Philip Charles MacKenzie
Encyclopedia
Philip Charles MacKenzie (born 1947) is an American
actor and television director. He is best known for his role as Donald Maltby on Brothers
, and as Ted Nichols on Open House
, which he worked on with his current wife Alison LaPlaca
.
's 1975 crime drama Dog Day Afternoon
. He then began doing numerous television guest roles and co-starring roles in afterschool specials and made-for-TV movies. MacKenzie guest starred on such shows as Three's Company
, Baa Baa Black Sheep
, Lou Grant
(which co-starred his future Brothers
castmate, Robert Walden
), The Love Boat
, and WKRP in Cincinnati
. In 1980, he appeared as Dr. LaFleur in The Heartbreak Winner, an ABC Afterschool Special
episode.
That same year, MacKenzie was cast in the pilot of a series proposed for NBC
's 1980 fall schedule, The Six O'Clock Follies, a period piece set in 1967 Saigon. After a single preview telecast in April 1980, the network passed on the series' development. MacKenzie then landed his first regular role on the short-lived CBS sitcom Making the Grade
in the spring of 1982. Making the Grade was also the first series role for actor George Wendt
, with whom MacKenzie worked later that year when he did a guest appearance on NBC
's Cheers
.
In 1984, MacKenzie began in the featured role of flamboyant, effeminate Donald Maltby on the Showtime sitcom Brothers
. The series portrayed positive gay
role models, particularly in the character of Cliff Waters (Paul Regina). MacKenzie's portrayal of resident "queen" and Cliff's unlikely friend Donald provided a sharp contrast to Cliff's masculinity. After the first season concluded, MacKenzie won his first CableACE Award
for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He was nominated for the same award again in 1987, following the show's third season. He continued doing guest roles in between the shooting of Brothers on shows such as Newhart
and St. Elsewhere
. Also in 1987, MacKenzie began directing selected episodes of Brothers. Since that time, he has directed episodes of more than 30 TV series, including Roseanne
, Suddenly Susan
, and According to Jim
.
In 1989, MacKenzie made a guest appearance on the Fox
dramedy series Duet
, playing Ted Nichols, a real estate mogul who proposes a business partnership with snobbish yuppie Linda Phillips (played by his current real-life wife, series regular Alison LaPlaca
). Upon the cancellation of Duet, LaPlaca and MacKenzie's characters were spun off into its sequel comedy series, Open House
, which centered around Linda and Ted's new venture in real estate. Premiering in August 1989, Open House lasted only a single season. Midway through the 1990-91 season, MacKenzie joined the cast of ABC
's Miller/Boyett
sitcom Going Places. MacKenzie was reunited with his Brothers co-star Hallie Todd
, who had been one of the four main leads on Going Places since its debut. A few months after his arrival, the series was canceled.
Subsequently, MacKenzie has switched his focus to directing but continued to do guest appearances from time to time.
from 1971 to their divorce in 1990. He has been married to actress Alison LaPlaca
since 1992.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor and television director. He is best known for his role as Donald Maltby on Brothers
Brothers (TV series)
Brothers is an American television sitcom that originally aired on the cable network Showtime from July 13, 1984 to July 25, 1989, totaling 115 episodes. It was produced by Gary Nardino Productions, in association with two separate divisions of Paramount; first by the Paramount Video division and...
, and as Ted Nichols on Open House
Open House (TV series)
Open House is an American sitcom that aired on Fox from August 27, 1989 to July 21, 1990. The series was a spin-off of the Fox series Duet...
, which he worked on with his current wife Alison LaPlaca
Alison LaPlaca
Alison LaPlaca is an American actress best known for the role of acid-tongued yuppie Linda Phillips in the Fox sitcoms Duet and its spin-off Open House, both of which aired in the late 1980s....
.
Career
MacKenzie made his on-screen debut in Sidney LumetSidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict...
's 1975 crime drama Dog Day Afternoon
Dog Day Afternoon
Dog Day Afternoon is a 1975 drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, written by Frank Pierson, and produced by Martin Bregman. The film stars Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, Chris Sarandon, Penny Allen, James Broderick, and Carol Kane. The title refers to the "dog days of summer".The film was...
. He then began doing numerous television guest roles and co-starring roles in afterschool specials and made-for-TV movies. MacKenzie guest starred on such shows as Three's Company
Three's Company
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
, Baa Baa Black Sheep
Baa Baa Black Sheep (TV series)
Baa Baa Black Sheep is a television series that aired on NBC from 1976 until 1978. Its premise was based on the experiences of United States Marine Corps aviator Pappy Boyington and his World War II "Black Sheep Squadron". The series was created and produced by Stephen J. Cannell...
, Lou Grant
Lou Grant (TV series)
Lou Grant is an American television drama series starring Ed Asner in the titular role as a newspaper editor. Unusual in American television, this drama series was a spinoff from a sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Aired from 1977 to 1982, Lou Grant won 13 Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Drama...
(which co-starred his future Brothers
Brothers (TV series)
Brothers is an American television sitcom that originally aired on the cable network Showtime from July 13, 1984 to July 25, 1989, totaling 115 episodes. It was produced by Gary Nardino Productions, in association with two separate divisions of Paramount; first by the Paramount Video division and...
castmate, Robert Walden
Robert Walden
Robert Walden is an American television and motion picture actor. He is best known for his role as Joe Rossi on Lou Grant for which he was nominated for an Emmy three times and his role as Joe Waters on Brothers...
