John McMartin has passed

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JBroadway
#1John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 1:09am

A post on ATC alerted me to this, and a search on Twitter shows many people tweeting about it, including Shaun Cassidy, his co-star from "The Subject Was Roses." 

https://twitter.com/shaunpcassidy/status/750916983970029568

A very great loss, indeed. I had the pleasure of seeing him in Anything Goes and All The Way, as well as hearing him on multiple cast recordings. A wonderful actor, who will be sorely missed from the NY stage. 

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Huss417
#2John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 1:16am

Sorry to hear this.


"I hope your Fanny is bigger than my Peter." Mary Martin to Ezio Pinza opening night of Fanny.

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Mildred Plotka
#3John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 1:27am

So sad. Rip to a talented, kind man. I was just listening to Follies the other day and remembered that he was the only of the 4 leads left.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luydh4zUry4

 


"Broadway...I'll lick you yet!"
Updated On: 7/7/16 at 01:27 AM

UncleCharlie
#4John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 1:39am

Like so many character actors, the name may not instantly ring a bell but you see the face and in his case, hear the voice and you immediately recall seeing him in a dozen different things, R.I.P. John.

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Mr. Nowack
#5John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 2:07am

RIP, so very sad to hear. He had a marvellous career.


Keeping BroadwayWorld Illustrated

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Scarywarhol
#6John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 2:43am

One of the greatest. What a fabulous list of shows he was involved in. And what a true pro all his life. 

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TotallyEffed
#7John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 4:29am

What a legend. So sorry to hear this.

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imeldasturn
#8John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 4:42am

Such a fantastic actor, he will be missed.

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WhizzerMarvin
#9John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 4:56am

This is extremely sad and shocking news. He was constantly working and always elevated both the material and other actors in whatever play he was in. "The Road You Didn't Take" is one of the greatest and his version is still the one to beat. 


Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco. Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!

After Eight
#10John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 5:51am

So sorry to hear this. He was great in everything he appeared in. He was so wonderful in the elevator scene in Sweet Charity.

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AC126748
#11John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 6:51am

He was a bright light on the stage for so many years, almost right up until the end. Here is a link to his paid death notice, which appeared in the Times today:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?n=john-mcmartin&pid=180582318&

I imagine a formal obituary will follow.


"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe." -John Guare, Landscape of the Body

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devonian.t
#12John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 6:54am

What a wonderful contribution he made.  A great man.

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artscallion
#13John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 6:55am

Saw him in Into The Woods and Grey Gardens. And enjoyed him over the years on many cast recordings and videos. A great loss.


Art has a double face, of expression and illusion.

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disneybroadwayfan22
#14John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 7:00am

Aw dammit. John McMartin has passed I saw him in Anything Goes with SF and LO, and he was great.

Dollypop
#15John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 7:02am

I had the pleasure of interviewing John for BWW several years ago and he mailed me a Christmas card every year since. A true gentleman.


"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)

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best12bars
#16John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 7:05am

Very sad to hear this. I saw him on Broadway in "Show Boat" and "Grey Gardens." He was always memorable, and so talented. RIP


"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22

mamaleh
#17John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 7:21am

He was my very first Broadway crush, back in my adolescence.  What an amazingly versatile actor and lovely human being, one of the stalwarts of Broadway.  About 20 years ago I wrote him a letter wishing him well on his new project and detailing how I'd followed his career since SWEET CHARITY, and he invited me and my husband to meet him backstage after a performance. I sent him a birthday card every year and made sure to catch each of his NYC stage appearances.  My sympathies to his family. What a loss to the theater--even if it never rewarded him with the Tony he so richly deserved. .

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WhizzerMarvin
#18John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 7:24am

^ Agree 100%. It would be lovely to see him honored with a Lifetime Achievement Tony. 


Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco. Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!

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sabrelady
#19John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 7:27am

Saw him list in "Is He Dead?" Totally elevated the material. A life well lived.

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TheGingerBreadMan
#20John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 7:44am

I'm shocked and saddened by the news. What a loss. Rest in peace. 

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castlestreet
#21John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 8:31am

RIP...a true Broadway legend and a real gentleman... 

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DottieD'Luscia
#22John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 8:31am

I forgot he was in the Showboat revival which I had seen numerous times.


Hey Dottie! Did your colleagues enjoy the cake even though your cat decided to sit on it? ~GuyfromGermany

wonkit
#23John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 8:35am

What a talented actor! He will be missed. My condolences to his family and many friends and followers. 

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PalJoey
#24John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 8:36am

 

I saw this five times. Without bombast or exaggeration, I can honestly say it changed my life.

 

 


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YouDon'tClimbTrees?
#25John McMartin has passed
Posted: 7/7/16 at 8:48am

Very sad. I saw him in Grey Gardens and Is He Dead? but I also used to see him walking through Shubert Alley.