"Raymond"'s Peter Boyle dies

rbs3676 · #1 12-13-2006, 01:25 PM

NEW YORK (AP) -- Peter Boyle, the tall, prematurely bald actor who was the tap-dancing monster in "Young Frankenstein" and the curmudgeonly father in the long-running sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," has died. He was 71.

Boyle died Tuesday evening at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He had been suffering from multiple myeloma and heart disease, said his publicist, Jennifer Plante.

A Christian Brothers monk who turned to acting, Boyle gained notice playing an angry workingman in the 1970 sleeper hit "Joe," playing an angry, murderous bigot at odds with the emerging hippie youth culture.

Briefly typecast in tough, irate roles, Boyle began to escape the image as Robert Redford's campaign manager in "The Candidate" and left it behind entirely after "Young Frankenstein," Mel Brooks' 1974 send-up of horror films. (Blog: An appreciation)

The latter movie's defining moment came when Gene Wilder, as scientist Frederick Frankenstein, introduced his creation to an upscale audience. Boyle, decked out in tails, performed a song-and-dance routine to the Irving Berlin classic "Puttin' On the Ritz."

It showed another side of the Emmy-winning actor, one that would be exploited in countless other films and perhaps best in "Everybody Loves Raymond," in which he played incorrigible paterfamilias Frank Barone for 10 years.

"He's just obnoxious in a nice way, just for laughs," he said of the character in a 2001 interview. "It's a very sweet experience having this happen at a time when you basically go back over your life and see every mistake you ever made."

When Boyle tried out for the role opposite series star Ray Romano's Ray Barone, however, he was kept waiting for his audition -- and he was not happy.

"He came in all hot and angry," recalled the show's creator, Phil Rosenthal, "and I hired him because I was afraid of him."

But Rosenthal also noted: "I knew right away that he had a comic presence."

Impact of 'Joe'
Boyle first came to the public's attention more than a quarter century before. "Joe" was a sleeper hit in which he portrayed the title role, an angry, murderous bigot at odds with the era's emerging hippie youth culture.

Although critically acclaimed, he faced being categorized as someone who played tough, angry types. He broke free of that to some degree as Robert Redford's campaign manager in "The Candidate," and shed it entirely in "Young Frankenstein."

The latter film also led to the actor meeting his wife, Loraine Alterman, who visited the set as a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine. Boyle, still in his monster makeup, quickly asked her for a date.

He went on to appear in dozens of films and to star in "Joe Bash," an acclaimed but short-lived 1986 "dramedy" in which he played a lonely beat cop. He won an Emmy in 1996 for his guest-starring role in an episode of "The X Files," and he was nominated for "Everybody Loves Raymond" and for the 1977 TV film "Tail Gunner Joe," in which he played Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

In the 1976 film "Taxi Driver," he was the cabbie-philosopher Wizard, who counseled Robert DeNiro's violent Travis Bickle.

Other notable films included "T.R. Baskin," "F.I.S.T.," "Johnny Dangerously," "Conspiracy: Trial of the Chicago 8" (as activist David Dellinger), "The Dream Team," "The Santa Claus," "The Santa Claus 2," "While You Were Sleeping" (in a charming turn as Sandra Bullock's future father-in-law) and "Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed."

'The normal pull of the world'
The son of a local TV personality in Philadelphia, Boyle was educated in Roman Catholic schools and spent three years in a monastery before abandoning his religious studies. He later described the experience as similar to "living in the Middle Ages."

He explained his decision to leave in 1991: "I felt the call for awhile; then I felt the normal pull of the world and the flesh."

He traveled to New York to study with Uta Hagen, supporting himself for five years with various jobs, including postal worker, waiter, maitre d' and office temp. Finally, he was cast in a road company version of "The Odd Couple." When the play reached Chicago he quit to study with that city's famed improvisational troupe Second City.

Upon returning to New York, he began to land roles in TV commercials, off-Broadway plays and finally films.

Through Alterman, a friend of Yoko Ono, the actor became close friends with John Lennon.

"We were both seekers after a truth, looking for a quick way to enlightenment," Boyle once said of Lennon, who was best man at his wedding.

In 1990, Boyle suffered a stroke and couldn't talk for six months. In 1999, he had a heart attack on the set of "Everybody Loves Raymond." He soon regained his health, however, and returned to the series. (Read story)

Despite his work in "Everybody Loves Raymond" and other Hollywood productions, Boyle made New York City his home. He and his wife had two daughters, Lucy and Amy.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press

carrie721 · #2 12-13-2006, 01:30 PM

holy cow ... that is so sad. RIP peter.

strandinthewind · #3 12-13-2006, 01:30 PM

Dressed up like a Million Dollar Trooper

SSSSWWWUUUUPPPPAAAHHHRRRRR DDWWWUUUUPPPPAAAHHHRRRR

SuzeQuze · #4 12-13-2006, 01:35 PM

Oh crap, I loved that guy. RIP.

danax6 · #5 12-13-2006, 01:38 PM

Aw, that makes me very sad. He starred in one of my favourite XF episodes ever.

carrie721 · #6 12-13-2006, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danax6

Aw, that makes me very sad. He starred in one of my favourite XF episodes ever.

RIP clyde bruckman!

bikerchic · #7 12-13-2006, 02:08 PM

As sad as that is, he was one miserable prick on Raymond. His character in the movie "Monster's Ball" really disturbed me.

DrummerDeanna · #8 12-13-2006, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carrie721

RIP clyde bruckman!

NOOOO....this is so sad! I read recently that he was sick and I was afraid this was near...I LOVE Peter Boyle is all I've seen him in...he will be missed

PsychCat · #9 12-13-2006, 02:30 PM

It was so great to see him achieve the recognition he deserved in his later years. It's a shame they never gave him an Emmy, tho.
He will forever be Dr. Frahnkenshteen's monster as far as I'm concerned.

HomerMcvie · #10 12-13-2006, 03:00 PM

Holy crap!!! He was my favorite character on ELR.
Rest in peace, Peter.

DrummerDeanna · #11 12-13-2006, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsychCat

It was so great to see him achieve the recognition he deserved in his later years. It's a shame they never gave him an Emmy, tho.
He will forever be Dr. Frahnkenshteen's monster as far as I'm concerned.

Well he didn't get an Emmy for Raymond, but he did get one for his role as Clyde Bruckman on The X-Files...which is one of my favorite episodes...

AliceLover · #12 12-13-2006, 04:03 PM

Awwwwww this is so sad!!!! My family still watched re-runs of ELR... I will miss him greatly.

mikeschmike · #13 12-13-2006, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsychCat

He will forever be Dr. Frahnkenshteen's monster as far as I'm concerned.

agreed! today is a sad day...

SuzeQuze · #14 12-13-2006, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikerchic

As sad as that is, he was one miserable prick on Raymond. His character in the movie "Monster's Ball" really disturbed me.

That whole movie was disturbing.

But yes, his character was brutal.

My grandfather is miserable so Frank kind of reminded me of him and cracked me up. Should I reveal this? What the hell, my grandfather once said of his girlfriend (she wasn't present), "She's uglier than a bucket of *ssholes but I love her."

No, I'm not kidding, I wish I were.

goldustsongbird · #15 12-13-2006, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrummerDeanna

NOOOO....this is so sad! I read recently that he was sick and I was afraid this was near...I LOVE Peter Boyle is all I've seen him in...he will be missed

Hey, at least he ended up in bed with Scully.

Boo. I saw this on the news I was getting dressed this morning. Dammit. Must watch Young Frankenstein...