Sunday, July 12, 2015

Sunday Globe Special: Cheers to Rees

Everybody knows your name:

"Roger Rees, 71; Tony winner and actor on ‘Cheers’" by Globe wires and staff   July 11, 2015

NEW YORK — Roger Rees, a Tony Award-winning Welsh-born actor and director who made his mark onstage as Nicholas Nickleby and later played English multimillionaire Robin Colcord on the TV show ‘‘Cheers,’’ died Friday after a brief battle with cancer. He was 71.

Mr. Rees played the snobbish Robin Colcord on ‘‘Cheers,’’ known for his condescending remarks and rivalry with Sam Malone and for dating Rebecca Howe. He also played the British ambassador, Lord John Marbury, in ‘‘The West Wing.’’ Other recent TV credits include ‘‘Elementary’’ and ‘‘The Good Wife.’’

But he was probably best known onstage for playing the title character in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s original production of Charles Dickens’s ‘‘The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby’’ in England and on Broadway. He won an Olivier Award and then a Tony. When the production was adapted to TV, he earned an Emmy Award nomination.

He leaves his husband....

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