Actor Paxton Whitehead has died aged 85. Photo / Getty Images
Actor Paxton Whitehead has died aged 85. Photo / Getty Images
Paxton Whitehead, fondly known as Friends character Rachel’s boss, Mr Waltham, has died at the age of 85.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Whitehead’s son confirmed his father’s death at a hospital in Arlington, Virginia.
The prolific actor starred alongside Jennifer Aniston and the cast of Friends and will also be recognisable to some as Hal Conway in Mad About You.
He also played the father of Susan Mayer’s fiance, Ian, in Desperate Housewives and starred in Murder, She Wrote, Law and Order and 3rd Rock from the Sun.
Paxton Whitehead with Jennifer Aniston in "The One with Rachel's Crush" Episode 13. Photo / NBC Universal via Getty Images
For his work, he was nominated for a Tony Award and for a stage performance of Camelot he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award.
Friends, family and fellow actors have shared tributes to the television stalwart including actor Dana Ivey who starred as Miss Hilly’s mother in The Help.
She wrote: “We first worked together in My Fair Lady in 1964, and the last time was in Importance of Being Earnest in 2010 — friends for 59 years. I loved him so. Heartbroken.”
And English actor Jim Piddock tweeted: “Heartbroken to hear my dear friend and mentor Paxton Whitehead has passed away. He was an extraordinary actor, a brilliant friend, and truly wonderful human being.
Dana Ivey, centre, with Paxton Whitehead, right, at the cast photo call for "The Importance Of Being Earnest" in 2010. Photo / Getty Images
“He meant so much to so many people and always brought a smile to the faces of everyone he encountered,” he said of the actor born in England in 1937.
Before Whitehead took up his famous television roles, he starred in Broadway shows and clocked up 236 performances at the Helen Hayes Theatre where he played Sherlock Holmes The Crucifer of Blood for two years from 1978.
According to The Sun, in a 2017 interview, Whitehead, who began his career in 1958 with the Royal Shakespeare Company, shared that is the most farcical roles were the ones he enjoyed the most.
“Everybody says they are difficult to do, but it depends. You either have a knack for it or you don’t.
“I think it is hard for some people. I found it not so difficult. I don’t know. I just seemed to respond to it.
“When I was younger, I would try very hard to get the vocal point right. If I felt the rhythm and sound of the character — if I got that right, and usually the difference is very subtle — then I think everything else seemed to follow, the movement and so on”.
