Weekend Update
Snipped from an article in Variety:Actor Charles Rocket committed suicide Oct. 7 in Connecticut. He was 56.
Rocket was the Weekend Update anchor on "Saturday Night Live" in 1980 and 1981, and was fired from the show after saying "fuck" on the air. He went on to make numerous appearances on TV shows and in features.
Born Charles Claverie in Bangor, Maine, he attended the Rhode Island School of Design. He was active in the burgeoning RISD arts scene, where he formed the band the Fabulous Motels and then became a newscaster under the name Charles Kennedy. He worked on newscasts in Colorado Springs and Nashville before landing much more irreverent SNL gig, where he also performed his own "Rocket Reports" skits.
Rocket appeared in feature films including "Earth Girls are Easy," "Dances with Wolves," "It's Pat" and "Dumb and Dumber." His last film role was in the 2003 Sylvester StalloneSylvester Stallone film "Shade." On TV, he appeared on shows including "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Cybill," "Touched by an Angel" and "thirtysomething."
Rocket played accordion in many bands, performing (with Debbie Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie) on a tribute album to Fellini composer Nino Rota.
He is survived by his wife, Beth and a son.
****
To quote the man himself, "Fuck!"
posted by Melissa at 9:23 AM
5 Comments:
I must be getting old. I watched SNL all the time back then (it was a must-see along with Space:1999 on Saturday nights) and I don't recall this gent. Was he after Chevy?
cpg
>>To quote the man himself, "Fuck !"<<
Yeah, that's pretty much all he's known for. I doubt NBC will be running an "in memorium" for him during next week's SNL.
CPG, he was sort of a little-known guy on the show back in the early-ish 80's and did the Weekend Update anchor chair for about a year or two, I believe. He played mostly straight men and would often get small roles in other SNL movies, but he was mostly remembered for getting fired after saying "fuck" on the air. His name kind of became a punchline or a metaphor for losing one's job for shooting off their mouth. I remember once when Norm McDonald accidentally said "fuck" during Weekend Update and I tthink I remember he said later that he was so scared after he said it that Charles Rocket's life flashed before his eyes.
NBC probably won't run anything special, but I'm sure that SNL will make mention of it in some way. It's just tragic that he killed himself, though.
Charles only did update for only a few months in 1980-1981 -- the 1981 season got cut short due to some actor's or writer's strike.
Sad news.
Fuck.
Post a Comment
<< Home