Jack Riley (actor)

John Albert Riley Jr. (December 30, 1935 – August 19, 2016) was an American comic actor, who was best known for playing Elliot Carlin on The Bob Newhart Show and for voicing Stu Pickles in the Rugrats franchise.

Early life
Riley was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Agnes C. (née Corrigan) and John Albert Riley. After attending Saint Ignatius High School and John Carroll University, he served in the United States Army.

After being discharged, Riley became a popular radio personality in Cleveland, along with his radio partner and "straight man" Jeff Baxter; The Baxter & Riley Show on WERE (1300 AM) featured not only music but comedy sketches and a slew of offbeat characters that Riley and Baxter voiced. Riley gave up the radio show in the mid 1960s and moved to Los Angeles, where his friend Tim Conway helped him receive work writing comedy sketches, which later led to acting opportunities.

Career
First a semi-regular in the cast of the 1960s sitcom Occasional Wife, a short-lived show on NBC in which he played Wally Frick, Riley was perhaps most famous for playing Elliot Carlin, the neurotic, sour and selfish patient on The Bob Newhart Show. In 1973, he was cast as Gomez Addams in The Addams Family Fun-House, then in 1979, he starred in ABC's holiday telefilm The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (a.k.a. The Night Dracula Saved The World) as Warren the Werewolf (Wolf Man) of Budapest. Riley then, in 1980, appeared in a comedy special for HBO called The Wild Wacky Wonderful World of Winter. He was a regular cast member in The Tim Conway Show, a comedy-variety show that aired on CBS from March 1980 through late summer 1981, acting in sketch comedy in each episode. In 1985, he reprised his Bob Newhart Show role of Elliot Carlin on St. Elsewhere.

Among his other TV credits are multiple appearances on such shows as "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" (parodying Lyndon Johnson), M*A*S*H, Barney Miller, Hogan's Heroes, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, One Day at a Time, Gomer Pyle, Diff'rent Strokes and Night Court. He was also a favorite of Mel Brooks, appearing in several of his films: High Anxiety (1977), History of the World: Part I (1981), To Be or Not to Be (1983), and (cameo only) Spaceballs (1987).

Riley often provided voiceovers for television and radio commercials, most notably in spots for Country Crock margarine. He also voiced the character "P.C. Modem, the computer genius" in radio commercials for CompUSA which aired in the 1990s. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Riley was known for voicing Stu Pickles (father of the main protagonist Tommy) in the animated series Rugrats. The franchise consisted of the TV series, the spin-off All Grown Up! and the film trilogy.

He continued to make guest appearances during the 1990s in popular sitcoms, showing up in episodes of Seinfeld, Son of the Beach, Friends, Coach, The Drew Carey Show, That '70s Show and, in a gag appearance, as an unnamed but obvious Mr. Carlin in an episode of Newhart. He made a cameo appearance on the November 23, 2013, episode of Saturday Night Live, as a subway passenger during the sketch "Matchbox 3".

Personal life and death
Riley married his wife Ginger Lawrence on May 18, 1975; together they have two children. Riley died on August 19, 2016 at the age of 80 in Los Angeles, due to pneumonia.

Film

 * Days of Wine and Roses (1962) - Waiter
 * Mitzi (1968)
 * Catch-22 (1970) - Doctor
 * McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) - Riley Quinn
 * In Broad Daylight (1971) - Cab Driver #3
 * The Todd Killings (1971)
 * The Thief Who Came to Dinner (1973) - Lab Technician (uncredited)
 * The Long Goodbye (1973) - Riley
 * The Addams Family Fun House (1973) - Gomez Addams
 * California Split (1974) - Bartender
 * Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978) - Salesman
 * SpaceBalls (1987) - TV Newsman
 * Rented Lips (1988) - Herb the Auditor
 * Portrait of a White Marriage (1989) - Roy Bloomer
 * Gleaming the Cube (1989) - Homeowner
 * Payback (1990) - Corner
 * A Dangerous Women (1993) - Bandleader
 * Theodore Rex (1995) - Alaric
 * Boogie Nights (1997) - Lawyer
 * Chairman of the Board (1998) - Condom Boss
 * The Rugrats Movie (1998) - Stu Pickles (voice)
 * Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000) - Stu Pickles (voice)
 * Recess: School's Out (2001) - Golfer #1 (voice)
 * Rugrats Go Wild (2003) - Stu Pickles (voice)
 * Burl's (2003) - Gym Instructor
 * Room 6 (2006) - James Brewster
 * Papa's Bag (2007) - Papa
 * Avenging Angel (2007) - Elder

Television

 * Occasional Wife (1966–1967) - Wally Frick
 * Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1967) - Larry
 * The Flying Nun (1967) - Leo
 * I Dream of Jeannie (1968) - Frank
 * Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1968–1969) - Lyndon Johnson
 * Hogan's Heroes (1969–1970) - S.S. Man, Guard, Captain
 * Pat Paulsen's Half a Comedy Hour (1970) - Stage Manager
 * Bracken's World (1970) - Mr. Jeffrey
 * Love, American Style (1970) - Danny
 * The Partridge Family (1970) - Corporal
 * The Red Skelton Hour (1970–1971) - Sketch Player, Clergyman
 * The Good Life (1971)
 * The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1971–1972) - Barry Barlow, Eldon Colfax
 * M*A*S*H (1972) - Capt. Kaplan
 * The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978) - Elliot Carlin
 * Getting Together (1972) - Mel
 * Cannon (1973) - Programer
 * Columbo (1973) - Director
 * The Girl with Something Extra (1973) - Arthur
 * Kung Fu (1974) - Royal
 * Happy Days (1974) - Officer O'Reilly
 * Night Court (1984–1991) - Beepo the Clown, Dr. Flick, Jim Wimberly
 * Garfield and Friends (1990) - Tyrone (voice)
 * Rugrats (1991–2005) - Stu Pickles, various characters (voice)
 * Son of the Beach (2000–2002) - Chappy
 * Lucky (2003) - Piney
 * All Grown Up! (2003–2007) - Stu Pickles (voice)
 * That '70s Show (2004) - Old Man Shinsky
 * Easy to Assemble (2009) - Jack
 * The Garfield Show (2011) - Ghost Cat (voice)

Video games

 * Rugrats: Search for Reptar (1998) - Stu Pickles (voice)
 * Rugrats Adventure Game (1998) - Stu Pickles (voice)
 * Rugrats: Studio Tour (1999) - Stu Pickles (voice)
 * Rugrats: Royal Ransom (2002) - Stu Pickles (voice)
 * Rugrats Go Wild: The Video Game (2003) - Stu Pickles (voice)