Jack Riley

Jack Riley

Birthday: 1935-12-30

Deathday: 2016-08-19

Place of birth: Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Also known as: John Albert Riley Jr.

imdb_id: nm0727051

Biography:

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.

Played in movies:

The History of White People in America: Volume II

Score: 7.7

Boogie Nights

Score: 7.6

Days of Wine and Roses

Score: 7.5

Lots of Luck

Score: 7.4

The Long Goodbye

Score: 7.4

A Rugrats Passover

Score: 7.4

Christmas Eve on Sesame Street

Score: 7.3

McCabe & Mrs. Miller

Score: 7.2

The Player

Score: 7.2

Frances

Score: 6.9

Spaceballs

Score: 6.9

History of the World: Part I

Score: 6.8

A Rugrats Chanukah

Score: 6.8

Rugrats: Tales from the Crib: Snow White

Score: 6.7

Rugrats in Paris: The Movie

Score: 6.7

To Be or Not to Be

Score: 6.7

Rugrats: All Growed Up

Score: 6.7

Catch-22

Score: 6.6

California Split

Score: 6.6

Silent Movie

Score: 6.5

The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers

Score: 6.5

High Anxiety

Score: 6.4

Burl's

Score: 6.4

Rugrats Go Wild

Score: 6.3

The Rugrats Movie

Score: 6.2

Gleaming the Cube

Score: 6.0

The History of White People in America

Score: 6.0

The Halloween That Almost Wasn't

Score: 5.8

The World's Greatest Lover

Score: 5.5

A Dangerous Woman

Score: 5.5

The Bank Shot

Score: 5.4

The Bank Shot

Score: 5.4

Finders Keepers

Score: 5.3

In Broad Daylight

Score: 5.2

Butch and Sundance: The Early Days

Score: 5.0

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!

Score: 5.0

When Your Lover Leaves

Score: 5.0

Avenging Angel

Score: 4.8

Room 6

Score: 4.5

C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud

Score: 4.4

Night Patrol

Score: 4.2

The Todd Killings

Score: 4.1

Theodore Rex

Score: 3.6

Chairman of the Board

Score: 3.6

Rented Lips

Score: 3.4

Portrait of a White Marriage

Score: 3.0

Payback

Score: 3.0

Marriage Is Alive and Well

Score: 2.0

The Rules of Marriage

Score: 1.0

Love in the Present Tense

Score: 0.0

Silent Laughter: The Reel Inspirations of 'Silent Movie'

Score: 0.0

First The Egg

Score: 0.0

The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary Special

Score: 0.0

Played in tv shows:

Seinfeld

Score: 8.3

Faerie Tale Theatre

Score: 8.1

Columbo

Score: 8.1

That '70s Show

Score: 7.9

M*A*S*H

Score: 7.9

I Dream of Jeannie

Score: 7.8

Married... with Children

Score: 7.7

All Grown Up!

Score: 7.7

All Grown Up!

Score: 7.7

Kung Fu

Score: 7.7

ALF

Score: 7.7

Happy Days

Score: 7.6

The Rockford Files

Score: 7.6

Rugrats

Score: 7.6

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Score: 7.6

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Score: 7.6

Hogan's Heroes

Score: 7.5

Hogan's Heroes

Score: 7.5

The Tim Conway Show

Score: 7.5

The Bob Newhart Show

Score: 7.5

Occasional Wife

Score: 7.5

The Red Skelton Show

Score: 7.4

The Red Skelton Show

Score: 7.4

The Red Skelton Show

Score: 7.4

Barney Miller

Score: 7.3

Barney Miller

Score: 7.3

Punky Brewster

Score: 7.3

Night Court

Score: 7.3

Night Court

Score: 7.3

Night Court

Score: 7.3

Night Court

Score: 7.3

Family Ties

Score: 7.2

The Snoop Sisters

Score: 7.2

Touched by an Angel

Score: 7.2

Newhart

Score: 7.1

Diff'rent Strokes

Score: 7.1

Alice

Score: 7.1

Mathnet

Score: 7.0

Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

Score: 7.0

Barnaby Jones

Score: 6.9

Hart to Hart

Score: 6.9

The Partridge Family

Score: 6.8

Family Matters

Score: 6.7

Coach

Score: 6.7

Simon & Simon

Score: 6.7

Yes, Dear

Score: 6.7

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Score: 6.6

Hangin' with Mr. Cooper

Score: 6.6

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Score: 6.6

Cannon

Score: 6.6

The Drew Carey Show

Score: 6.5

Oh, Grow Up

Score: 6.5

Mike Hammer, Private Eye

Score: 6.5

Son of the Beach

Score: 6.5

The Garfield Show

Score: 6.4

Dave's World

Score: 6.4

The Flying Nun

Score: 6.3

The Love Boat

Score: 6.3

Police Woman

Score: 6.2

Love, American Style

Score: 6.1

Charles in Charge

Score: 6.1

Eight Is Enough

Score: 6.1

Blacke's Magic

Score: 6.0

Harry and the Hendersons

Score: 5.8

Throb

Score: 5.7

St. Elsewhere

Score: 5.6

The Mike Douglas Show

Score: 5.4

A Fine Romance

Score: 5.0

Ladies' Man

Score: 5.0

Getting Together

Score: 5.0

Working

Score: 4.7

Harry O

Score: 4.6

Harry O

Score: 4.6

Body Language

Score: 0.0

George & Leo

Score: 0.0

Washingtoon

Score: 0.0

Joe and Valerie

Score: 0.0

Roxie

Score: 0.0