Entertainment TV Kelsey Grammer Tearfully Remembers Late 'Frasier' Costar John Mahoney: 'He Was More Like My Dad' John Mahoney played Kelsey Grammer's on-screen father on the sitcom Frasier By Natalie Stone Published on February 7, 2018 03:15PM EST Remembering his late on-screen father, John Mahoney, brings tears to Kelsey Grammer‘s eyes. Days after Mahoney passed away at the age of 77 in Chicago, Illinois, on Sunday, Grammer appeared on Wednesday’s The Talk, when he opened up about the personal impact his late Frasier costar made on his life. “John actually played my father longer than I knew my own father, so he was more like my dad,” a choked up Grammer, 62, said about Mahoney on the talk show. Mahoney played Martin Crane, the father of Grammer’s character, Dr. Frasier Crane, on the ’90s comedy. “I had the same relationship with David Hyde Pierce as my brother,” Grammer said about the close relationship he has with his other former Frasier costar. “So it was an interesting thing that we got to explore what it would have been like to have those relationships … I miss him.” BEI/REX/Shutterstock Born in Blackpool, England, in 1940, Mahoney became best known for his role as Martin Crane in NBC’s Frasierfrom 1993-2004. Throughout his run with the show, Mahoney received two Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. In a previous statement to PEOPLE, Grammer said about Mahoney’s passing, “He was my father. I loved him.” Mahoney also had a prolific career as a voice actor, featuring in several animated films including Antz, Atlantis: The Lost Empire and The Iron Giant. On stage, he starred in the Broadway revival of the play Prelude to a Kiss, Better Late and The Outgoing Tide at the Northlight Theatre in Illinois. Mahoney was never married and did not have any children.