I was shocked, just shocked, to see that Jeff Mackay died.
Who’s Jeff Mackay you ask? Well, if you watched much television during the 1980s, then you’d know.
Mackay would likely be most familiar to fans of Magnum P.I. as Magnum’s buddy, Mac, who died and then returned in several ways throughout the series. I know that’s the first thing I think about when I think of Mackay.
According to reports, 59-year-old Mackay died of liver failure on August 22nd in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he lived.
Reading through his bio, I think it’s fair to say if you threw a stone you’d hit an 80s TV show he’d appeared in. Not only did Mackay—who was a cousin of Robert Redford—appear in Magnum, he also had a role in Battlestar Galactica, the short lived cult favorite Tales of the Gold Monkey, and Baa Baa Black Sheep (a.k.a. Black Sheep Squadron). He even provided the voice of Firelight in the animated Transformers series.
Mackay also made brief appearances in Airwolf and Hardcastle and McCormick from the 80s, and most recently had a recurring role on JAG.
The funny thing is that I feel like he was in a lot, but looking at his IMDB rundown, he really wasn’t. He was, however, in many of the shows I watched as a kid. His face and voice are imprinted in my head, so much so I can’t even believe he was 59 years old. To me he’ll always be the way he appeared in all those shows I watched—and still watch.
It’s sad to know that he’s gone.
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