Michael McGrath, veteran stage actor, dies at 65

Michael McGrath, a seasoned stage performer who was honoured with a Tony Award for his work in the Broadway production of Nice Work If You Can Get It, has passed away. He was 65.

The Hollywood Reporter received confirmation from McGrath's publicist that he passed away unexpectedly on Thursday at his home in Bloomfield, New Jersey. The cause of death is yet unknown.

McGrath was a frequent performer in musical comedies and Broadway and off-Broadway musicals, and he starred in Plaza Suite, Tootsie, Memphis, Born Yesterday, and Wonderful Town. In Spamalot, for which he was nominated for a Tony, he was the first actor to portray Patsy, King Arthur's patient sidekick.

On September 25, 1957, McGrath was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. He attended the Boston Conservatory for three months after graduating from St. Peter's High School in Worcester to pursue an acting career.

Before relocating to Boston and gaining notoriety after a three-year run in Gerard Alessandrini's musical comedy Forbidden Broadway from 1985 to 1989, he began his theatre career in Worcester. Toni DuBuono, an actress who would later become his wife, was one of McGrath's co-stars in the film Forbidden Broadway.