Editing José Ferrer (section)

===1980s===
In 1980, he had a role as future Justice [[Abe Fortas]] in the made-for-[[television film]] version of [[Anthony Lewis]]' ''[[Gideon's Trumpet]]'', opposite [[Henry Fonda]] in an [[Emmy Award|Emmy]]-nominated performance as [[Clarence Earl Gideon]].

He also appeared in ''[[Battle Creek Brawl]]'' (1980), ''[[Pleasure Palace]]'' (1980), ''[[The Dream Merchants (miniseries)|The Dream Merchants]]'' (1980), ''[[Magnum, P.I.]]'', ''Evita Peron'' (1981), ''Berlin Tunnel 21'' (1981), ''[[Peter and Paul (film)|Peter and Paul]]'' (1981) with [[Anthony Hopkins]], ''[[Bloody Birthday]]'' (1981), [[Woody Allen]]'s ''[[A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy]]'' (1982) (a classy yet somewhat antagonistic university professor/author whose booming voice both begins and ends the film), ''[[Blood Tide]]'' (1982), [[Blood Feud (1983 film)|''Blood Feud'']] (1982), ''This Girl for Hire'' (1983), ''[[The Being]]'' (1983) and [[Mel Brooks]]'s version of [[To Be or Not to Be (1983 film)|''To Be or Not to Be'']] (1983).

From 1982 to 1985, he was artistic director of the Coconut Grove Theatre in Miami.<ref>{{cite news| title=Ferrer Ends Reign Over Miami Theater| url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1985-01-17-8501100093-story.html| date=17 January 1985| agency=Knight-Ridder Newspapers| newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]| access-date=27 June 2020}}</ref>

He guest-starred on ''[[Quincy, M.E.]]'', ''[[Another World (TV series)|Another World]]'', ''[[Fantasy Island]]'', ''[[Hotel (U.S. TV series)|Hotel]]'', ''[[The Love Boat]]'', ''[[Bridges to Cross]]'', and ''[[Murder, She Wrote]]''.

Ferrer was in ''[[The Evil That Men Do (film)|The Evil That Men Do]]'' (1984), ''[[Samson and Delilah (1984 film)|Samson and Delilah]]'' (1984), and ''[[George Washington (miniseries)|George Washington]]'' (1984). He was the Emperor in ''[[Dune (1984 film)|Dune]]'' (1984) and was in ''[[Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil]]'' (1985), ''Seduced'' (1985), ''Covenant'' (1985), ''[[Blood & Orchids]]'' (1986), ''Young Harry Houdini'', and ''[[The Wind in the Willows (1987 film)|The Wind in the Willows]]'' (1987).

Ferrer made his farewell to Cyrano by performing a short passage from the play for the [[40th Tony Awards|1986 Tony Awards]] telecast.

Although not the original actor to play the character, Ferrer, beginning in the third season, had a recurring role as [[Julia Duffy]]'s [[White Anglo-Saxon Protestant|WASPy]] father in the long-running television series ''[[Newhart]]'' in the 1980s.

In an interview given in the 1980s, he bemoaned the lack of good character parts for aging stars, and admitted that he now took on roles mostly for the money, such as his roles in the horror potboilers ''[[The Swarm (1978 film)|The Swarm]]'', in which he played a doctor, and ''[[Dracula's Dog]]'', in which he played a police inspector.

Ferrer's final performances include ''The Sun and the Moon'' (1987), ''[[American Playhouse]]'' ("[[Strange Interlude]]" with [[Kenneth Branagh]]), ''[[Mother's Day (1989 film)|Mother's Day]]'' (1989), ''[[Matlock (1986 TV series)|Matlock]]'', ''[[Hired to Kill (1990 film)|Hired to Kill]]'' (1990), ''[[Old Explorers]]'' (1990) and ''[[Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews|The Perfect Tribute]]''.

He was cast in a Broadway play ''[[Conversations with My Father]]'' (1991) but withdrew due to poor health.<ref name=LAT>"Stage, Film Actor Jose Ferrer Dies". ''Los Angeles Times'' 27 January 1992: VYA3</ref>