Donald Moffat was an English-American actor with a decades-long career in film and stage in the United States. He began his acting career on- and off-Broadway, which included appearances in The Wild Duck and Right You Are If You Think You Are, earning a Tony Award nomination for both, as well as Painting Churches, for which he received an Obie Award. Moffat also appeared in several feature films, including The Thing and The Right Stuff, along with his guest appearances in the television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and The West Wing.
Moffat began his career as a stage actor in London and New York City. His first work was at the Old Vic Theatre Company in London. After moving to the United States, Moffat worked as a bartender and a lumberjack in Oregon, his wife's home state. "After six months," he said, "I realized that I was an actor and I would always be an actor. And an actor must act. So I started acting again." His first acting job in the United States was in Princeton, New Jersey. He worked as a carpenter, and his wife took in ironing in order to supplement his $25 per week pay. He joined APA, a repertory company on Broadway, and was nominated for a Tony for Best Actor in a Play in 1967 for his roles in revivals of Henrik Ibsen's The Wild Duck and Pirandello's Right You Are If You Think You Are. He was nominated for Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Play for his work in Play Memory and for Outstanding Featured Actor in the revival of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh with Jason Robards. He won an Obie for Painting Churches. In 1998, he was nominated for a Gemini Award for his performance as attorney Joe Ruah in the CBC miniseries The Sleep Room. He also appeared in many Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, including John Guare's A Few Stout Individuals, The Heiress, The Cherry Orchard, Much Ado About Nothing, The School for Scandal, The Affair and Hamlet.
Film
Among Moffat's best-known film roles are as Lyndon B. Johnson in The Right Stuff, the corrupt U.S. President in Clear and Present Danger, and as Garry, the station commander in The Thing.
Television
Moffat played Enos in the CBS western miniseries The Chisholms, Lars Lundstrom in the ABC drama The New Land. and Rem in the CBS science-fiction series Logan's Run. He also appeared in The West Wing, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and Tales of the City, in which his performance as dying executive Edgar Halcyon earned him many new fans. One of his final roles was as Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in the HBO movie, 61*. Moffat's last role was as a judge in an episode of in 2005.
Personal life
Moffat married actress Anne Murray in 1954; they had a daughter, Wendy, and a son, Gabriel, before divorcing in 1968. He later married actress Gwen Arner. Moffat died six days before his 88th birthday on 20 December 2018 in Sleepy Hollow, New York, of complications from a stroke. He was survived by his wife, four children, 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
