CHICAGO (WASHINGTON POST) - John Mahoney, a British-born character actor who won a Tony Award and had roles in countless films, including Moonstruck, In The Line Of Fire and Say Anything, but was best known as the voice of common sense as Kelsey Grammer's father in the long-running NBC sitcom Frasier, died on Feb 4 after being hospitalised in Chicago. He was 77.

His manager, Paul Martino, announced the death but did not provide a cause.

Mahoney, who came to the United States when he was 19, served in the Army and worked as a hospital orderly and medical journal editor before turning to acting at age 37.

He frequently appeared on stage with Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre and in 1986 won a Tony Award for his Broadway performance in John Guare's The House Of Blue Leaves, playing a zookeeper with ambitions of becoming an actor.

After a decade of theatrical roles and small parts in films and television, Mahoney was cast in Frasier as Martin Crane, a widowed ex-police officer whose cranky, blue-collar manner was often in comic conflict with the cultured pretensions of his sons, a pair of psychiatrists played by Grammer and David Hyde Pierce.

Mahoney appeared in all 263 episodes of Frasier from 1993 to 2004 and was nominated for two Emmy Awards as best supporting actor. His character had taken early retirement from the police force after being shot in the hip. Throughout the 11 seasons of Frasier, Mahoney carried a cane and walked with a limp.

Although cast in a secondary role, he often supplied the voice of reason in contrast to his snooty, Harvard-educated sons. His garishly striped easy chair, patched with duct tape, was a constant source of embarrassment to his fastidious son.

Mahoney's character had occasional romantic flings - and even got married late in the series - but his constant companion was his spirited and emotionally astute dog, Eddie.