‘Friends’ actor Paxton Whitehead dies aged 85
The star of the beloved American sitcom Friends, Paxton Whitehead, has died at the age of 85. The English actor had been a mainstay of Broadway and featured in several US sitcoms in the 1990s.
Paxton passed away last Friday (June 16th) in a hospital in Arlington, Virginia. His son, Charles Whitehead, confirmed the sad news.
Whitehead, born in Kent, starred in a number of Broadway productions, including Camelot in 1980 opposite Richard Burton, My Fair Lady with Richard Chamberlain and The Importance of Being Earnest.
However, he will likely be best known for his role as the boss of Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel Green at the American department store Bloomingdales in Friends.
Whitehead also made appearances in the TV shows Frasier, Caroline in the City, Ellen, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Drew Carey Show and Mad About You.
In 2017, Whitehead discussed his favourite roles, admitting that they were often the silliest. “Everybody says [they] are difficult to do, but it depends. You either have a knack for it or you don’t,” he said (via The Daily Mail).
“I think it is hard for some people. I found it not so difficult,” he added. “I don’t know. I just seemed to respond to it. When I was younger, I would try very hard to get the vocal point right.”
The actor continued, “If I felt the rhythm and sound of the character — if I got that right, and usually the difference is very subtle — then I think everything else seemed to follow, the movement and so on.”
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