Bernard Aloysius Kiernan 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 Leading Actor in a Play.

Life and career Early years 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. 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. He joined the U.S. Army during World War II.

Career

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. He auditioned for New York's Shakespeare Fellowship repertory company on the advice of a friend, and performed with them for two years.

Hughes had over 400 stage roles. He won the 1978 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance as the title character in Hugh Leonard's Da. 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). 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).

Hughes appeared on TV in such series as Naked City, The Secret Storm, Dark Shadows, Love Story, Blossom, and Homicide: Life on the Street. 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. 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.

Personal life and death 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.

Hughes died of natural causes in New York City on July 11, 2006, aged 90. He is interred at the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in Manhattan, where his wife Helen was also interred after her death in 2011.

Hughes was an Episcopalian and served as president of the Episcopal Actors Guild from 1986 to 2002.

Acting credits Selected filmography Year Title Role Notes 1954 Playgirl Durkin Uncredited 1961 The Young Doctors Dr. Kent O'Donnell 1964 Hamlet Marcellus / Priest 1966 Dark Shadows Stuart Bronson Gothic Soap Opera 1967 The Borgia Stick Doctor Helm TV movie 1969 Midnight Cowboy Towny 1970 Where's Poppa? Colonel Warren J. Hendricks1971 Dr. Cook's Garden Elias Hart TV movie Cold Turkey Dr. Proctor The Pursuit of Happiness Judge Vogel The Hospital Edmund Drummond Also made an uncredited appearance as Dr. Mallory All in the Family Father Majeski TV series 1972 Rage Dr. Spencer Deadhead Miles Old Man Uncredited 1973 Sisters Arthur McLennen 1975 Doc Dr. Joe "Doc" Bogert TV series The UFO Incident Dr. Benjamin Simon TV movie1977 Hawaii Five-O Clinton Palmer TV series Oh, God! Judge Baker 1979 Sanctuary of Fear Father Brown TV movie, pilot for unmade series with Kay Lenz 1981 First Monday in October Chief Justice James Jefferson Crawford Mr. Merlin Merlin TV series1982 Tron Dr. Walter Gibbs/Dumont Best Friends Tim McCullen 1985 Maxie Bishop Campbell 1986 Where Are the Children? Jonathan Knowles 1987 The Lost Boys Grandpa A Hobo's Christmas Chance Grover 1988 Da Nick Tynan 1989 Day One Secretary of War Henry Stimson 1991 Doc Hollywood Aurelius Edsel Hogue, M.D. 1991–1994 Blossom Buzz Richman TV series, 52 episodes 1993 Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit Father Maurice 1994 Trick of the Eye Harry Pitt TV movie 1995 The Fantasticks Henry Albertson 1998 The Odd Couple II Beaumont 1999 Cradle Will Rock Frank Marvel

Stage productions

"Osgood Meeker" in the Broadway production of Noël Coward's Waiting in the Wings, directed by Michael Langham (this was Barnard Hughes' last stage role) "Old Man" in the Broadway production of Prelude to a Kiss, directed by Norman René Polonius to Stacy Keach's Hamlet Marcellus in Richard Burton's 1964 Hamlet Dogberry in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of Much Ado About Nothing Harry Hope in the 1985 Broadway revival of The Iceman Cometh directed by José Quintero Uncle Vanya (directed by Mike Nichols) A Doll's House Hogan's Goat (Off-Broadway) Three Sisters The Devil's Disciple Translations "Lynn Belvedere" in the Tenthouse Theatre in the Round production of Gwen Davenport's "Belvedere" August 9–14, 1948.

References

External links

Barnard Hughes and Helen Stenborg papers, 1880s–2011, held by Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.