About

Martin "Marty" Crane is a character on the Americal television show Frasier. He is played by Lancashire-born actor John Mahoney. Martin is the father of Frasier and Niles Crane, and has a pet dog, a Jack Russell terrier named Eddie.

Biography
Martin was born in Seattle and is a life-long resident of the city. He was married to Hester Rose Crane until her death. He was a career police officer, achieving the position of homicide detective during his time with the Seattle Police Department, and is also a Korean War veteran. He remains close to both the members of his army unit (meeting them for frequent reunions) and the police officers he worked with.

Because both his sons share very little in common with him in terms of hobbies and personalities, he seems to be very close to Frasier's producer Roz. He invites her to his poker games on numerous occasions, and responds very warmly to her laid back, "one of the guys" personality. In many ways, because she shares so much of his own interests, he seems to view her as the child he should have had, and dotes on her very warmly.

Personality
Unlike his sons, Martin Crane is very down-to-earth and unpretentious. His tastes are generally simpler than those of his sons and reflect popular culture to a greater degree - he prefers drinking beer (specifically Ballantine) to wine or spirits, for example, and prefers watching action movies and professional sports to the opera and theatre preferred by Frasier and Niles.

Martin is a gruff and taciturn man who finds it difficult to express himself emotionally - in particular to his family and loved ones, with whom he can be quite withdrawn and remote. In the episode "Breaking the Ice", for example, he finds it easier to say the words "I love you" to both his dog Eddie and his best friend Duke than he does to either of his sons. He is quite stubborn, and is given to holding grudges.

For all this, Martin is portrayed as an extremely likeable and caring person. Although he may find it difficult to express his feelings to his sons, he clearly loves them both, remaining proud of and devoted to them, and bitterly resenting any implication that this might not be the case.

Adapted from Wikipedia.