{{Short description|American actor (1922–2019)}} {{Distinguish|William H. Macy|Bill Marcy}} {{Use American English|date=May 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox person | image = Bill Macy (cropped) (2).JPG | caption = Macy in ''[[Maude (TV series)|Maude]]'' (1973) | name = Bill Macy | birth_name = Wolf Martin Garber | birth_date = {{Birth date|1922|05|18}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|10|17|1922|05|18}} | birth_place = [[Revere, Massachusetts]], U.S. | occupation = Actor | death_place = [[Los Angeles]], California, U.S. | years_active = 1958–2011 | spouse = {{marriage|Samantha Harper|1975}} }}
'''Wolf Martin Garber''' (May 18, 1922 – October 17, 2019), known professionally as '''Bill Macy''', was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was best known for his role of Walter Findlay on the [[CBS]] [[sitcom]] ''[[Maude (TV series)|Maude]]'' (1972–1978).
== Early life == Bill Macy was born Wolf Martin Garber on May 18, 1922, in [[Revere, Massachusetts]], the son of Mollie (née Friedopfer; 1889–1986) and Michael Garber (1884–1974), a manufacturer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/93/Bill-Macy.html |title=Bill Macy Biography (1922-) |website=filmreference.com |access-date=December 25, 2014}}</ref>
He was raised Jewish in the [[East Flatbush, Brooklyn|East Flatbush]] section of [[New York, New York]]. After graduating from [[Samuel J. Tilden High School]] he served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946 with the [[594th Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment]], stationed in the Philippines, New Guinea and Japan.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Slotnik |first=Daniel E. |date=2019-10-18 |title=Bill Macy, a Memorable Sitcom Foil on 'Maude,' Dies at 97 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url-access=subscription |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/arts/television/bill-macy-dead.html |access-date=2022-04-10 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
He worked as a cab driver for a decade before being cast as [[Walter Matthau]]'s understudy in ''Once More, with Feeling'' on Broadway in 1958. He portrayed a cab driver on the soap opera ''[[The Edge of Night]]'' in 1966.
Macy was an original cast member of the 1969–1972 [[Off-Broadway]] revue ''[[Oh! Calcutta!]]'',<ref name=":1">{{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2019/10/18/bill-macy-bea-arthurs-maude-co-star-dead-at-97/ |title=Bill Macy, Bea Arthur's 'Maude' co-star, dead at 97 |last=Hegedus |first=Eric |date=October 18, 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref> performing in the show from 1969 to 1971.<ref name=":2">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/bill-macy-long-suffering-husband-on-maude-dies-at-97/2019/10/18/e52e3fba-f1c9-11e9-8693-f487e46784aa_story.html |title=Bill Macy, long-suffering husband on 'Maude,' dies at 97 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |work=[[The Washington Post]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref> He later appeared in the 1972 movie version of the musical.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/maude-co-star-character-actor-bill-macy-dies-97-n1068846|title='Maude' co-star, character actor Bill Macy dies at 97 |work=[[NBC News]] |access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref> Of appearing fully nude with the rest of the cast in the stage show, he said, "The nudity didn't bother me. I'm from Brooklyn."<ref name=":1" />
Macy performed on the [[P. D. Q. Bach]] album ''[[The Stoned Guest (album)|The Stoned Guest]]'' (1970).
== Television == Appreciating Macy's comedic skills off Broadway, [[Norman Lear]] brought him to Hollywood, where he first got a small part as a police officer in ''[[All in the Family]].'' He was cast in the role of Walter Findlay, the husband of the title character on the 1970s television sitcom ''[[Maude (TV series)|Maude]]'', starring [[Bea Arthur]]. The show ran for six seasons from 1972 to 1978.<ref name=":0" />
{{Quote box | quote = "He was a rare and great comic actor. There was only one Bill Macy." | source = — [[Norman Lear]] | align = left | width = 150px }}
Strangers on the street often called him "Mr. Maude", consoling him for having such a difficult wife. "I used to tell them that people like that really existed," Macy explained.<ref name=":3">{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2019/10/18/bill-macy-maude-husband-dead-97/4022258002/ |title=Bill Macy, who played Bea Arthur's husband in 'Maude,' dead at 97 |last=Moniuszko |first=Sara M. |date=October 18, 2019 |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref>
In 1975, Macy and Samantha Harper Macy appeared on the game show ''[[Tattletales]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Tattletales'', Episode #2.119 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5898338/ |website=IMDb |access-date=15 August 2021}}</ref>
Macy guest-starred in two episodes of ''[[Highway to Heaven]]'' in 1985 and 1988, playing a different character in each episode. In 1986, he was a guest on the fourth episode of ''[[L.A. Law]]'', playing an older man whose young wife wants a music career.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49GqTavWOEQ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191207140522/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49GqTavWOEQ| archive-date=2019-12-07 | url-status=dead|title=LA Law Season 01 Episode 04: The House of the Rising Flan |via=YouTube |access-date=October 18, 2019}}</ref> Macy appeared in the television movie ''[[Perry Mason (TV film series)|Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam]]'' (1987) as banker Richard Wilson. He appeared on ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]'' in a 1988 episode. He occasionally appeared on ''[[Seinfeld]]'' as one of the residents of the Florida retirement community where [[Jerry Seinfeld (character)|Jerry Seinfeld]]'s parents lived. Macy made a guest appearance as a patient on ''[[Chicago Hope]]'' and as an aging gambler on the series ''[[Las Vegas (TV series)|Las Vegas]]''. Macy's last television role was in a 2010 episode of [[Jada Pinkett Smith]]'s series ''[[Hawthorne (TV series)|Hawthorne]]''.<ref name=":1" />
== Film == Macy appeared as the jury foreman in ''[[The Producers (1967 film)|The Producers]]'' in 1967, with the memorable sole line "We find the defendants incredibly guilty". Other memorable roles include the co-inventor of the "Opti-Grab" in the 1979 [[Steve Martin]] comedy ''[[The Jerk]]'' and as the head television writer in ''[[My Favourite Year]]'' (1982).
