Bill Macy

Bill Macy, born Wolf Martin Garber on May 18, 1922, in Revere, Massachusetts, was an American actor whose career spanned stage, film, and television across more than five decades. The son of Mollie and Michael Garber, a manufacturer, he was raised Jewish in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. After completing his education at Samuel J. Tilden High School, Garber served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946, assigned to the 594th Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment with postings in the Philippines, New Guinea, and Japan. He spent roughly a decade driving a cab before his acting career began in earnest.

Macy's Broadway career ran from 1958 to 1980. His first credit came in 1958, when he was cast as understudy to Walter Matthau in the comedy Once More, With Feeling. He subsequently appeared in And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little and starred in The Roast. His stage work also included the long-running Off-Broadway revue Oh! Calcutta!, in which he was an original cast member, performing in the production from 1969 to 1971 during its 1969–1972 run. He later appeared in the 1972 film adaptation of that show. It was his work in Oh! Calcutta! that introduced him to producer Norman Lear, who recognized his comedic abilities and brought him to Hollywood.

Macy met his future wife, Samantha Harper, on the set of Oh! Calcutta! in 1969; the two married in 1975. That same year, the couple appeared together on the game show Tattletales.

On television, Macy is best remembered for playing Walter Findlay, husband to the title character on the CBS sitcom Maude, starring Bea Arthur. The show aired for six seasons from 1972 to 1978. Before landing that role, Lear had given him a small part as a police officer on All in the Family. Macy went on to make guest appearances on numerous television series, including two episodes of Highway to Heaven in 1985 and 1988, a 1986 episode of L.A. Law in which he played an older man whose young wife pursues a music career, and Perry Mason: The Case of the Murdered Madam in 1987, where he portrayed banker Richard Wilson. He appeared on The Facts of Life in 1988 and recurred on Seinfeld as a resident of the Florida retirement community where Jerry Seinfeld's parents lived. Additional guest roles came on Chicago Hope, Las Vegas, and, in his final television appearance, a 2010 episode of the Jada Pinkett Smith series Hawthorne.

His film work included a role as the jury foreman in The Producers in 1967, delivering the line "We find the defendants incredibly guilty." He played a co-inventor of the "Opti-Grab" in the 1979 Steve Martin comedy The Jerk and appeared as the head television writer in My Favourite Year in 1982. Earlier, he had portrayed a cab driver on the soap opera The Edge of Night in 1966. Among his many other film credits were Death at Love House, The Late Show, Serial, Movers and Shakers, Bad Medicine, Sibling Rivalry, The Doctor, Analyze This, Surviving Christmas, The Holiday, and Mr. Woodcock. In 1970, Macy also contributed a performance to the P. D. Q. Bach album The Stoned Guest.

Macy died in Los Angeles on October 17, 2019, at the age of 97.