Joe Alaskey

Joe Alaskey
Born Joseph Francis Alaskey III
(1952-04-17)April 17, 1952
Troy, New York, U.S.
Died February 3, 2016(2016-02-03) (aged 63)
Green Island, New York, U.S.[1]
Cause of death Cancer
Nationality American
Occupation Actor, voice artist, comedian
Years active 1983–2016
Website http://www.joealaskey.com/

Joseph Francis "Joe" Alaskey III (April 17, 1952 – February 3, 2016) was an American actor, voice artist, and comedian.

Alaskey was credited as one of Mel Blanc's successors at the Warner Bros. Animation studio. He alternated with Jeff Bergman in voicing Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Tweety, and other characters from Warner Bros. cartoons, such as Plucky Duck on Tiny Toon Adventures from 1990–95. Alaskey was the second actor to voice Grandpa Lou Pickles on Rugrats (inheriting the role after David Doyle's death in 1997). He voiced Lou again in the Rugrats spin-off series All Grown Up!. and all three films. He also voiced Stinkie in Casper, as well as the film's 1996 animated spin-off The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper.

Early life

Alaskey was born Joseph Francis Alaskey III April 17, 1952 in Troy, New York.[2] At age 3, he was looking for a pair of sunglasses or people's cigar butts so that he could portray different characters.[3] Alaskey was interested in archeology at the age of ten.[3] After archeology, he was interested in becoming a priest and an English teacher.[3] Alaskey moved to New York City in the 1970s. While initially in New York City, he worked in insurance while the acting was getting started.[3]

Career

Alaskey was occasionally seen onscreen impersonating Jackie Gleason, with whom he shared a physical resemblance.[3] In the 1980s, Gleason personally chose Alaskey to re-record selected dialogue from the "lost episodes" of The Honeymooners found in Gleason's private collection.[4] After Gleason died, he watched the project get shelved.[3] In 1985, Alaskey provided various voices for Galtar and the Golden Lance. Alaskey was in several television shows including Night Court, Head of the Class, Back to the Future, and Spitting Image: The 1987 Movie Awards. His first major film was Who Framed Roger Rabbit as Yosemite Sam.[5] Alaskey provided a vocal Gleason impersonation in the "Mighty's Wedlock Whimsy" episode of Ralph Bakshi's Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures in 1988, and a Cary Grant impersonation in "The Bride of Mighty Mouse" episode from the same season.

Alaskey did voice work for non-Warner Bros. characters. He has voiced Grandpa Lou Pickles on Rugrats (inheriting the role after David Doyle's death in 1997).[2][6] He voiced Lou again in the Rugrats spin-off series, All Grown Up!. He also created the voice of Thomas Timberwolf for the internet series TimberWolf, created by animation legend Chuck Jones. He was heard briefly as a voice-over announcer for the Toon Disney channel (and sometimes Dcom extras on Disney Channel). He was the voice of Curt Connors in the Spider-Man 2 video game and Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man: Friend or Foe.[7] Alaskey was in the independent film The Legend of Sasquatch and voiced Mermaid Man in the video games SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, Pants! and SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab. He voiced Stinkie in Casper as well as that film's 1996 animated spin-off, The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper.[7] Alaskey played Beano Froelich in Out of This World but left the show early in its final season, making only infrequent appearances in a few episodes. In the 1980s, he worked as the original announcer on the short-lived game show Couch Potatoes, hosted by Marc Summers.[7] Alaskey made several onscreen appearances, portraying the show's "next door neighbor". For the show's final weeks, he was replaced by Jim McKrell and the "next door neighbor" concept was dropped. During this time, he was also a panelist on The New Hollywood Squares, hosted by John Davidson.[7]

In 2008, Alaskey participated in a unique interview conducted by Logan Leistikow and released by TheYellowMic.com. He answered questions and told his story, then went out onto Hollywood Boulevard and talked to people on the street who wanted to hear his famous voices. This was the first time Alaskey had performed in public in this manner.[7] In 2003, he took over the roles of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in the film Looney Tunes: Back in Action.[5] He also, at times, provided the voices for Sylvester, Tweety, and other Looney Tunes characters.[5] Alaskey was the primary voice for Plucky Duck on Tiny Toon Adventures.[5] In 2014, Alaskey started narrating the television documentary series Murder Comes to Town. The series airs on the Investigation Discovery Network.[7]

Death

Alaskey died in Green Island, New York, from cancer on February 3, 2016, aged 63.[8] He was survived by his brother, John, and his nieces and nephews.[9][10]

Filmography

Movies

Television

Video games

References

  1. ↑ Leovy, Jill (February 4, 2016). "Joe Alaskey dies at 63; impersonator was a later voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Ortiz, Erik (February 4, 2016). "Joe Alaskey, Voice Behind Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, Dies at 63". NBCNews.com (NBCUniversal). Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Greene Jr., James (December 3, 2012). "Sufferin’ Succotash! Looney Tunes Voice Actor Joe Alaskey On Bugs Bunny, Geraldo, & Why He Wasn’t In ‘Space Jam’". Split Sider. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  4. ↑ Kaplan, Peter W. (January 26, 1985). "75 'Honeymooners' Episodes Found". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved November 26, 2006.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Dornbush, Jonathon (February 4, 2016). "Modern Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck voice actor Joe Alaskey dies at 63". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  6. ↑ Westbrook, Caroline (February 4, 2016). "Joe Alaskey – aka the voice of Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny – has died aged 63". Metro. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Joe Alaskey". Internet Movie Database. amazon.com. Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  8. ↑ Leovy, Jill (February 4, 2016). "Joe Alaskey dies at 63; impersonator was a later voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck". Los Angeles Times (Tribune Publishing). Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  9. ↑ Sorto, Gabrielle (February 4, 2016). "Joe Alaskey, voice of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, dies at 63". CNN (Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner)). Retrieved February 4, 2016.
  10. ↑ Faherty, Allanah (February 4, 2016). "That's All Folks: The Modern Voice Of Bugs Bunny And Daffy Duck Has Sadly Passed Away". Movie Pilot. Retrieved February 4, 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, February 14, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.