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