Robert Machray, 1945 – 2025

Character actor Robert Machray, 79, died on Jan. 12. As a stage actor, he appeared at the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, Hartford Stage, and Playwrights Horizons; in 1990 he won the Los Angeles Weekly Award for his work in Waiting for Godot. Machray was best known nationwide for his TV work, though, including four episodes of Cheers (as Fire Marshal Dobbins). He was also seen in Three’s Company, Roseanne, Suddenly Susan, The Drew Carey Show, That’s My Bush!, Girlfriends, and Parks and Recreation, among others. Machray is most-often seen, still, as "Fainting Santa" in the M&M's commercial that has run for decades.