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  • BIRTH 30/12/1935
  • DEATH 19/08/2016
  • Country United States
  • SHOWS 20
  • MOVIES 23

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.

Jack Riley

Shows (20)

Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Rider
That '70s Show
That '70s Show
Old Man Shinsky
Columbo
Columbo
Director
The Garfield Show
The Garfield Show
Ghost Cat (voice)
M*A*S*H
M*A*S*H
Capt. Kaplan
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Mr. Crocker
Rugrats
Rugrats
Stu Pickles (voice)
The Love Boat
The Love Boat
Miles Metcalf
Punky Brewster
Punky Brewster
Snipes
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
Frank
The Drew Carey Show
The Drew Carey Show
Mr. Jones
Police Woman
Police Woman
Joe
Family Ties
Family Ties
Earl Quigley
Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel
Leo
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Barry Barlow / Eldon Colfax
Night Court
Night Court
Beepo the Clown / Dr. Flick / Emil Dutton / Jim Wimberly
The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files
Adrian Lyman
Yes, Dear
Yes, Dear
Mr. Shipley
Barney Miller
Barney Miller
Frederick Clooney / Robert Lovell
The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show
Elliot Carlin

Movies (23)

The Rugrats Movie
The Rugrats Movie
Stuart 'Stu' Pickles (voice)
Rugrats Go Wild
Rugrats Go Wild
Stuart 'Stu' Pickles (voice)
Catch-22
Catch-22
Doctor
The Long Goodbye
The Long Goodbye
Riley
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!
Salesman
Gleaming the Cube
Gleaming the Cube
Homeowner
Frances
Frances
Bob Barnes
Theodore Rex
Theodore Rex
Alaric
California Split
California Split
Second Bartender
Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
Butch and Sundance: The Early Days
Messenger
Avenging Angel
Avenging Angel
Elder
C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud
C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud
Wade
To Be or Not to Be
To Be or Not to Be
Dobish
Portrait of a White Marriage
Portrait of a White Marriage
Roy Bloomer
Rugrats: All Growed Up
Rugrats: All Growed Up
Stu Pickles (voice)
Rugrats: Tales from the Crib: Snow White
Rugrats: Tales from the Crib: Snow White
Stu (voice)
A Rugrats Chanukah
A Rugrats Chanukah
Stu Pickles (voice)
High Anxiety
High Anxiety
The Desk Clerk
A Dangerous Woman
A Dangerous Woman
Bandleader
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
Citizen (uncredited)
A Rugrats Passover
A Rugrats Passover
Stu Pickles (voice)
Bank Shot
Bank Shot
Jackson
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers
The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the…
Sexton / Deacon