# Bill Macy
**Bill Macy** (born Wolf Martin Garber; May 18, 1922 – October 17, 2019) was an American actor best known for playing Walter Findlay, the husband of [Bea Arthur](https://www.edgepedia.org/bea-arthur)'s title character, on the 1970s CBS sitcom *Maude*. His career spanned Broadway, film, and television, with dozens of guest appearances from the 1960s through the 2010s.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bill-macy) The name Bill Macy was already registered with the performers' unions when the younger actor William Hall Macy Jr. began working, which is why [William H. Macy](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-h-macy) adopted his middle initial as a professional name.[2](https://www.imdb.com/de/name/nm0534409/bio/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Wolf Martin Garber, May 18, 1922, Revere, Massachusetts; raised in Brooklyn, New York[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bill-macy) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/bill_macy) |
| Died | October 17, 2019, Los Angeles, California, aged 97[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bill-macy) |
| Signature role | Walter Findlay on *Maude* (CBS, 1972–78, six seasons), the husband of Bea Arthur's character[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bill-macy) |
| Stage breakthrough | Walter Matthau's understudy in the 1958 Broadway play *Once More, With Feeling* after ten years as a New York cab driver[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bill-macy) |
| Original cast | *Oh! Calcutta!*, the long-running theatrical revue, from its 1969 Off-Broadway opening, performing nude with the rest of the cast[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bill-macy) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/bill_macy) |
| Known films | *The Producers* (1967), *The Late Show* (1977), *The Jerk* (1979), *My Favorite Year* (1982), *Analyze This* (1999), *The Holiday* (2006)[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bill-macy) • [4](https://obits.dallasnews.com/news/bill-macy-1922-2019-starred-on-tvs-maude) |
| Recognitions | 1977 National Society of Film Critics and New York Film Critics Circle nominations for Best Supporting Actor for *The Late Show*[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534409/awards/) |
| Marriage | Married actress Samantha Harper in 1975, whom he met during the run of *Oh! Calcutta!*[6](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2019/10/18/Bill-Macy-Maude-star-dead-at-97/9041571414499/) |
## Early life and stage career
Macy was born in Revere, Massachusetts, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, attending Samuel J. Tilden [High School](https://www.edgepedia.org/high-school).[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/bill_macy) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/de/name/nm0534409/bio/) Sources give his birth name variously as Wolf Martin Garber, Wolf Marvin Garber, or William Macy Garber.[7](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macy-bill-1922-william-macy) Before acting, he served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1943 to 1946, later earned a B.S. in education from New York University in 1954, studied with [Lee Strasberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-strasberg), and spent ten years driving a cab in New York City while seeking acting work.[7](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macy-bill-1922-william-macy) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/bill_macy)
His break came as [Walter Matthau](https://www.edgepedia.org/walter-matthau)'s understudy in the 1958 Broadway play *Once More, With Feeling*.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bill-macy) Broadway credits followed, including the Paul Zindel play *And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little* in 1971, and in 1969 he joined the original cast of the [Off-Broadway](https://www.edgepedia.org/off-broadway) revue *[Oh! Calcutta!](https://www.edgepedia.org/oh-calcutta)*, in which the entire cast performed nude.[7](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macy-bill-1922-william-macy) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/bill_macy) The revue was also where he met actress Samantha Harper, whom he married in 1975.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/bill_macy)
