Bernard “Barnard” Aloysius Kiernan Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006), was an American actor of television, theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dithering authority figure or grandfatherly elder.
Hughes was born in Bedford Hills, New York, the son of Irish immigrants Marcella "Madge" (née Kiernan) and Owen Hughes.[1][2] He attended La Salle Academy and Manhattan College in New York City. Hughes served in the United States Army during World War II. He married actress Helen Stenborg on April 19, 1950, and remained married until his death. They had two children, the theatre director Doug Hughes, and a daughter, Laura. Hughes and his wife are interred at Church of the Transfiguration, Episcopal (Manhattan) in New York City.
Hughes spoke to Dick Cavett on his show, revealing that he was inspired by seeing actor Dennis King on Broadway as Richard II in the play Richard of Bordeaux by Gordon Daviot (Elizabeth Mackintosh). Hughes changed the "e" in his first name to an "a" to help his acting career on the advice of a numerologist. Through high school and college, Hughes worked a series of odd jobs, including a stint as a dockworker and as a salesman at Macy's. He auditioned for the Shakespeare Fellowship Repertory company in New York City on the advice of a friend, and ended up joining the company for two years.
Hughes played more than 400 theatre roles. He won Broadway's 1978 Best Actor Tony Award for his performance as the title character in Hugh Leonard's Da.[3] In 1988 he recreated the role for the film Da.
On screen, he appeared in the film transcription of Hamlet (1964), and also appeared in such films as Midnight Cowboy (1969), Where's Poppa? (1970), Cold Turkey (1971) The Hospital (1971), Tron (1982), Maxie (1985), The Lost Boys (1987), Da (1988) - the screen reprise of his most successful stage-role, Doc Hollywood (1991) and the big success Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993). He also played the old man who gave a ride to Felix and Oscar in The Odd Couple II (1998) and was featured in The Fantasticks (1995).[4]
Hughes appeared on TV in such series as Naked City, The Secret Storm, Dark Shadows, Love Story, Blossom, and Homicide: Life on the Street.[4] In 1973, he had a notable recurring role on All in the Family as a Roman Catholic priest, Father John Majeski, doing battle with Archie Bunker, and won an Emmy for his portrayal of a senile judge on Lou Grant.[3] Hughes made three appearances in The Bob Newhart Show as the father of Dr. Robert Hartley. He was the central character in three sitcoms: Doc, in which he played a physician; Mr. Merlin, in which he played Merlin, a magician mentoring a 20th-century teenager; and The Cavanaughs, co-starring Christine Ebersole, in which he played the family patriarch (Art Carney played his brother, and Glynis Johns made guest appearances). Hughes sang "Danny Boy" in one episode of the latter series. He also made a memorable appearance as The King (with Jim Dale as The Duke) in the PBS mini-series Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Hughes also made recurring appearances on daytime dramas including Guiding Light, The Secret Storm and As the World Turns as well as a brief appearance as a private investigator in an early episode of Dark Shadows. He also did many voice-overs for various television commercials including Kix cereal.
Hughes died of natural causes on July 11 2006, just 5 days before his 91st anniversary.[5]