Jack Riley
John Albert Riley Jr. (December 30, 1935 – August 19, 2016) was an American actor, comedian and writer. He was known for playing Elliot Carlin, a chronic psychology client of the main character on The Bob Newhart Show, and for voicing Stu Pickles, one of the parents in the animated Rugrats franchise. Riley was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Agnes C. Riley (née Corrigan) and John Albert Riley. After attending Saint Ignatius High School and John Carroll University, he served in the U.S. 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 Cleveland friend Tim Conway helped him obtain work writing comedy sketches, which later led to acting opportunities. 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 1972–1978. 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, and did so again in a 1987 episode of ALF. Among his other TV credits are multiple appearances on such shows as Rowan & 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 that 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 a 1988 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". That episode would be his final acting role.
Born: 30 December 1935 • Died: 19 August 2016
Played In
Silent Laughter: The Reel Inspirations of 'Silent Movie'
Self
The Garfield Show
Ghost Cat (voice)
Avenging Angel
Elder
Room 6
James Brewster
Rugrats: Tales from the Crib: Snow White
Stu (voice)
Rugrats Go Wild
Stuart 'Stu' Pickles (voice)
Burl's
Gym Instructor
All Grown Up!
All Grown Up!
Stu Pickles (voice)
Rugrats: All Growed Up
Stu Pickles (voice)
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
Stu Pickles (voice)
Yes, Dear
Mr. Shipley
Son of the Beach
Oh, Grow Up
The Rugrats Movie
Stuart 'Stu' Pickles (voice)
That '70s Show
Old Man Shinsky
Chairman of the Board
Condom Boss
Working
Chaplain
Boogie Nights
Lawyer
Mike Hammer, Private Eye
George & Leo
A Rugrats Chanukah
Stu Pickles (voice)
Theodore Rex
Alaric
The Drew Carey Show
Mr. Jones
Touched by an Angel
Leo
A Rugrats Passover
Stu Pickles (voice)
Sesame Street Stays Up Late!
Jack(uncredited)
Dave's World
Guy
A Dangerous Woman
Bandleader
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
Mr. Graves
The Player
Jack Riley
The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary Special
Elliot Carlin
Rugrats
Stu Pickles (voice)
Harry and the Hendersons
Leonard
Family Matters
Wayne
Seinfeld
Rider
C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud
Wade
Coach
Oliver
Gleaming the Cube
Homeowner
Portrait of a White Marriage
Roy Bloomer
Rented Lips
Herb the Auditor
Payback
Coroner
Martin Mull Live from North Ridgeville, Ohio
Self
Spaceballs
TV Newsman
Married... with Children
Wendell
Roxie
Leon Buchanan
Mathnet
Mr. Dwight Ledbetter
Throb
Blacke's Magic
The History of White People in America: Volume II
Scientist
Washingtoon
The History of White People in America
Scientist
First The Egg
Mr. White
Lots of Luck
Marvin
Night Patrol
Doctor Ziegler
Charles in Charge
Professor Kleeman
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
Sexton / Deacon
Punky Brewster
Snipes
Body Language
Self
Finders Keepers
Ormond
Night Court
Dr. Flick
Night Court
Emil Dutton
Night Court
Beepo the Clown
Night Court
Jim Wimberly
To Be or Not to Be
Dobish
When Your Lover Leaves
Ralph
Frances
Bob Barnes
St. Elsewhere
Elliot Carlin
Newhart
Patient
Family Ties
Earl Quigley
Faerie Tale Theatre
Sexton / Deacon
The Rules of Marriage
Herb Gallup
Love in the Present Tense
Alex
Simon & Simon
Dr. Robert P. Medlow
History of the World: Part I
Stoned Soldier #2 - The Roman Empire
Ladies' Man
The Tim Conway Show
Self
Marriage Is Alive and Well
Owen
The Halloween That Almost Wasn't
Wolf Man
Hart to Hart
Norman Culp
Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
Messenger
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
Citizen (uncredited)
Diff'rent Strokes
Mr. Crocker
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!
Salesman
Joe and Valerie
Ed Sweetzer
High Anxiety
The Desk Clerk
The World's Greatest Lover
Projectionist
The Love Boat
Miles Metcalf
Eight Is Enough
Alice
Silent Movie
Executive
Barney Miller
Frederick Clooney
Barney Miller
Robert Lovell
The Rockford Files
Adrian Lyman
Police Woman
Joe
Harry O
Eddie Stern
Harry O
Barney Hamilton
California Split
Second Bartender
The Bank Shot
Agent Jackson
The Bank Shot
Jackson
Happy Days
Officer O'Reilly
The Snoop Sisters
Ollie Robertson
The Long Goodbye
Riley
Barnaby Jones
Norm Ricks
Kung Fu
Royal
M*A*S*H
Capt. Kaplan
The Bob Newhart Show
Elliot Carlin
The Todd Killings
Record Company Executive
In Broad Daylight
Cab Driver #3 (uncredited)
Getting Together
Columbo
Director
Cannon
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Riley Quinn
The Partridge Family
Corporal Wrzesinski
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Barry Barlow
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Eldon Colfax
Catch-22
Doctor
Love, American Style
Danny
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Lyndon B. Johnson (uncredited)
The Flying Nun
Leo
Occasional Wife
I Dream of Jeannie
Frank
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
Captain
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Larry
Days of Wine and Roses
Waiter (uncredited)
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
The Red Skelton Show
Gunslinger
The Red Skelton Show
Clergyman
The Red Skelton Show
Minor Role