Barney Martin

For the baseball player, seeBarney Martin (baseball).

Barney Martin
Martin in theTony Randall Show(1977)
Born	(1923-03-03)March 3, 1923 New York City, U.S.
Died	March 21, 2005(2005-03-21)(aged 82) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1956–2000

Barney Martin(March 3, 1923 – March 21, 2005) was an American actor, best known for playingMorty Seinfeld,father ofJerry,on the sitcomSeinfeld(1991-1998). He also played supporting roles inMel Brooks'sThe Producers(1967), and theDudley MoorecomedyArthur(1981). He originated the role of Amos Hart (Mr. Cellophane) in the 1976Broadwayproduction ofChicago.

Early life

Barney Martin was born inNew York Cityon March 3, 1923.He served in theU.S. Army Air Forceas anavigatorduring theSecond World Warand worked as aNYPDofficer for twenty years, working his way up todetective.He got his start as a comedian while still apolice officer,providingdeputy commissionerswith humorous presentations.

Martin once commented that manyJewishSeinfeldfans told him how much his character reminded them of their fathers. Martin himself was from anIrish Catholicfamily.

Career

Entering show business as a stand-in forJackie GleasoninThe Honeymoonersin 1955–56 and as a part-time writer forSteve Allenin the 1950s, he was discovered byMel Brooks,who cast him inThe Producers.The next year, he played the role of Hank inCharly.He went on to act in dozens of films, including the role ofLiza Minnelli's unemployed father in the hit 1981 filmArthurand its 1988 sequel,Arthur 2: On the Rocks.

Martin withTony RandallandRachel Robertsin theTony Randall Showin 1976

On television, he appeared in two episodes ofThe Odd Couple,once in a very early episode as an irate fellow juror infuriated with Felix Unger's pesty personality and four years later as a fellow subway train passenger. Shortly after, Martin co-starred with Tony Randall for two seasons inThe Tony Randall Showas court reporter Jack Terwilliger.Throughout the run of this show, he had second billing only to Randall himself. In 1979, he was cast as the title character in Norman Lear's final TV series concept,McGurk: A Dog's Life.Martin was cast to play a character similar to Lear's earlier creation,Archie Bunker,but played as a dog. Only the pilot was completed. In 1990, he co-starred withValerie BertinelliandMatthew Perryin theCBSsitcomSydney.In 1987, he appeared in the pilot episode of21 Jump StreetasJohnny Depp's partner. In 1993, Martin played the recurring role of "Pete Peters" on theDon Ricklessit-comDaddy Dearest.

In 1975, Martin originated the role of Amos Hart in the Broadway musicalChicago,in which he introduced the song "Mr. Cellophane". He appeared in many more musicals during his career, most notablySouth Pacific,The Fantasticks,andHow Now, Dow Jones.Much of Martin's work has been in television, where he had a long career as acharacter actor.He played a gangster called the "Cheese Man" in aGolden Girlsepisode. He played a love interest for Thelma Harper in the Hawaii episode ofMama's Family,and he played the father of Frank Fontana onMurphy Brown.He appeared in an episode ofFull Houseas Ranger Roy, the host of a popular kids' TV show. In 1981, he portrayed Ralph Marolla, father of Liza Minnelli's character in the filmArthurand the following year appeared onBarney Millerin the episode "Obituary".

In 1991, Martin was cast as the fictional father of Jerry Seinfeld,Morty Seinfeldin the sitcomSeinfeld.His first appearance was in Season 2's "The Pony Remark".Martin replacedPhil Bruns,who first portrayed the character in Season 1's "The Stake Out".Although he was the second actor to portray Jerry's dad in the show, he is the one most associated with the role, as Bruns only appeared in one episode. Martin took on the role upon showrunners Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld deciding they wanted the character of Morty Seinfeld to be harsher, as they thought Bruns was too laid-back for the character.He retained this role until the series ended in 1998.

Death

Martin died ofbladder canceron March 21, 2005, inStudio City, Los Angeles,California, at age 82. He wascremated,and his ashes were returned to his family.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1956	The Wrong Man	Juror	Uncredited
1959	Odds Against Tomorrow	Car Accident Driver	Uncredited
1961	The Young Doctors	Bus Driver	Uncredited
1963	Love with the Proper Stranger	Sidney	Uncredited
1967	The Producers	Göring
1968	Charly	Hank
1970	Lola	Doorman, Efficient but Fat
1978	Movie Movie	Motorcycle Cop	(segment "Baxter's Beauties of 1933" )
1979	Hot Stuff	Kiley
1981	Arthur	Ralph Marolla
1988	Arthur 2: On the Rocks	Ralph Marolla
1989	Deadly Weapon	Mayor Bigelow
1992	Hero	Court Official	Uncredited

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1955	The Phil Silvers Show	Police Officer	Episode: "The Boxer"
1957	To Tell the Truth	Imposter Portraying Jack Bothwell (Freckles from "Our Gang" )	Episode: Aired Nov 26, 1957
1958	I've Got A Secret	Himself, a contestant in a laughing competition	Episode: Aired April 2, 1958
1961	Naked City	Bartender	Episode: "Landscape with Dead Figures"
1963	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Rupert Harney	Season 2 Episode 5: "Blood Bargain"
1963	Car 54, Where Are You?	Friar Charlie Donovan	Episode: "See you at the Bar Mitzvah"
1970-74	The Odd Couple	Man #3 / Mr. Moss	2 episodes
1976-78	The Tony Randall Show	Jack Terwillinger	38 episodes
1978	Happy Days	G.W. Burch	Episode: "Fonzie for the Defense"
1982	Benson	Frank Cooper	2 episodes
1983-86	Trapper John, M.D.	Fella / Herbert Mitchell	2 episodes
1983	Hill Street Blues	Ben Seltzer	2 episodes
1984	Night Court	Bum	Episode: "The Former Harry Stone"
1984	St. Elsewhere	Mr. Duffy	2 episodes
1985	The Twilight Zone	Marty	Episode: "Dealer's Choice"
1985	Diff'rent Strokes	Bill Perkins	Episode: "Blue Collar Drummond"
1986	Highway To Heaven	Barney	Episode: "A Night to Remember"
1986	Punky Brewster	Dr. Evans	2 episodes
1987	21 Jump Street	Edison Coulter / Charlie Donegan	2 episodes
1987-89	Murder, She Wrote	Lieutenant Timothy Hanratty	2 episodes
1988	Mama's Family	Billy Field
1989	Pucker Up and Bark Like a Dog	Rudy Phillips	Television movie
1991	Full House	Ranger Roy	Episode: "The Legend of Ranger Joe"
1991	Golden Girls	Karl "Cheeseman" Moran	Episode: "Witness"
1991-92	Life Goes On	Stan Baker	5 episodes
1991–98	Seinfeld	Morty Seinfeld	20 episodes
1993	Daddy Dearest	Pete Peters	13 episodes
1993	The Wonder Years	Old Kevin	1 episode
2000–01	Buzz Lightyear of Star Command	Ambassador Major	Voice; 2 Episodes

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1962	All American	Various roles	Winter Garden Theatre,Broadway
1967	How Now, Dow Jones	Bradbury	Lunt-Fontanne Theater,Broadway
1974	All Over Town	Detective Peterson	Booth Theatre,Broadway
1975	Chicago	Amos Hart	46th Street Theatre,Broadway
1980	The Roast	Sid Ball	Winter Garden Theatre, Broadway

References

https:// imdb /title/tt0536385/

External links

• Barney MartinatIMDb
• Barney Martinat theInternet Broadway Database
• Barney Martinat theInternet Off-Broadway Database