CHARLES ROCKET

'Charles Rocket', born 'Charles Adams Claverie' (August 24, 1949 – October 7, 2005), was an American film and television actor, most notable for his tenure as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' as well as for his appearances as the villain Nicholas Andre in the film ''Dumb & Dumber'' and Adam, the Angel of Death, in the series ''Touched by an Angel''. He had a son with his wife Beth.^[1]

Contents

Biography

Early life

''Saturday Night Live''

Post-''SNL'' career

Death

Roles on ''SNL''

Recurring character

Celebrity impersonations on ''SNL''

Filmography

References

External links

Biography

Early life

Rocket attended the Rhode Island School of Design in the late 1960s and was part of the Rhode Island underground scene in the 1970s. He made several short films and fronted his band, the Fabulous Motels. He later anchored the local news at Channel 12 WPRI and at KOAA-TV in Colorado Springs under his own name, and WTVF Nashville under the name Charles Kennedy. He made his network debut on the popular late-night television ''Saturday Night Live''.
Later in his career Rocket would lend his accordion talents to the David Byrne/B-52's collaboration ''Mesopotamia''.

''Saturday Night Live''

Rocket was cast for the , which followed the departure of the remaining members of the show's popular original cast and original executive producer Lorne Michaels. Singled out by new executive producer Jean Doumanian as the star of her new ensemble, Rocket was promoted as "kind of a cross between Bill Murray and Chevy Chase." Rocket was given the role of anchor for the show's ''Weekend Update'' news parody, and was featured in many sketches. His opening line before beginning ''Weekend Update'' was "Good evening, I'm Charles Rocket. Here now, the news." His closing line was "I'm Charles Rocket. Good night, and watch out." ^[2] This is a reference to famous newsman Edward R. Murrow's traditional closing line of "Good night, and good luck."
The new cast (except for Joe Piscopo, writer Brian Doyle-Murray, and Eddie Murphy) was not at all popular with audiences, a reflection, perhaps, of the overall substandard writing quality. Though not the most popular ''Update'' anchor, Rocket was something of a standout due to his infamous "Rocket Reports" segments.
With one word, Rocket brought an end to his and Doumanian's tenures on the show. The February 21, 1981 episode hosted by ''Dallas'' star Charlene Tilton featured a parody of the famed ''Who Shot J.R.?'' episode of ''Dallas''. In the sketch, Rocket was shot in the chest by a sniper. At the end of the show, as cast members traditionally gathered around the host to say good night, Tilton asked Rocket how he felt about being shot. In character, a wheelchair-bound Rocket improvised, "Oh, man, it’s the first time I've ever been shot in my life. I'd like to know who fucking did it", followed by the cast and audience reacting with shock and laughter. Due to the violation of broadcast standards, Doumanian and Rocket were soon fired (along with most of the writers and fellow cast members Gilbert Gottfried and Ann Risley). Piscopo and Murphy were the only cast members to survive the axe, after new producer Dick Ebersol replaced Denny Dillon and Gail Matthius after producing one episode.
Episodes in which Rocket appeared have rarely been seen since their original airdates, but they will likely be released in a "Complete Sixth Season" boxed set, as NBC began releasing such sets in 2006.

