Mike Hagerty, Beloved Actor From Friends And Seinfeld, Has Died
Rest in peace.
This article is more than 2 years old
Mike Hagerty — known best for his roles in hit sitcoms like Friends, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and more — has died. According to Deadline, Hagerty’s Somebody Somewhere co-star Bridget Everett confirms that the actor died last Friday, April 29. No cause of death has been released.
Mike Hagerty enjoyed a decades long screen acting career starting in the early 1970s, but it’s a number of relatively small but nevertheless unforgettable roles that secured his place in pop culture’s collective memory. Between 1995 and 2001, Hagerty played the building super on Friends who, among other things, blackmails Joey into teaching him how to dance. He made a big splash in the saga of Seinfeld as the owner of a vintage clothing store in season 5’s “The Raincoats.” More recently he had the quietly hilarious recurring role of Captain McGintley in Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He was the captain who preceded the stickler Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher) and appeared primarily in flashbacks. Andy Samberg’s Jake Peralta would always remember the captain who let the squad get away with more shenanigans, and the action would immediately cut away to Hagerty as McGintley — clearly not wanting to let the squad get away with anything but not having the energy to deal with it.
Even more recently, Mike Hagerty landed the role of Ed Miller — father to Bridget Everett’s Sam — on the critically adored HBO dramedy Somebody Somewhere. Everett posted a number of touching tributes to her TV father on her Instagram account. She described herself as “devastated” by the loss, writing that Hagerty “was adored by the entire cast and crew of Somebody Somewhere.” You can see those posts below.
HBO released a statement about the actor’s passing: “We are very saddened to hear about the sudden passing of Mike Hagerty. A member of the HBO family for many years, his most recent role as Bridget Everett’s father in Somebody Somewhere showed his special talent for bringing heart to a performance. Mike was a joy to work with and brought warmth and kindness to all who knew him. We send our deepest condolences to his family and friends.” Hagerty did in fact appear on a number of HBO series long before Somebody Somewhere. His credits include castings in Arli$$, Deadwood, Entourage, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
His HBO work just scratches the surface. Over the course of a nearly 50 year long career, Mike Hagerty appeared on Monk, Cheers, Boston Legal, Grey’s Anatomy, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Murphy Brown, The Wayan Bros., The Drew Carey Show, Ally McBeal, ER, Ghost Whisperer, Glee, Community, The Goldbergs, Shameless, and many more. He played two different Klingons on Star Trek: The Next Generation and voiced one in the 1996 video game Star Trek: Klingon.
Mike Hagerty is survive by his wife Mary Kathryn, sister Mary Ann Hagerty, Mary Ann’s wife Kathleen O’Rourke, and his niece Meg.