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Barnard Hughes

Barnard Hughes was the sort of actor who could move between stage, film and television without seeming to belong exclusively to any one of them. Across more than 400 stage roles and decades of screen work, he played priests, physicians, judges, magicians and family patriarchs, bringing a seasoned presence to both drama and comedy. Born Bernard Aloysius Kiernan Hughes in Bedford Hills, New York, on July 16, 1915, he was the son of Irish immigrants. He attended La Salle Academy and Manhattan College, working assorted jobs along the way, including as a dockworker and a Macy’s salesman. After seeing Dennis King perform Richard II in Richard of Bordeaux on Broadway, Hughes was inspired to pursue acting. A friend encouraged him to audition for New York’s Shakespeare Fellowship repertory company, where he performed for two years. He later asked for “Barnard” rather than “Bernard” in his professional credits after receiving advice from a numerologist. The stage remained central to his career. In 1978, Hughes won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for the title role in Hugh Leonard’s Da, then returned to the part for the 1988 film adaptation. His film work also included Hamlet, Midnight Cowboy, The Hospital, Tron, The Lost Boys, Doc Hollywood and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Television gave Hughes room to show his range. He played Father John Majeski on All in the Family, appeared as Dr. Robert Hartley’s father on The Bob Newhart Show and won an Emmy for portraying a senile judge on Lou Grant. He also led three sitcoms: Doc, Mr. Merlin and The Cavanaughs. Further appearances stretched from Dark Shadows and Guiding Light to Blossom and Homicide: Life on the Street. Hughes died in New York City on July 11, 2006, five days before his 91st birthday. His career was unusually broad, shaped less by a single defining screen part than by the depth and variety of the work itself.