Barnard Hughes

Bernard Aloysius Kiernan "Barnard" Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006) was an American actor. His most successful roles came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dithering authority figure or grandfatherly elder. He won the 1978 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

Bernard Aloysius Kiernan Hughes was born in Bedford Hills, New York, on July 16, 1915, the son of Irish immigrants Marcella (née Kiernan) and Owen Hughes.^[1][2] He attended La Salle Academy and Manhattan College in New York City, during which time he worked a series of odd jobs, including a stint as a dockworker and as a salesman at Macy's.^[3] He joined the U.S. Army during World War II.

Hughes, as he revealed on The Dick Cavett Show, was inspired to become an actor after seeing English actor Dennis King's Broadway run as Richard II in the play Richard of Bordeaux. He asked for his first name to be spelled "Barnard" instead of "Bernard" in his professional credits after a numerologist told him it would help his acting career.^[3] He auditioned for New York's Shakespeare Fellowship repertory company on the advice of a friend, and performed with them for two years.^[3]

Hughes had over 400 stage roles. He won the 1978 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance as the title character in Hugh Leonard's Da.^[4] In 1988, he reprised the role for the film adaptation Da. He appeared in the film adaptation of Hamlet (1964) and in such films as Midnight Cowboy (1969), Where's Poppa? (1970), Cold Turkey (1971) The Hospital (1971), Tron (1982), Maxie (1985), The Lost Boys (1987), Doc Hollywood (1991), and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993).^[5] He also played the old man who gave a ride to Felix and Oscar in The Odd Couple II (1998) and was featured in The Fantasticks (1995).^[6]

Hughes appeared on TV in such series as Naked City, The Secret Storm, Dark Shadows, Love Story, Blossom, and Homicide: Life on the Street.^[6] In 1973, he had a notable recurring role on All in the Family as a Roman Catholic priest, Father John Majeski, doing battle with Archie Bunker, and won an Emmy for his portrayal of a senile judge on Lou Grant.^[3] Hughes made three appearances in The Bob Newhart Show as the father of Dr. Robert Hartley. He was the central character in three sitcoms: Doc, in which he played a physician; Mr. Merlin, in which he played Merlin, a magician mentoring a 20th-century teenager; and The Cavanaughs, co-starring Christine Ebersole, in which he played the family patriarch (Art Carney played his brother, and Glynis Johns made guest appearances). Hughes sang "Danny Boy" in one episode of the latter series. He also made a memorable appearance as The King (with Jim Dale as The Duke) in the PBS mini-series Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Hughes also made recurring appearances on daytime dramas including Guiding Light, The Secret Storm and As the World Turns as well as a brief appearance as a private investigator in an early episode of Dark Shadows. He also did many voice-overs for various television commercials including Kix cereal.

Hughes married actress Helen Stenborg on April 19, 1950, and they remained married until his death in July 2006. They had a son named Doug, who became a theater director, and a daughter named Laura.

Hughes died of natural causes in New York City on July 11, 2006, five days before his 91st birthday.^[3] He is interred at the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in Manhattan, where his wife Helen was also interred after her death in 2011.

• Barnard Hughes at IMDb
• Barnard Hughes at the Internet Broadway Database
• Barnard Hughes at the Internet Off-Broadway Database (archived)
• Barnard Hughes and Helen Stenborg papers, 1880s–2011, held by Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.