Paxton Whitehead, an English actor who starred in shows including Friends, Mad About You, and Frasier, died on Friday at the age of 85.
“Sadly, Paxton passed away this past Friday at the age of 85,” Whitehead’s representative said in a statement to Fox News. “Paxton was loved and respected by his family and everyone who knew him.”
“He was a cherished client, a luminary in the acting world who is renowned for his extraordinary talent and dedication to his craft,” the rep added.
Whitehead was “admired for his versatility and many roles he performed on stage, TV and film. His contributions to the world of entertainment will be cherished and remembered for years to come,” the actor’s representative concluded in his statement.
FRIENDS — “The One with Rachel’s Crush” Episode 13 — Pictured: (l-r) Paxton Whitehead as Mr. Waltham, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, Tate Donovan as Joshua Bergen (Photo by Alice S. Hall/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
Additionally, Whitehead’s son Charles Whitehead told the outlet that his father had passed away at a hospital in Arlington, Virginia.
“Dad lived a wonderful life, he is survived by myself and his daughter Alex, and four wonderful grandchildren. We all cherish him in his memory and in his passing,” Charles Whitehead said.
“We’ve seen so many people from so many different aspects of his life come forward and talk about how much he meant to them — how dear he was to them,” the actor’s son added.
Charles added that his father had fallen a week before his death, and never quite recovered from it.
“He probably wasn’t going to recover,” he said. “I do feel like he chose it was time to go. He went very comfortably — we lost him and we’re going to miss him so much. But we’re so grateful that he was in our lives.”
Actor Paxton Whitehead attends the Broadway opening night of “The Importance Of Being Earnest” at the Roundabout Theatre Company’s American Airlines Theatre on January 13, 2011 in New York City. (Henry S. Dziekan III/Getty)
Whitehead was a Broadway star, who had been nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in the 1980 revival of Camelot. He also portrayed Mr. Waltham, Rachel Green’s boss at Bloomingdale’s in the hit television series Friends.
The actor also had several roles in films, including the 1986 movie, Back to School, in which he played Philip Barbay. Whitehead was also in the films The Adventures of Huck Finn, and Baby Boom.
He was also in Murder She Wrote, Magnum P.I., The West Wing, and 3rd Rock from the Sun, among others. Whitehead was perhaps best known for his role as Hal Conway in Mad About You.
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