), The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
, and WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati
WKRP in Cincinnati is an American situation comedy that featured the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working in advertising sales at Top 40 radio station WQXI in Atlanta...
. In 1980, he appeared as Dr. LaFleur in The Heartbreak Winner, an ABC Afterschool Special
ABC Afterschool Special
The ABC Afterschool Special is an American television anthology series that aired on ABC from 1972 to 1996, usually in the late afternoon on week days. Most of the episodes were dramatic presentations of situations, often controversial, of interest to children and teenagers. Several episodes were...
episode.
That same year, MacKenzie was cast in the pilot of a series proposed for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's 1980 fall schedule, The Six O'Clock Follies, a period piece set in 1967 Saigon. After a single preview telecast in April 1980, the network passed on the series' development. MacKenzie then landed his first regular role on the short-lived CBS sitcom Making the Grade
Making the Grade (TV series)
Making the Grade was a short-lived American sitcom which aired on CBS from April 5 until May 10, 1982. It starred James Naughton, Graham Jarvis, Alley Mills, Steven Peterman, and boasted the first TV series roles for Philip Charles MacKenzie and George Wendt. It was set at Franklin High School in St...
in the spring of 1982. Making the Grade was also the first series role for actor George Wendt
George Wendt
George Robert Wendt III is an American actor, best known for the roles of Norm Peterson and Tug Clarke on the television shows Cheers and Modern Men.-Early life:...
, with whom MacKenzie worked later that year when he did a guest appearance on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
.
In 1984, MacKenzie began in the featured role of flamboyant, effeminate Donald Maltby on the Showtime sitcom Brothers
Brothers (TV series)
Brothers is an American television sitcom that originally aired on the cable network Showtime from July 13, 1984 to July 25, 1989, totaling 115 episodes. It was produced by Gary Nardino Productions, in association with two separate divisions of Paramount; first by the Paramount Video division and...
. The series portrayed positive gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
role models, particularly in the character of Cliff Waters (Paul Regina). MacKenzie's portrayal of resident "queen" and Cliff's unlikely friend Donald provided a sharp contrast to Cliff's masculinity. After the first season concluded, MacKenzie won his first CableACE Award
CableACE Award
The CableACE Award was an award that was given from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in American cable television programming...
for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He was nominated for the same award again in 1987, following the show's third season. He continued doing guest roles in between the shooting of Brothers on shows such as Newhart
Newhart
Newhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990...
and St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
. Also in 1987, MacKenzie began directing selected episodes of Brothers. Since that time, he has directed episodes of more than 30 TV series, including Roseanne
Roseanne (TV series)
Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from October 18, 1988 to May 20, 1997. Starring Roseanne Barr, the show revolved around the Conners, an Illinois working class family...
, Suddenly Susan
Suddenly Susan
Suddenly Susan is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The show takes place at The Gate, a fictitious magazine which is based in San Francisco. Among the magazine's employees is Susan Keane , who always has been cared for by someone else...
, and According to Jim
According to Jim
According to Jim is an American sitcom television series starring Jim Belushi in the title role as a suburban father of three children. It originally ran on ABC from October 3, 2001 to June 2, 2009.-Synopsis:Jim is an abrasive but lovable suburban father...
.
In 1989, MacKenzie made a guest appearance on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
dramedy series Duet
Duet (TV series)
Duet is an American sitcom that aired on Fox from April 19, 1987 to August 20, 1989...
, playing Ted Nichols, a real estate mogul who proposes a business partnership with snobbish yuppie Linda Phillips (played by his current real-life wife, series regular Alison LaPlaca
Alison LaPlaca
Alison LaPlaca is an American actress best known for the role of acid-tongued yuppie Linda Phillips in the Fox sitcoms Duet and its spin-off Open House, both of which aired in the late 1980s....
). Upon the cancellation of Duet, LaPlaca and MacKenzie's characters were spun off into its sequel comedy series, Open House
Open House (TV series)
Open House is an American sitcom that aired on Fox from August 27, 1989 to July 21, 1990. The series was a spin-off of the Fox series Duet...
, which centered around Linda and Ted's new venture in real estate. Premiering in August 1989, Open House lasted only a single season. Midway through the 1990-91 season, MacKenzie joined the cast of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Miller/Boyett
Miller-Boyett Productions
Miller-Boyett Productions was an American television production company that mainly developed television sitcoms from the 1970s through the 1990s...
sitcom Going Places. MacKenzie was reunited with his Brothers co-star Hallie Todd
Hallie Todd
Hallie Todd is an American actress, producer and writer, known for her roles as Penny Waters on Brothers and as Jo McGuire on Lizzie Mcguire.-Personal life:...
, who had been one of the four main leads on Going Places since its debut. A few months after his arrival, the series was canceled.
Subsequently, MacKenzie has switched his focus to directing but continued to do guest appearances from time to time.
Personal life
MacKenzie was married to actress Linda CarlsonLinda Carlson
Linda Carlson is an American actress.Born in Knoxville, Tennessee, she began her career on TV in 1977, and has appeared on numerous shows.-Filmography:*Honey, I Blew Up the Kid ... Nosey Neighbor...
from 1971 to their divorce in 1990. He has been married to actress Alison LaPlaca
Alison LaPlaca
Alison LaPlaca is an American actress best known for the role of acid-tongued yuppie Linda Phillips in the Fox sitcoms Duet and its spin-off Open House, both of which aired in the late 1980s....
since 1992.