Law & Order, Murder She Wrote: Actor John McMartin Dies at 86

Actor John McMartin is dead at age 86. (Photo © Nick Stepowyj; licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.)

Prolific character actor, John McMartin, has died at the age of 86. A veteran of stage and screen, he was born August 21, 1929 in Warsaw, Indiana and raised in Minnesota. McMartin’s first professional credit is for playing Ed Rice on the As the World Turns TV show from 1961 to 1963. The daytime soap opera was cancelled by CBS in 2010.

Per IMDb, McMartin’s final TV series credit was for the 2015 episode of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt TV show, “Kimmy Goes on a Date!” McMartin’s other recent TV series work includes Law & Order (1992-2009), Oz (2000), Touched By an Angel (1997-98), and Murder She Wrote (1985-91).

THR reports:

McMartin’s manager, Tony Cloer, said the actor died of cancer Wednesday in New York surrounded by his family and his longtime companion, Charlotte Moore.

The silver-haired actor, who was equally at home in plays as well as musicals, was nominated for five Tonys, the first of which was for 1966’s Sweet Charity and included mentions for Don Juan, Show Boat and High Society.

McMartin also earned a Tony nom for his role in the 2002 Tony-winning revival of the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical Into the Woods, playing the narrator opposite Vanessa Williams as the Witch. Other recent Broadway credits include the 2011 revival of Anything Goes, A Free Man of Color in 2010 and Grey Gardens in 2006.

In 1994, McMartin starred as Cap’n Andy in a revival of Show Boat, the classic Broadway musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II, reinterpreted by director Harold Prince. The cast also included Elaine Stritch as Parthy, Mark Jacoby as Gaylord Ravenal and Rebecca Luker as Magnolia. McMartin also appeared in the Cole Porter musical Happy New Year in 1980.

The Warsaw, Ind., native was most famous for originating the role of Ben Stone in Sondheim’s Follies. He remained active into his 80s, last starring on Broadway as Sen. Richard Russell in All the Way, the play about Lyndon Johnson featuring Bryan Cranston in 2013.

McMartin also had many film and TV roles. He played a newspaper editor in the classic 1976 film All the President’s Men […]

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