John Mahoney passed away yesterday at the age of 77. His friends at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago were so upset yesterday they cancelled the night's performance and hung out at the bar in the lobby, toasting their good friend.
I met John several times over the years. The Chicago-area native was a down-to-earth nice guy--exactly like you'd expect if you've him on television and films.
I know most of the tributes to him over the past 24 hours have been about his great role on Frasier (including this touching one by Frasier writer/director Ken Levine), but to me, I will always remember him as the manager of the Chicago Black Sox in the movie "Eight Men Out"...
