I found the following explanation on Magnum Mania to Jeff's
so premature departure:
[...
Actor Jeff MacKay died Aug. 22nd from liver failure in Tulsa, Okla. He was 59.
Jeff was a regular on several hit TV shows, including Baa Baa Black Sheep,
Battlestar Galactica, Magnum P.I., Tales of the Gold Monkey, and JAG. Magnum
fans will always fondly remember him as "Mac". Jeff is survived by his father
and two brothers. RIP "Mac"!
...]
Personally I will remember him as the one who talked to us
here in this newsgroup. His old email address was "boink,"
like this boink1@
telocity.com, which he changed a few times.
Let me quote here one of his emails from my archive:
[...