Michael McGrath

Michael McGrath (September 25, 1957 – September 14, 2023) was an American actor born in Worcester, Massachusetts, whose Broadway career spanned from 1992 to 2019. He was married to actress Toni DiBuono, whom he met while both were working in the Boston production of Forbidden Broadway. McGrath died at his home in Bloomfield, New Jersey, eleven days before his 66th birthday.

McGrath built his early Broadway career as an ensemble member and understudy, contributing to productions including My Favorite Year, Swinging on a Star, and Little Me. He received a Theatre World Award in 1996. His featured roles grew in prominence over the following decade, with appearances as Moonface Martin in Anything Goes (2002) and as Chick Clark in Wonderful Town (2003). In 2005, McGrath played Patsy in Spamalot, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

From December 2007 through February 2008, McGrath starred on Broadway in the play Is He Dead?, portraying the character Agamemnon Buckner. In 2009, he originated the role of Mr. Simmons in the Broadway production of Memphis. McGrath also starred in the play She Loves Me Not during his Broadway career.

His most celebrated stage work came in 2012, when he played Cookie McGee in Nice Work If You Can Get It. The performance earned him both the Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical. He subsequently appeared in Tootsie, extending a Broadway career that continued through 2019.

Beyond his featured roles, McGrath participated in pre-Broadway and regional productions. In 2014, he replaced Roger Bart in the A.R.T. pre-Broadway production of Finding Neverland, taking on the dual role of Charles Frohman and Captain James Hook. That same year he appeared in a workshop of The Honeymooners, a musical based on the television comedy of the same name. The production later premiered at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey, on September 28, 2017, with McGrath starring as Ralph Kramden alongside Michael Mastro as Ed Norton, Leslie Kritzer as Alice Kramden, and Laura Bell Bundy as Trixie Norton. On television, McGrath served as announcer and sidekick on The Martin Short Show.