidly discussed theFrasierrevival and specifically, his feelings on John Mahoney not being a part of the show anymore. Halfway through the discussion,Grammer gets visibly choked up talking about his friendand says,
“It was always determined if someone wanted to do this show again we had to honor John and honor his passing as Martin. So it was like losing a father and that was emotional. It just was. And you don’t shy away from it. You just go for it and embrace it and I had other things in mind as to how to interject him that technically didn’t work so well… We had to let that go and just let Frasier have his moment when he offers his son the flag and that seemed to work beautifully, but we still wanted to say goodbye to John and that’s how we did it.”
This is not the only time Grammer has spoken from the heart about Mahoney. In an interview withThe Talk, Grammer tearfully discusses honoring Mahoney in the revival,
“The idea always was that we had to deal with the fact that he was gone. The right thing is that Frasier has just gone to his funeral and is now an orphan, like we all are at some point in our lives, and he has to come to terms with the fact his Dad’s gone, and he realizes in that moment when he’s talking to his son the idea that he saw an image of his father and thought ‘I have to do this and that’s when he decides he has to stay in Boston.’… I loved him madly, and we got along really well.”
After Mahoney passed, Grammer posted an image onX, with the caption, “He was my father. I loved him.”
Martin could be a cantankerous grump onFrasierand often butted heads with his more uptight and sophisticated son Frasier, but when it got down to it, the pair obviously loved each other very much. From Grammer’s many comments on Mahoney, it’s clearthe actors shared an even more loving relationship than the one depicted on the show. This isn’t just a co-worker fondly remembering a friend; there was a real, familial-type love between Mahoney and Grammer that was more than the relationship that develops between two actors working closely together.
John Mahoney also appeared in season 11, episode 5 ofCheers, as an unrelated character, Sy Flembeck.
How The Frasier Revival Honored John Mahoney
The Frasier Premiere Makes Martin Crane Crucial To The Story
Mahoney’s death was something theFrasierrevival addressed head-on, as nobody on the show wanted to avoid it. Wisely, the showrunners found a way to honor both Mahoney and his character in the season premiere. The episode starts with Frasier traveling to Boston to attend the funeral of his father. Frasier’s son, Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott), also lives in Boston, but he doesn’t go. The relationship between Frasier and Freddy is prickly, mirroring the previous generation’s.
The bar in theFrasierrevival is named “Mahoney’s” and Eve’s (Jess Salgueiro) son is named “John” as a tribute to the late actor.
Towards the end of the episode, the pair have a heart-to-heart and Frasier gifts his son Martin’s flag from his police days. In that moment, Frasier decides he will stay in Boston, kicking off the revival. The episode ends with a dedication to a few other people close to the series who passed away including Gabrielle James, Archie Lyndhurst, and, of course,John Mahoney, who is shown in a vintage clip from hisFrasierdays, sitting in front of a fire and telling the audience, “It all works out”.
Passed on August 16, 2025, at 77 from throat cancer
Passed in 2022 at the age of 88
Passed on July 21, 2025, at 19 from Leukemia
Frasier
Cast
Fraiser is a comedy-drama sitcom that stars Kelsey Grammer as a psychiatrist who takes up the role of a radio show host in Seattle after his life in Boston is upheaved. A spin-off of the series Cheers, Fraiser follows the titular character adjusting to the single life while caring for his father (a retired police officer,) his brother, and other eccentric co-workers.