## Maude and television work
Producer [Norman Lear](https://www.edgepedia.org/norman-lear) saw Macy in an off-Broadway comedy and brought him to Hollywood. Macy first played a small part as a police officer on an episode of *All in the Family*, then landed the role of Walter Findlay on *Maude*, a spinoff of that series that aired for six seasons from 1972 to 1978.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bill-macy) In a 1998 interview for the Television Academy's archive, Lear said he had cast Macy based on his off-Broadway performance in a scene in which his character choked to death on a chicken bone, calling it an unforgettable "tour de force".[8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/bill-macy-long-suffering-husband-on-maude-dies-at-97/2019/10/18/e52e3fba-f1c9-11e9-8693-f487e46784aa_story.html) On the show, Walter's arguments with his wife sometimes ended with his catchphrase, "Maude, sit", while Maude answered with "God'll get you for that, Walter".[4](https://obits.dallasnews.com/news/bill-macy-1922-2019-starred-on-tvs-maude)
After *Maude* ended in 1978, Macy briefly starred in a second Lear sitcom, *Hanging In* (CBS, 1979), playing Louis Harper.[4](https://obits.dallasnews.com/news/bill-macy-1922-2019-starred-on-tvs-maude) • [7](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macy-bill-1922-william-macy) He then made guest appearances across four decades of television, including *St. Elsewhere*, *L.A. Law*, *Murder, She Wrote*, *Matlock*, *Columbo*, *NYPD Blue*, *Seinfeld* (with a recurring role as a resident of the retirement community where Jerry's parents lived), *ER*, *How I Met Your Mother*, and *My Name is Earl*.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bill-macy) • [4](https://obits.dallasnews.com/news/bill-macy-1922-2019-starred-on-tvs-maude)
## Film career
Macy's film work ran from an early uncredited role as the jury foreman in [Mel Brooks](https://www.edgepedia.org/mel-brooks)'s *The Producers* (1967) to supporting parts in *The Late Show* (1977), opposite [Art Carney](https://www.edgepedia.org/art-carney) and [Lily Tomlin](https://www.edgepedia.org/lily-tomlin); Steve Martin's *The Jerk* (1979), in which he played Stan Fox, the co-inventor of the "Opti-Grab"; *My Favorite Year* (1982), as head comedy writer Sy Benson; *Analyze This* (1999) with Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal; and *The Holiday* (2006).[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bill-macy) • [4](https://obits.dallasnews.com/news/bill-macy-1922-2019-starred-on-tvs-maude) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/bill-macy-long-suffering-husband-on-maude-dies-at-97/2019/10/18/e52e3fba-f1c9-11e9-8693-f487e46784aa_story.html) His performance as Charlie Hatter in *The Late Show* earned nominations for Best Supporting Actor from the National Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics Circle in 1977.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534409/awards/) On Rotten Tomatoes, *My Favorite Year* ranks as his highest-rated film at 97 percent and *Surviving Christmas* (2004) his lowest at 8 percent.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/bill_macy)
## Death
Macy died on October 17, 2019, in Los Angeles at the age of 97. Producer and manager Matt Beckoff, who confirmed the death to [The Hollywood Reporter](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hollywood-reporter), described him as "a spitfire right up to the end".[6](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2019/10/18/Bill-Macy-Maude-star-dead-at-97/9041571414499/) He was survived by his wife, Samantha Harper Macy.[6](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2019/10/18/Bill-Macy-Maude-star-dead-at-97/9041571414499/)
## References
1. [Bill Macy, Television Academy performer profile](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/bill-macy)
2. [Bill Macy biography (German), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/de/name/nm0534409/bio/)
3. [Bill Macy Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/bill_macy)
4. [Bill Macy (1922–2019), starred on TV's "Maude", Legacy.com / Dallas Morning News](https://obits.dallasnews.com/news/bill-macy-1922-2019-starred-on-tvs-maude)
5. [Bill Macy - Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534409/awards/)
6. [Bill Macy, 'Maude' star, dead at 97, UPI (October 18, 2019)](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2019/10/18/Bill-Macy-Maude-star-dead-at-97/9041571414499/)
7. [Macy, Bill 1922- (William Macy), Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macy-bill-1922-william-macy)
8. [Bill Macy, long-suffering husband on 'Maude,' dies at 97, The Washington Post (October 18, 2019)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/bill-macy-long-suffering-husband-on-maude-dies-at-97/2019/10/18/e52e3fba-f1c9-11e9-8693-f487e46784aa_story.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames M to Ma*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license