Conrad Janis 1928-2022

Conrad Janis, the Dixieland trombonist and actor best known for playing the father of Pam Dawber’s character on the Robin Williams sitcom Mork & Mindy, has died. He was 94.

Janis died March 1 of organ failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Though just a youngster, Janis already was a Broadway veteran when he appeared in the 20th Century Fox film noir The Brasher Doubloon (1947) opposite George Montgomery (then-husband of Dinah Shore) in the Philip Marlowe movie.

On Frasier, Janis portrayed a character named Albert who lives in the same condo building as Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) and his dad (John Mahoney). He also was a KAOS agent on Get Smart and a space station resident on Quark (Buck Henry had a hand in both of those series).

Janis played trombone in several appearances on The Tonight Show and at Carnegie Hall, and he recorded several albums with his group, the Tailgate Five. He also performed with actor George Segal on banjo in the Beverly Hills Unlimited Jazz Band.

Janis showed up on The Untouchables and My Favorite Martian and in such films as Airport ’75 (1974), The Happy Hooker (1975), The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox (1976),The Buddy Holly Story (1978), Oh, God! Book II (1980), Brewster’s Millions (1985), Sonny Boy (1989), Mr. Saturday Night (1992) and The Cable Guy (1996).