The distinguished, gray-haired actor made his film debut in "Mission Hill" (1982), but is best-remembered as the champion aluminum siding salesman who suffers a heart attack (and a change of heart) in Barry Levinson's "Tin Men" and as the philandering communications professor who befriends Olympia Dukakis in "Moonstruck" (both 1987). He also gave a sharp performance as a Faulkner-like alcoholic screenwriter in the Coen Brothers' "Barton Fink" (1991). Mahoney continued to provide sturdy support (and a strong police presence) in two 1993 films, as a Secret Service superior of Clint Eastwood in "In the Line of Fire" and as Bruce Willis' cop dad in "Striking Distance". Among his scores of other big-screen credits are "Say Anything" (1989), "Reality Bites" and "The Hudsucker Proxy" (both 1994), "The American President" (1995), the thriller "Primal Fear" and the romantic comedy "She's the One" (both 1996).

A familiar face on TV, Mahoney was a regular in the short-lived shows "Chicago Story" (NBC, 1982), "H.E.L.P." (ABC, 1990) and "The Human Factor" (CBS, 1992). He has made appearances in some 20 TV-movies and miniseries, ranging from the impressive ("The Killing Floor", PBS 1984; the documentary "Coney Island", PBS 1991; "Unnatural Pursuits", A&E 1994) to the ill-advised ("Lady Blue", ABC 1985; "Dinner at Eight", TNT 1989). Mahoney scored a hit as the retired policeman father of "Cheers" alumnus Dr. Frasier Crane on the series "Frasier" (NBC, 1993-2004), playing his unrefined, irascible everyman character against the pitch-perfect pomposity of Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce to excellent effect for a decade.

The actor also had a flourishing side career as a voiceover actor, lending his gravely tones to such projects as "Antz" (1998), "The Iron Giant" (1999) and "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" (2001).