Legendary stage actor Michael McGrath has died suddenly at the age of 65, according to tragic reports.
The Hollywood Reporter cite McGrath’s publicist as having confirmed the unfortunate news today – McGrath is said to have passed away at his home in Bloomfield, New Jersey on Thursday.
No cause of death has yet been determined, though his publicist reportedly described to Variety that it was “sudden”.
Hailing from Worcester, Massachusetts, McGrath was best known for his excellent work on the Broadway scene. The veteran actor had starring roles in Plaza Suite, Tootsie, Memphis, Born Yesterday and Wonderful Town.
He was also the first to take on the role of Patsy, King Arthur’s comically long-suffering sidekick, in Spamalot – that gig earned him a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.
Yet it was arguably his role of Cookie McGee in Nice Work If You Can Get It (2012) for which he will be best remembered. McGrath won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his depiction, as well as the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical.
As per the Hollywood Reporter, McGrath attended the Boston Conservatory at Berklee after graduating high school, though he left to pursue a career in acting after just three months.
After finding his feet in the industry, McGrath moved to New York and earned his first Broadway credit in 1992 via a role in My Favorite Year.
A number of high-profile roles followed, before he was cast as Patsy, King Arthur’s servant, in Eric Idle’s musical adaption of Monty Python and the Holy Grail named Spamalot.
“It was an amazing time in my life to work with such people as Mike Nichols and Tim Curry, Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce,” McGrath said in a 2014 interview of working on Spamalot.
“When the project was first presented to me, I thought, ‘How the hell are they gonna do a musical version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail? I just couldn’t see it. Nonetheless, when I was told that Mike Nichols was directing it, I jumped at the chance to be involved.”
Eric Idle wrote on Twitter: “Very saddened to hear that Michael McGrath our first and most beloved Patsy in Spamalot, has passed away. Warm hugs to all the Spamalot family and very happy memories of a lovely man.“
McGrath is survived by his wife of 30 years, Toni Di Buono, and daughter, Katie Claire McGrath.
Such sad news, our thoughts go out to the family. For more celebrity news, click here to read about the devastating update on Celine Dion’s condition – it confirms what we feared.
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