Robert Machray dead at 79: Actor had appeared as Fire Marshall Dobbins on Cheers

Actor Robert Machray who was born Robert Machray Ward on May 4, 1945, was brought up in St Paul in Minnesota and went on to study anthropology at Yale. His onscreen debut took place in 1977 when he appeared in the NBC telefilm entitled Pain in Echo Park, which starred Dorian Harewood.

As well as appearing as Fire Marshall Dobbins on the hit TV show Cheers, Robert Machray starred as Orson Welles on stage and also appeared in episodes of such shows as Roseanne, Operation Petticoat, Three’s Company, Life Goes On, Sister, Sister, Suddenly Susan, Profiler, The Drew Carey Show, Girlfriends and Criminal Minds. Robert Machray’s last onscreen role was in Parks and Recreation in 2011.

When it came to his role on the TV show Cheers, Robert Machray played the part of Fire Marshall Dobbins from 1990 to 1993 and appeared in seasons eight, nine and eleven. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Robert Machray “appeared in the 1999-2000 Broadway revival of Amadeus that starred Michael Sheen and David Suchet and received a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle prize in 2002 for his turn as Welles in Austin Pendleton’s Orson’s Shadow. Backstage remarked that he had “the magnificent voice, stature and acting chops to play” the legendary filmmaker.”

Robert Machray also had roles in the movies Cutting Class, A Time to Remember and The Master of Disguise. He also acted for the likes of The Old Globe, the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera and The Matrix Theater Company and served as the artistic director of the Classical Theatre Lab in Los Angeles in the 1990s.

Robert Machray’s husband Luigi Camperchioli paid tribute to him on his Facebook page and wrote: “Today, I reflect on the beautiful moments shared with Bob, who has passed away peacefully at his home in North Hollywood after a brief battle with dementia. His love and smile will remain with me forever. Farwell sweetheart. Luigi. To weep is to make less the depth of grief.”