Other film credits included roles in ''[[Death at Love House]]'' (1976), ''[[The Late Show (film)|The Late Show]]'' (1977), ''[[Serial (1980 film)|Serial]]'' (1980), ''[[Movers & Shakers (film)|Movers & Shakers]]'' (1985), ''[[Bad Medicine (film)|Bad Medicine]]'' (1985), ''[[Tales from the Darkside]]'' (1985 - "Lifebomb" episode), ''[[Sibling Rivalry (film)|Sibling Rivalry]]'' (1990), ''[[The Doctor (1991 film)|The Doctor]]'' (1991), ''[[Me Myself & I (film)|Me Myself & I]]'' (1992), ''[[Analyze This]]'' (1999), ''[[Surviving Christmas]]'' (2004), ''[[The Holiday]]'' (2006), and ''[[Mr. Woodcock]]'' (2007).<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment-and-culture/2019/10/18/20921583/bill-macy-maude-dies-at-97 |title=Actor Bill Macy, co-starred on 'Maude,' dies at 97 |last=Elber |first=Lynn |date=October 18, 2019 |agency=Associated Press |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref>
== Personal life == Macy met his future wife, Samantha Harper, on the set of ''Oh! Calcutta!'' in 1969.<ref name=":0">{{cite magazine |url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/bill-macy-dead-dies-maude-1203375266/ |title='Maude' Star Bill Macy Dies at 97 |last=Nichols |first=Mackenzie |date=October 18, 2019 |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=October 19, 2019}}</ref> They married in 1975.<ref name=":2" />
Macy died in Los Angeles on October 17, 2019, at the age of 97; no cause was given.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bill-macy-dead-maude-husband-922206 |title=Bill Macy, Bea Arthur's Husband on 'Maude,' Dies at 97 |magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |last=Barnes |first=Mike |date=October 18, 2019 |access-date=December 18, 2019}}</ref>
==Filmography/television== {|class=wikitable unsortable !Year(s) !Title !Role !Notes |- !1967 |''[[The Producers (1967 film)|The Producers]]'' |Jury Foreman |Uncredited |- !1972 |''[[Oh! Calcutta!]]'' |Monte / Mute Physician | |- !1972–1978 |''[[Maude (TV series)|Maude]]'' |Walter Findlay |Main role; 141 episodes |- !1977 |''[[The Late Show (film)|The Late Show]]'' |Charlie Hatter | |- !1979 |''[[The Jerk]]'' |Stan Fox | |- !1980 |''[[Serial (1980 film)|Serial]]'' |Sam | |- !1982 |''[[My Favorite Year]]'' |Sy Benson | |- !rowspan=2|1985 |''[[Movers & Shakers (film)|Movers & Shakers]]'' |Sid Spokane | |- |''[[Bad Medicine (film)|Bad Medicine]]'' |Dr. Gerald Marx | |- !1986 |''[[Murder, She Wrote]]'' |Myron Kinkaid |Episode: "Corned Beef & Carnage" |- !1988 |''[[The Law & Harry McGraw]]'' |Marvin Gershowitz |Episode: "Waiting Game" |- !1990 |''[[Sibling Rivalry (film)|Sibling Rivalry]]'' |Pat | |- !1991 |''[[The Doctor (1991 film)|The Doctor]]'' |Al Cade | |- !1992 |''[[Me Myself & I (film)|Me Myself & I]]'' |Sydney | |- !1994 |''[[Diagnosis: Murder]]'' |Eugene McReedy |Episode: "The Busy Body" |- !1999 |''[[Analyze This]]'' |Dr. Isaac Sobel | |- !2004 |''[[Surviving Christmas]]'' |Doo-Dah | |- !2006 |''[[The Holiday]]'' |Ernie | |- !2006 |''[[Las Vegas]]'' |Sharkey |- !2007 |''[[Mr. Woodcock]]'' |Mr. Woodcock's Dad | |}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == *{{IMDb name}} *{{IBDB name}} *[https://www.spectra.theater/explore/artist/079e1317-b8dc-4673-9fb2-999d305d7c13 Bill Macy] at the [[Internet Off-Broadway Database]] * {{Discogs artist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Macy, Bill}} [[Category:1922 births]] [[Category:2019 deaths]] [[Category:American male film actors]] [[Category:American male television actors]] [[Category:Actors from Revere, Massachusetts]] [[Category:American male musical theatre actors]] [[Category:American television personalities]] [[Category:Jewish American male actors]] [[Category:Male actors from Suffolk County, Massachusetts]] [[Category:20th-century American male actors]] [[Category:21st-century American male actors]] [[Category:21st-century American Jews]]