Post-''SNL'' career

Rocket recovered from this early career setback and acted in many films, including ''Earth Girls Are Easy'', ''It's Pat'', ''Dances with Wolves'', and ''Dumb & Dumber'', often portraying the antagonist. In television, he secured a series of guest spots on several 1980s sitcoms, co-starred in the short-lived 1992 comedy-drama series ''Tequila and Bonetti'', and played rival network president Ned Grossberg on the 1980s cyberpunk series ''Max Headroom''. Rocket became well known for his role as Richard Addison (brother to Bruce Willis' David Addison) on the popular comedy-drama ''Moonlighting'' and as "Adam"^[3] the first "Angel of Death" on CBS's ''Touched by an Angel''.^[4]
During the 1990s, some roles for Rocket were box office duds such as the animated ''Titan A.E.'' and ''Fathers' Day'' and the short-lived 2000 John Goodman series ''Normal, Ohio'' on the Fox network. But he made frequent guest appearances on many popular television programs in the late 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s, including ''Quantum Leap'', ''The King of Queens'', and recurring roles in ''Touched By An Angel'', and '', the last of which marked his final appearance on network television. He also lent his voice to popular video game titles '', '' (as the character "Nym" in both games), ''Descent 3'', and ''Age of Mythology''.
His final film role came in the 2003 movie ''Shade'' which starred Sylvester Stallone and Melanie Griffith.
Charles Rocket's final appearance on television was on the series '' in 2004. He guest starred playing Donny DePalma, a bank robber. Coincidentally, the character he portrayed was suicidal.

Death

On October 7, 2005, the body of Charles Rocket was discovered by police in his yard in Canterbury, Connecticut; his throat had been cut. The Connecticut state medical examiner later ruled his death a suicide, with no foul play suspected.^[5]

Roles on ''SNL''

Recurring character

★ Phil Lively, a game show host who took his larger-than-life persona home and treated life as if it were a game show.

Celebrity impersonations on ''SNL''

★ Ronald Reagan

★ David Rockefeller

★ Prince Charles

★ Marlin Perkins

Filmography

'' (2004) TV''Shade'' (2003)''Bleach'' (2002) short''New Suit'' (2002)''Greg the Bunny (2002) TV''Third Rock from the Sun (2001) TV''Normal, Ohio'' (2000) TV(7)''Titan A.E.'' (2000)''Tex, the Passive-Aggressive Gunslinger'' (2000)''Carlo's Wake'' (1999)''Kôtetsu tenshi Kurumi'' (1999) TV''Dry Martini'' (1998)''Fathers' Day'' (1997)''Murder at 1600'' (1997)''The Killing Grounds'' (1997)

''Tom and Huck'' (1995)''The Home Court'' (1995) TV''Steal Big Steal Little'' (1995)''Dumb & Dumber'' (1994)''It's Pat'' (1994)''Wagons East! (1994)''Charlie's Ghost Story'' (1994) ''Touched by an Angel'' (1993-2003) TV (10)''Flying Blind'' (1992) TV''Brain Smasher — A Love Story'' (1993)''Short Cuts'' (1993)''Hocus Pocus'' (1993)''Wild Palms'' (1993) TV''Tequila and Bonetti'' (1992) TV''Delirious'' (1991)

''Dances with Wolves'' (1990)''Quantum Leap'' (1990) TV''Honeymoon Academy'' (1990)''How I Got Into College'' (1989)''Murphy's Law'' (1988) TV''Earth Girls Are Easy'' (1988)''Max Headroom'' (1987) TV (4)''Down Twisted'' (1987) ''Miracles'' (1986)''Moonlighting (1985-1989) TV (6)''California Girls'' (1985) TV''Fraternity Vacation'' (1985)''The Outlaws'' (1984) TV''Saturday Night Live'' (1980-1981)

References

1. Charles Rocket, 56, TV and Movie Actor, Dies
2. Weekend Update - Through the Years
3. Touched by an Angel Episode Guide Retrieved 2007-04-22
4. IMDB Charles Rocket Filmography Retrieved 2007-04-22
5. Charles Rocket's death ruled a suicide

External links

★

★ Obituary for Charles Rocket Variety.com. 2005-10-14.

★ Remembering a giant of the Providence underground Providence Phoenix. 2005-10-25. Phillipe and Jorge. Retrieved 2007-04-16.

★ Obituary for Charles Rocket. Zebrality.com. Includes video clip of the infamous Saturday Night Live episode. (Windows media)

★ Blog entry by friend Julia Sweeney about Rocket

★ Charles Rocket Photos