Paul Benedict, the New Mexico born actor bka the English next door neighbor on THE JEFFERSONS, is dead at 70. Reports say he was found dead at his home in Martha’s Vineyard and an investigation is ongoing, so I’m hoping that just means it was a natural death but they don’t know the exact cause.
Either way he was one of my favorite character actors, especially in his always small but always great moments in the Christopher Guest movies. His co-stars and friends also all said he was one of the funniest people they’d ever met and one of the brightest and nicest as well.
Some trivia: his oddly shaped face was the result of acromegaly, a condition that was diagnosed by a doctor in the audience of a play he was in during his early days. When he left THE JEFFERSONS for a couple of seasons it was to seek treatment for the condition.
He was the number painter on SESAME STREET for many years.
At one point he lived in John Belushi’s house on Martha’s Vineyard- not sure if he rented or owned and not sure if that’s where he died.
He was a good friend of Al Pacino (that’s a twosome you don’t usually think of together) and starred with him in two productions of O’Neill’s two character play HUGHIE (one in LA and one in NYC) and directing him in another stage play. They met long before either was famous.
Not sure whether he was gay or not, but none of the obituaries mention a wife and kids. Neither do they mention whether Sherman Hemsley will take his shoes off and walk on the body’s back just once more for old time’s sake. (THE JEFFERSONS never had a series finale [unless you count their Fresh Prince cameos and Denny’s Commercials] so it would give much needed closure.)
He actually appeared in a couple of productions of RICHARD III (the play Mark directs- as a flamingly gay burlesque almost- in TGG) with Pacino. I’ve wondered if he based his performance on anybody he knew.
Speaking of his performance in GOODBYE GIRL, this 1978 TV Guide interview gives a good idea for a memorial game thread:
The same article says he became such close friends with Zara Philips (the ancient and irascible Mother Jefferson on the show) her family asked him to give the eulogy when she died, and Marla Gibbs said it was the most beautiful she’d ever heard. Several people in MV and in LA said they always thought of raccoons when they thought of him because he loved them- would cook chicken and fish just for the wild raccoons that lived behind his houses to draw them near at night and some would actually eat from his hand.
Sounds like one of those guys who would have been fun to know.
