Vale: Paxton Whitehead

Veteran US character actor Paxton Whitehead, whose credits include Back to School, Mad About You and Friends, has died, aged 85.

He died in a hospital in Virginia on Friday his son, Charles Whitehead, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Whitehead was known for playing stuffy types in films and TV shows including as the uptight neighbour Hal Conway on Mad About You from 1992-99 and as Mr. Waltham, Rachel’s boss (pictured left) at Bloomingdale’s on Friends in 1998. Other credits included Magnum, P.I., The A-Team, Hart to Hart, Ellen, The West Wing, Frasier, 3rd Rock From the Sun, Dinosaurs and Murder, She Wrote.

Films included Back to School and Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Baby Boom, The Adventures of Huck Finn , My Boyfriend’s Back, The Duke, Kate and Leopold The Aristocrat and he was prolific in stage roles on the West End and Broadway.

In a 2017 interview, Whitehead said he enjoyed acting in farces the most. “Everybody says [they] are difficult to do, but it depends,” he said. “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.”