Mork & Mindy Actor Conrad Janis Dead at 94: 'He Was an Amazing Man'

Michael Tullberg/Getty Conrad Janis

Conrad Janis, the longtime television, film and stage actor who was best known for his work Mork & Mindy, has died. He was 94.

Janis, who portrayed the role of Mindy's father, Fred McConnell, on the ABC sitcom, died on March 1, his business manager, Dean A. Avedon, confirms in a statement to PEOPLE.

The star died due to organ failure from old age, according to Avedon. His death comes six months after his wife, Maria Grimm, died in September.

"Conrad and his wife Maria were clients of mine for over 35 years. They were two of the nicest, respectful, and generous people I know," Avedon says in a statement. "I have many fond memories of Conrad telling me stories from his past. He was an amazing man that led a truly amazing life."

Born on Feb. 11, 1928, to parents Harriet and Sidney, who was a legendary Manhattan art dealer and gallery owner, the actor was just 17 years old when he was credited for his first on-screen role as Ronald Stevens in the 1945 film, Snafu, according to his IMDb page.

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Over the next two decades, his career took off as he made appearances in multiple films and television series, including Suspense, The Jeffersons and Happy Days, before landing the role of Fred McConnell in Mork & Mindy.

On the ABC sitcom, which ran from 1978 to 1982 and also starred Robin Williams and Pam Dawber, Janis played the role of Mindy's overprotective father.

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Conrad Janis on Mork & Mindy

Other notable roles of Janis' include Palindrome on Quark, Father "Double Trouble" on The Cable Guy, and Albert on Frasier. He also made appearances in St. Elsewhere, Murder, She Wrote and Baywatch. His final credit was in 2012 when he appeared as Lawrence in the film, Bad Blood.

Besides his career in film and television, Janis also had a lengthy career on the stage, marking his first theatrical role at age 13 in the play Junior Miss before going on to appear in 12 Broadway productions throughout his lifetime, including Dark Side of the Moon, according to The New York Times.

Additionally, Janis was an accomplished jazz trombonist — a passion he developed as a teen while listening to New Orleans trombonist Kid Ory, the NYT reported.

"In the course of going eight or nine months and listening to him every night, I inadvertently memorized every one of his solos," Janis told film historian Alan K. Rode in a 2012 interview. "When I finally got hold of a trombone [sometime later], I started playing and could play — very badly and stumbling — but I had it in my ear."

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Janis often performed with the Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazz Band, joining them for several appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. And though his character ran a music store on Mork & Mindy, Janis once said he regretted never getting a chance to play his instrument on the show.

"The producers wouldn't go for it," he told The Albany Democrat-Herald of Oregon in 1990, per the Times. "We had a really cute script where I got together with my old Dixieland jazz band, but they didn't think it was funny enough."

In his personal life, Janis was married three times. His first two marriages ended in divorces before he wed Grimm in 1987, according to the Times.

The actor is survived by his brother Carroll, his two children from his first marriage, Christopher and Carin Janis, his two grandchildren, as well as his two great-grandchildren.